CLS attorney Montgomery Wilson, Esq, submitted testimony to the City Committee on Finance on November 13, 2019 in support of Bill # 190746 introduced by Councilman Allan Domb, Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez and Councilwoman Jannie Blackwell. The Bill seeks to increase the amount of the local wage tax refund available for low-income workers. Under the bill,…
Contact with the criminal legal system comes with a price tag that a growing number of Americans cannot afford to pay. With one in three Americans living with a criminal record, it is no surprise that an estimated ten million Americans owe a total of 50 billion dollars in court imposed fines and costs.
NEW: Everything you need to know about this harmful proposed rule The Social Security Administration just announced that it wants to change its rules for people who get disability benefits, including SSI. Most people would have to prove disability every two years. If Social Security moves forward with this proposal more than two million people will…
Right to Counsel passed unanimously in Philadelphia City Council on November 14! This bill guarantees low income tenants an attorney in eviction cases and is a critical step towards stabilizing communities, stemming the effects of gentrification, and addressing systemic racism & housing discrimination in Philadelphia. Read more about this legislation here and here. Read CLS…
For years, Philadelphia operated an inefficient assistance program for low-income water customers, Philadelphia’s most economically vulnerable households. The program helped only 7,000 of more than 60,000 low-income Philadelphia households per year. Customers in that program received a small grant and fixed bill amounts for 12 months. If you were enrolled in that program and your…
For decades, the Family Advocacy Unit at Community Legal Services has provided holistic family defense for parents involved in child welfare cases, pairing attorneys with social workers and paralegals to provide wrap-around support to our clients. Recently, there has been a growing recognition that children do better when their parents are provided with intensive, tailored…
Thousands of Pennsylvanians face legal barriers to occupational licenses based on their criminal records. With over two dozen professions requiring a license by the state, many people who are otherwise fully qualified to work in a licensed occupation nevertheless face possible denial of the license due to a conviction – often, for a crime which…
Expungements: Good or Bad? Discuss. Two quite different perspectives on the value of record clearing (which I will refer to here as “expungements” as a shorthand) are sometimes articulated. Here’s one. “Expungement is the best remedy for people with records. It really does provide a clean slate. It doesn’t require employers or landlords to follow…
CLS Deputy Director of Operations and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Brenda Marrero on what it means to belong.
The following testimony was delivered by CLS attorney Nadia Hewka to Philadelphia City Council on October 22, 2019. My name is Nadia Hewka, thank you to the committee for inviting me to testify today on behalf of Community Legal Services. I am here to wholeheartedly support the Philadelphia Domestic Workers Bill of Rights as it…
