Comparative Law Workshop Examines Disability Policy in U.S. and Japan- On Thursday, February 18, 2009, the Disability Rights Legal Center co-hosted a workshop on Comparative Law, Policy and Research on Japan's anticipated Disability Law and the Americans with Disabilities at Twenty at Loyola Law School Los Angeles. The program was co-convened by Peter Blanck, University Professor at Syracuse University and Chairman, Burton Blatt Institute, and included participants from Global Partnership for Disability Development (GPDD), Hokusei Gakuen University, Hokkaido, Japan, Japanese Government Committee on Disability Law Development, Loyola Law School and Disability Rights Legal Center. Guest speakers presented about gaps in the Americans with Disabilities Act and included: Professor Elyn Sacks, USC Law Associate Dean and Orrin B. Evans Professor of Law, Psychology, and Psychiatry and the Behavioral Sciences; Charles Siegal, Partner Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP and DRLC Board member; Paula Pearlman, DRLC Executive Director and Eve Hill, Sr. V.P. Burton Blatt Institute and former DRLC Executive Director. The workshop was convened as the Japanese government is preparing groundwork for its new disability rights law and the U.S. is celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. This first- of- its- kind workshop examined disability law, policy, and research in Japan and the U.S. The focus was on comparative strengths and challenges in implementation of disability law, with discussion of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. It is anticipated the proceedings will be published.

DRLC Executive Director Elected to LAAC Board- DRLC Executive Director, Paula Pearlman, has been elected by the Legal Aid Association of California's membership to serve a three year term on the Board of Directors. Other new Board members include: Georgia Burke, National Senior Citizens Law Center; Genevieve Richardson, Bay Area Legal Aid; Gary Slossberg, Los Angeles Center on Law & Justice; and Paul Tepper, Western Center on Law & Poverty. Congratulations to all!

Statewide Coordinating Council on Autism Southern Section Meeting- On Thursday, February 18, Outreach Coordinator, Eric Turner, attended a joint meeting of the six Southern Section Regional Autism Taskforces. Dr. Louis A. Vismara, Policy Consultant to Senator Darrell Steinberg, provided an overview of the Statewide Coordinating Council on Autism to taskforce members, who discussed policy recommendations with Dr. Vismara. Eric represents the Disability Rights Legal Center as the co-chair of the Outreach and Special Events Subcommittee for the South Los Angeles Autism Regional Taskforce (SLAART). SLAART will be hosting a town hall meeting and special education training for parents at Loyola Law School Los Angeles on Saturday, March 13 from 10AM-12PM. For more information or to RSVP please e-mail SouthLA.Autism@gmail.com

Inland Empire Advocacy Training- On Saturday, February 13, Heather McGunigle, Inland Empire Program Director, conducted a Special Education and In-Home Supportive Services training to the Riverside Fiesta Educativa Parent Support Group in Murrieta.

DRLC Open House Thursday, February 25- Please come and bring a friend to the DLRC's Open House from 5:30pm-6:40pm at our main office on the campus of Loyola Law School Los Angeles near downtown LA. Meet our staff and student externs, enjoy some refreshments, learn about volunteer opportunities, and see first hand how we change the lives of people with disabilities. Please RSVP to Anabel.Prudencio@lls.edu or 213-736-8195, Video Relay: 866-912-8193
Contact the Disability Rights Legal Center using a video relay phone at 866-912-8193. DRLC's video relay phone is now operational, this will help us better serve the deaf and hard of hearing community.
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DRLC Job Openings- Please visit our website to view the latest positions announcement. Click here to view

DRLC on Facebook- Become a fan of the DRLC on Facebook as we try to reach our goal of 500 fans.

DRLC Wish List - DRLC has started a Wish List under the How to Help page of our website. To donate a gift to the DRLC please contact Marianne Brazer at 213-736-1432 or by email. Thank You.

Cars For Causes-Donate your old cars, trucks, and boats, RVs, motorcycles, running or non-running, to Cars for Causes and help the DRLC. If you want more information about the car donation process, please click here for how to donate a car. 

Shop at Ralphs and Support the DRLC!-If you recently upgraded your Ralphs Club Card to the Ralphs Rewards Card program, you must re-register to continue fundraising for the DRLC. After you complete the Ralphs Rewards Card application at any Ralphs store, go to www.ralphs.com, click on Community Contribution, select Participant, and designate the Disability Rights Legal Center as your donation recipient. The DRLC NPO number is 84300. Every time you swipe your card at Ralphs, a percentage of your purchases will be donated to the DRLC!

Shopping that Helps the DRLC!- Help support the DRLC as you shop for friends and family.  Shop through iGive.com, when you Shop online at over 700 brand name stores and a portion of each purchase will be donated to the Disability Rights Legal Center! Register today and search for the Disability Rights Legal Center as the cause you want to support this year and help support our organization by shopping!

Donate Online to the DRLC!- The online credit card donation feature is now available on the DRLC website. This quick and easy function can be used for general donations. >> Click Here to Make a Donation

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The CLRC has a contract with the California Office of the Patient Advocate (OPA) to provide information about health care and patient rights. The OPA's support has enabled us to provide educational seminars and materials to individuals throughout California. Thanks to OPA funding, the CLRC has a new seminar on Navigating Managed Care that is available on CD and on our website.

The OPA also provides important information for patients and health consumers on its website at www.opa.ca.gov. The OPA produces a guide on How to Use Your Health Plan, available at www.opa.ca.gov/english/about/consumer_information/HMO_Guide.aspx, which contains valuable information on how to get the most from your health insurance plan, and what do if you have problems with your health plan. They also produce the Health Insurance Quality Report Cards, available at www.opa.ca.gov/report_card, which include rankings of the various health plans in California based on consumer satisfaction surveys.

The OPA also works with the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) to ensure that Californians have access to quality health care. The DMHC is responsible for overseeing all HMOs and Blue Cross and Blue Shield health plans in California. They have an HMO HelpCenter, which provides assistance to health consumers and helps to resolve disputes between health consumers and their health plans. OPA and DMHC materials are offered in many languages. For more information about the DMHC, call 888-466-2219 or visit www.dmhc.ca.gov.

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Links

>>DRLC WEB SITE: https://www.disabilityrightslegalcenter.org/  
>>WEB SERVICES: http://www.abstraktdesigns.com
>> SUBSCRIBE OR UNSUBSCRIBE: To change or remove your e-mail address from the Good News Report, or for more information, e-mail eric.turner@lls.edu.
>> Disability Rights Legal Center is located at:
919 Albany Street
Los Angeles, CA 90015
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