The 2011 legislative sessions saw the introduction of bills in over 30 states that called for drug testing of people receiving public assistance. Unsurprisingly, most of these bills target people applying for welfare, but there were also bills introduced to test individuals applying for unemployment, public housing and Medicaid.
Thankfully, most of these laws have failed — but not all of them. A Missouri bill awaits a decision by its governor, Jay Nixon, and Florida has signed a bill into law that actually requires individuals applying for assistance to front the cost of their drug test — which the state will reimburse if the test comes up clean. (We've blogged about this law before.)
Although the law is slated to go into effect on July 1, Florida has not yet released guidelines letting us know how exactly the bill will be implemented, where drug testing will be offered or how much it will cost per person. One thing we have learned from preliminary draft guidelines is that individuals who test positive for drug use might be investigated for child abuse.
The people these bills target seem to have one defining characteristic — they are poor. These bills are introduced by legislators based on the wrong belief that poor people use drugs at a higher rate. Being poor does not mean you are more or less likely to use drugs, nor does it mean you relinquish your right to privacy and due process.
Forced drug testing of poor people is unconstitutional, scientifically unsound, fiscally irresponsible and one more way the "war on drugs" is an unfair war on America's most vulnerable populations.
Friday, July 1, 2011
HUD's Donovan advocates flexible admissions policy for ex-offenders
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan wrote a letter to Public Housing Authority (PHA) directors to encourage flexible admissions policies for people re-entering communities following incarceration. The Secretary acknowledged the importance of stable housing in successful reintegration and cited HUD’s efforts to balance public safety with family reunification. The letter urges PHAs to allow those re-entering after incarceration to rejoin their families living in public housing or who are in the Section 8 program when it is appropriate.
To read more including the letter from Secretary Donovan use this link:
http://monarchhousing.org/2011/06/28/hud-encourages-flexible-public-housing-authority-admissions-policies/
Please share with colleagues and co-workers.
Yours,
Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org
To read more including the letter from Secretary Donovan use this link:
http://monarchhousing.org/2011/06/28/hud-encourages-flexible-public-housing-authority-admissions-policies/
Please share with colleagues and co-workers.
Yours,
Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org
Report Analyzes Fed agencies that assist homeless
One year after the release of "Opening Doors: Federal Strategic Plan to End Homelessness," the National Alliance to End Homelessness has released a report analyzing the success of the member federal agencies of the US Interagency Council on Homelessness in meeting Opening Door’s ambitious goals. The plan set the goals of ending chronic and veteran homelessness in five years; homelessness among families, children, and youth in ten years; and moving the country toward ending all homelessness.
The initial data suggest that instead of going down, homelessness in the country may have increased slightly during the first year of the Plan. While the Administration has clearly been active in implementing its Plan, results have not yet started to emerge. External factors such as the economy and the budget deficit, along with an emphasis on coordination and information strategies rather than more substantive housing, treatment, and jobs strategies, have hindered progress.
To read more and to share your opinion use this link:
http://wp.me/peqFK-1NY
Please share or forward this email.
Yours,
Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org
The initial data suggest that instead of going down, homelessness in the country may have increased slightly during the first year of the Plan. While the Administration has clearly been active in implementing its Plan, results have not yet started to emerge. External factors such as the economy and the budget deficit, along with an emphasis on coordination and information strategies rather than more substantive housing, treatment, and jobs strategies, have hindered progress.
To read more and to share your opinion use this link:
http://wp.me/peqFK-1NY
Please share or forward this email.
Yours,
Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org
National Alliance to End Homelessness video
Last week, the National Alliance to End Homelessness conducted a webinar, “Coordinated Entry Part II: Serving Singles and Families in Columbus, OH.” The materials from the session, including the PowerPoint presentation and Q&A are available. We also pleased to provide the video from the webinar. As CoC's prepare for HEARTH, Coordinated Entry models should be part of the discussion.
To read more use this link:
http://monarchhousing.org/2011/06/28/coordinated-entry-works/
Please share with colleagues and co-workers.
Yours,
Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org
To read more use this link:
http://monarchhousing.org/2011/06/28/coordinated-entry-works/
Please share with colleagues and co-workers.
Yours,
Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org
National Alliance to End Homelessness video
Last week, the National Alliance to End Homelessness conducted a webinar, “Coordinated Entry Part II: Serving Singles and Families in Columbus, OH.” The materials from the session, including the PowerPoint presentation and Q&A are available. We also pleased to provide the video from the webinar. As CoC's prepare for HEARTH, Coordinated Entry models should be part of the discussion.
To read more use this link:
http://monarchhousing.org/2011/06/28/coordinated-entry-works/
Please share with colleagues and co-workers.
Yours,
Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org
To read more use this link:
http://monarchhousing.org/2011/06/28/coordinated-entry-works/
Please share with colleagues and co-workers.
Yours,
Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org
Homeless Children: 60 Minutes + Monarch Housing video
On March 7, 2011, we published The hard times generation about Scott Pelley of CBS’s 60 Minutes report on homeless students in Florida. The report made the case that some children, socializing and learning are being cruelly complicated by homelessness. The video has been updated. As we noted then, this also occurs in New Jersey and is unacceptable.
Unemployment continues to hover around nine percent and job creation is so slow, it'll be years before we get back the seven and a half million jobs lost in the Great Recession. American families have been falling out of the middle class in record numbers.
To read more and to watch the video click:
http://monarchhousing.org/2011/06/27/homeless-children-the-hard-times-generation/
Please share this email with colleagues, co-workers and friends.
Yours,
Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org
Unemployment continues to hover around nine percent and job creation is so slow, it'll be years before we get back the seven and a half million jobs lost in the Great Recession. American families have been falling out of the middle class in record numbers.
To read more and to watch the video click:
http://monarchhousing.org/2011/06/27/homeless-children-the-hard-times-generation/
Please share this email with colleagues, co-workers and friends.
Yours,
Richard W. Brown
Chief Executive Officer
Monarch Housing Associates
29 Alden Street
Suite 1B
Cranford, NJ 07016-2156
908-272-5363 ext. 225
908-382-6309 (Fax)
mailto:rbrown@monarchhousing.org
State of the litigation-Discovery & Lakewood gets aggressive
Subject: Litigation Update: Discovery From County/Lakewood Threatening Tent City
Dear Coalition for the Homeless of Ocean County,
I write to update you on two developments in the Right to Shelter Litigation:
1. Discovery from County
As you know, at the last court hearing, the judge denied the County's motion to dismiss all of our claims, and instead allowed the Homeless Individuals to continue the claim that there is a right to shelter under New Jersey's statutory law. Most recently, we asked Judge Grasso (in the first attachment to this e-mail) to permit us to obtain information from the County through discovery, so that we could use that information to amend and expand the claims of the Homeless Individuals against the County.
During a telephone conference with the judge, the County argued that no discovery at all should be allowed. The judge did not accept the County's position, and instead directed the County's attorneys to speak with this law firm about the specific information that the County will have to provide. The judge also agreed with us that the Homeless Individuals should not need to file their amended and expanded claims against the County until after the County provides some discovery. Thus, we will not have to file those claims on July 1 (the originally scheduled date). After the telephone conference, we had a cooperative call with one of the County's lawyers about discovery. We also remain ready to cooperate with the County about other issues if the opportunity arises.
2. Lakewood Threatening Tent City
Thanks to our Coalition, for more than a year, the homeless have been able to continue living in the Lakewood tent city. However, today, I received a letter from Lakewood's lawyers (the second attachment to this e-mail) threatening to go to the judge and seek a court order because of what Lakewood contends are 15 structures, a well and a generator added since last summer when the Consent Order was signed by the judge. We do not believe that this is accurate, but we are going to attempt to resolve Lakewood's concerns. I have discussed this development with the lawyer for Minister Steve Brigham, Todd Wilson, and Todd and I will be speaking with Lakewood's lawyer soon. This way, hopefully, we can continue to cooperate with Lakewood and keep the light on the real problem: the lack of available shelter in the County.
Regards,
Jeff
Jeffrey J. Wild
Member of the Firm
Lowenstein Sandler PC
65 Livingston Avenue
Roseland, New Jersey 07068
Tele: 973-597-2554
Fax: 973-597-2555
-and-
1251 Avenue of the Americas
New York, New York 10020
Tele: 212-262-6700
Fax: 973-5970-2555
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