Despite the heat and humidity of summer, NCLEJ staff members have remained active and productive. On July 29th, NCLEJ and sister organizations the National Health Law Program and New Hampshire Legal Assistance scored an important victory in a challenge to the United States Department of Health and Human Services approval of New Hampshire’s waiver project that would have drastically cut Medicaid coverage and undermined the efficiency of New Hampshire’s Medicaid Program. In his decision granting the plaintiffs request to vacate the decision approving the waiver, the Court noted that the government, failed to adequately consider the work requirement’s effect on Medicaid coverage, as it had in three prior similar cases. As NCLEJ Senior Staff Attorney Travis England observed, the decision “should send yet another signal to the Trump Administration that they cannot dismantle Medicaid by taking coverage away from people who are unable to meet work rules.” Coverage of the case can be found here: Medicaid work rules back in the spotlight as New Hampshire's case heads to court and Federal judge strikes down New Hampshire’s Medicaid work requirements.
 

On July 11, NCLEJ submitted a public comment opposing a rule proposed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that would exclude from public housing “mixed status” families, i.e. those containing family members that include some eligible for housing assistance and some ineligible because of their immigration status. The proposed rule would harm 25,000 mixed status families and would result in the eviction of as many as 108,000 individuals, most of them eligible for benefits but fearful of actions threatening undocumented family members. Read our letter here: https://nclej.org/nclej-mixed-status-families .
 

NCLEJ filed a class action in the Eastern District of New York on behalf of Suffolk County residents with disabilities who have experienced discrimination while trying to access Medicaid, SNAP, and/or Temporary Housing Assistance benefits. The plaintiffs we represent and members of the proposed class are all entitled to accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. The case challenges the Suffolk County Department of Social Services’ failure or refusal to implement policies and procedures that ensure accommodations are provided to benefits applicants and recipients with disabilities. Attorneys on the case include, Greg Bass, Travis England, and Jen Rasay. We are co-counseling with the Empire Justice Center and are grateful for the amazing and critical support from our Board chair, Sandy Hauser, and her team at Dentons.
 

On July 10th I appeared on the NPR Show 1A with Pennsylvania State Professor Erica Frankenberg to discuss the history of discrimination and exclusion that resulted in the use of busing to desegregate schools and the ways that persistent segregation in education and housing limit opportunities for social and economic advancement of all students. The podcast can be found here: The Legacy Of Busing And School Desegregation.
 

NCLEJ has also increased its involvement in national collaborations. On July 25th, NCLEJ was approved for membership in the Leadership Conference for Civil and Human Rights, a coalition consisting of more than two hundred civil and human rights organizations. I also participated in a Ford Foundation sponsored retreat of Executive Directors of civil and human rights NGOs from across the nation.
 

Support for these and other activities comes from the recently announced $200,000 Werder Challenge, a matching grant program by NCLEJ Board Member Sara Werder and a second, anonymous board member. That grant has attracted donations from past and new supporters in the two months since it was announced. Please further NCLEJ’s vital mission by contributing to this generous challenge.