Project HEAL: Advocacy and Policy for Individual's with Disabilities

Congress enacted the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act [1] mandating a Free Appropriate Public Education[2] in the Least Restrictive Environment[3].  Appropriate education is a significant public health concern, as educational achievement is closely associated with health outcomes.  Project HEAL (Health Education and Advocacy) provides pro-bono legal advocacy for low income families to ensure children with disabilities receive appropriate education. Project HEAL services include legal counsel and representation provided by lawyers and law students. This study reports the legal and policy outcomes of the Project HEAL.  From 2009 through  2013, Project HEAL provided 2,112 instances of advocacy services.  The average age of the child served was 11 (S.D. 5).  The majority of children served were African American (>61%).  The top five diagnoses were Autism Spectrum Disorder (21.02%), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (17.97%), Emotional Disturbance (9.49%), Learning Disabilities (8.47%), and Intellectual Disabilities (7.12%).  Project HEAL resulted in 220.5 hours of compensatory services awarded, 79 (24.9%) clients with implemented professional recommendations, 74 (23.3%) clients with changes in accommodations, 83 (26.2%) clients had changes in program supports and 94 (29.6%) clients had a change in services. Over 300 (N=312) IEP meetings were attended and 63 (19.8%) clients moved to more appropriate placement. 

            Expansion of pro bono and sliding scale advocacy services will facilitate the ability to obtain free and appropriate educational services in the least restrictive environment for  children with disabilities.

  

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[1] 104 Stat. 1142

[2] 20 U.S.C §1400

[3] Daniel R.R. v. State Bd. Of Educ., 874 F.2d 1035, 1050 (5^th Cir. 1989)

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Public health or related education
Public health or related laws, regulations, standards, or guidelines
Public health or related organizational policy, standards, or other guidelines
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the benefit of legal advocacy for low to moderate income families with children that have disabilities. Identify outcomes where families received service through a medical-legal partnership. Assess the need for advocacy for children with disabilities.

Keyword(s): Advocacy, Disabilities

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I was a legal clerk for Project HEAL participating as a Degenstein Foundation/ Cherie M. Millage Public Interest Law Fund Fellow.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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