Health Reform Implementation: NCLEJ Comments to HHS on State Health Exchanges

NCLEJ’s comments address issues such as assuring that the exchanges and their services are accessible to individuals with low literacy, individuals with disabilities, limited English speakers, and lawfully present immigrants in mixed status families.  NCLEJ also recommends that…

FEMA Still Falls Short in Disaster Planning for People with Disabilities

After Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005, thousands of displaced persons with disabilities were left stranded in shelters, forced into institutions, and given trailers without ramps, with inaccessible bathrooms, inadequate room to maneuver wheelchairs, and other accessibility barriers…

The Closed Digital Door: State Public Benefits Agencies’ Failure to Make Websites Accessible to People with Disabilities and Usable for Everyone

State public benefits agencies increasingly rely on their website as a means of providing information to the public, and as a means of applying for Medicaid, Food Stamps, and cash assistance. Cary LaCheen’s new report, discussing the findings…

Lawsuit Causes FEMA to Disgorge Documents on Accessible Temporary Housing

In January 2010, after a long delay, FEMA released 700 pages of materials to NCLEJ which NCLEJ had requested under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) in March 2009. FEMA only released the material after NCLEJ, represented by…

NCLEJ Testimony on Issues on New York City WeCARE Program for Public Assistance Applicants with Disabilities

New York Court Approves Plan to Restore Benefits to Thousands of New York Families of Children with Disabilities in Case Brought by NCLEJ and Colleagues

In September 2007 the state court approved a comprehensive remedial plan developed by the parties in this case. The case, Doe v. Doar, successfully challenged a New York policy that changed the formula for calculating cash assistance for…

NCLEJ Addresses FEMA on Serious Barriers Faced By Many Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals

NCLEJ Letter to New York State Welfare Agency on Local District Self Evaluations of ADA Compliance

NCLEJ and Colleagues Win Settlement Requiring Accessible Trailers for Katrina Evacuees with Disabilities

On September 26, 2006, the Center and colleagues secured a favorable settlement in Brou v. FEMA, a case filed by the Center and others in February 2006 against FEMA on behalf of evacuees from hurricanes Katrina and Rita…