The Alliance for Children's Rights will be
hosting a Foster Care Benefits Advocacy training on Monday, October 3,
2011, at The Alliance's offices. The training will begin at 5:00 PM and
will last approximately 1.5 hours. Attendees will receive 1.5 hours of
CLE credit for attending this training.
Title:
Foster Care Benefits Advocacy Training for Pro Bono Attorneys
Date/Time/Place:
Monday October 03
, 2011 5-6:30 PM
The Alliance for Children's Rights 3333 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 550
LOS ANGELES,
CA
Map: maps.google.com
Contact:
Diego Cartagena
The Alliance for Children's Rights
D.Cartagena@kids-alliance.org
213-368-6010
www.kids-alliance.org
Alliance for Children's Rights Foster Care Benefits AdvocacyMany children in foster care are entitled to receive financial
assistance in the form of State Foster Care Funding. This assistance is
provided to meet a child's most basic needs. Additional funding may be
given to help meet any special medical, developmental or emotional needs
the child might have. This increase in funding helps pay for support
services such as physical therapy, counseling, or medical aides.
Unfortunately, this increased level of funding is often denied, while in
others cases, funding is denied altogether. While such denials involve
technical grounds outside of their control, it is the caregivers and
children that ultimately bear the burden. Without such funding,
caregivers must pay for services out of their own pocket, a situation
which forces some to undertake multiple mortgages, sell their
possessions, and exhaust what little savings they have. The only other
recourse would be to have the child return to foster care. Volunteer
attorneys work on these matters to help avoid such tragic results. In
addition to securing prospective funding for the child, the attorneys
work to secure extensive amounts of back-pay owed money that can range
from $4,000 to as much as $100,000 in some cases.
Advocacy in this realm may consist of:
- Collecting evidence to prove the child's eligibility for particular levels of funding.
- Negotiating with LA County Dept. of Children and Family Services for the provision of funding.
- Marshalling evidence and law in a brief submitted to an administrative law judge.
- Arguing the brief before an administrative law judge.
- Monitoring the case to ensure compliance after a successful decision
In preparation for advocating on a case, volunteers are provided
manuals, legal resources, and sample briefs and documents, and receive
ongoing support and guidance from Alliance staff attorneys. Foster care
benefits cases typically require a time commitment of approximately 65
to 75 hours over a period of about three to four months. Matters are
argued at an administrative fair hearing, where rules of evidence do not
apply. Finally, individuals interested in volunteering do not need to
be licensed in California to undertake this advocacy.
If you are interested in attending, please RSVP with Diego Cartagena
at
d.cartagena@kids-alliance.org. Please feel free to pass this along to
any of your friends or colleagues that might be interested in
attending.
More:
http://kids-alliance.org/
