Reflections on Racial Injustice from CLS’s Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer
Reflections from CLS Deputy Director of Operations and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer Brenda Marrero on racial injustice.
The IRS Must Make Stimulus Payments Accessible to Seniors and People with Disabilities
Following a few days of national outcry, the IRS reversed course on Wednesday, April 1, 2020, and announced that Social Security recipients who do not usually file taxes will receive stimulus payments under the CARES Act automatically. The IRS’s decision should be celebrated, but it doesn’t go far enough. Three million seniors and people with…
Unemployment Benefits are a Vital Part of the Stimulus Bill
As Congress works its way towards the third and most important stimulus bill, a central tenet of that legislation must be this: Strong unemployment benefit provisions are vital for ensuring the economic survival of millions of working people who suddenly have no paychecks. Despite all the airtime that $1000/$2000 cash payments are getting, Unemployment Insurance…
New Rule from Social Security Limits Social Security Access for Limited English Proficient Individuals
The Social Security Administration (SSA) has published a new rule that could cause immigrants and limited English proficient people with disabilities to be denied vital income supports. Previously, SSA considered a person with a disability’s ability to communicate in English when evaluating whether they were able to work, and thus qualify for disability benefits. With…
TAKE ACTION: Tell Social Security Not to Create Additional Burdens for People with Disabilities!
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…
The Dangerous Weight of Water Debt
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…
Data Shows that Our Holistic Parent Representation Helps Kids Too
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…
Clean Slate: Changing Lives by Sealing Criminal Records
In 2018, Governor Tom Wolf of Pennsylvania signed the Clean Slate Act. With its signing, Pennsylvania became the first state
