NEWS & MEDIA CENTER
NPR - Car Dealers May Escape Scrutiny Of Consumer Loans
The proposed new Consumer Financial Protection Board may contain a gigantic loophole leaving consumers exposed to unregulated financial products. Legal Aid Justice Center contract attorney, Tom Domonoske, speaks out on National Public Radio (NPR).
Read the article and listen to the clip here.
Angela Ciolfi Wins American Bar Association Award
The American Bar Association announced that Angela Ciolfi, legal director of the Legal Aid Justice Center’s JustChildren Program, will receive a National Child Advocacy Award from the Young Lawyers Division. The award will be presented at the ABA’s annual meeting in San Francisco on Aug. 7, 2010.
Read the press release about the award -- and Angela's accomplishments -- here.
NLADA Takes Courageous Stand
The Legal Aid Justice Center applauds the decision of the National Legal Aid and Defender Association (NLADA) to withdraw its support from the Equal Justice Conference, scheduled for May 13-15 in Phoenix, Arizona. In response to the immigration law passed in Arizona recently which NLADA believes will harm Americans and immigrants alike, the group took a courageous stand to pull-out of the conference. As a result of its decision to withdraw from the conference, cosponsored with the American Bar Association, NLADA will incur substantial expenses.
If you would like to support NLADA in its courageous stand against injustice and help defray these costs, you can make a contribution on the organization’s website here.
Alex Gulotta, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Justice Center is also a member of the NLADA Board of Directors.
Read NLADA's statement here.
Our Teen Health Guide in the News
A story in the Charlottesville Daily Progress highlights our Teen Health Guide and Child Health Advocacy Program (CHAP) attorney, Carolyn Pointer. The Guide also was covered by Channel 19 TV news in Charlottesville.
Click here to access the flash version of the Teen Health Guide.
Emily Dreyfus Wins John L. Snook Child Advocate Award
Long-time Legal Aid Justice Center advocacte, Emily Dreyfus, was presented with the John L. Snook Child Advocate Award at the Children Youth and Family Services (CYFS) annual awards breakfast on Thursday, April 22, 2010 in Charlottesville. Emily is the Legal Aid Justice Center's senior community organizer and a state-wide leader in support of the rights of children with disabilites.
Read more about Emily's award here.
Child Health Advocacy Program Publishes Teen Health Guide
The Teen Health Guide was developed in conjunction with the Teen Health Center at the University of Virginia Health System. It was authored by Carolyn Pointer and Dyan Aretakis. Special thanks go out to Sonjia Smith, for funding this project, and to Myra Hiott Chapman, for researching and citing the relevant laws.
Click here to access the flash version of the Teen Health Guide.
If you do not have flash or if you want to access this publication offline, click here to download the PDF version of the Teen Health Guide.
Roanoke Times Supports Parole Class Action
In a favorable editorial, the Roanoke Times writes in support of the parole class action lawsuit filed by our Virginia Institutionalized Persons Project. The Editorial states, "Inmates likely serving sentences longer than intended should have a real chance at parole. If they don't need to be imprisoned for the public safety, let them out, and ease the strain on the public purse."
Read the editorial, here.
Read more about the case here.
Petersburg Community Members Protest School Budget Cuts
Members of the Petersburg Advocates for Children, the City Wide PTA, and the Petersburg Right to Education Campaign gave public comment at last night's school board meeting to speak out against impending cuts to the local school budget. Community members aired their concerns about cuts at the state level -- which will have a devastating effect on school systems such as Petersburg that rely heavily on state support -- as well as local decisions about maintaining low teacher/pupil ratios, ensuring that school buildings are well-equipped for larger class loads, and ensuring access to a healthy breakfast for many low-income children. The press took note of the community's input, further cementing Legal Aid's belief that strong community engagement is one of the most powerful tools for turning around struggling schools.
To read more about last night's school board meeting and the budget cuts faced by the Petersburg City Public Schools, click on the following links:
"School board considers tough budget options," Petersburg Progress-Index (Feb 18, 2010)
"Petersburg schools will eliminate 46 jobs to save $2.6 million," Richmond Times-Dispatch (Feb 18, 2010)
Block to Join Law School Faculty; Ciolfi Named New Legal Director of JustChildren
There are changes afoot at JustChildren. In June, we will be bidding a fond farewell to Andy Block, the founder and Legal Director of the JustChildren Program, who will step down after more than 12 years in the position. He will take a new job at the University of Virginia School of Law as the Director of the Child Advocacy Clinic. He will be replaced by Angela Ciolfi, who has worked for JustChildren since her days as a law student back in 2001.
To read the full press release, click here.
To read about it in the C-ville, click here.
Migrant Tree Planters Find Justice - $2.75 Million Settlement
In one of the largest settlements of its kind, an Arkansas forestry company has agreed to pay $2.75 million to settle the legal claims of more than 2200 foreign guestworkers represented by the Legal Aid Justice Center's Immigrant Advocacy Program who say they were cheated out of the wages they earned planting trees for the company.
This is a huge win for the workers, represented by our attorneys Tim Freilich and Erin Trodden, and former Legal Aid Justice Center attorneys Mary Bauer, Jim Knoepp, and Andrew Turner (now at the Southern Poverty Law Center). Farmworker Justice and two private law firms also served as co-counsel.
Read the full press release here.
Read the Daily Progress article here.
Read the New York Times briefing here.
Read the C-Ville Weekly article here.