Rap-Ups of a Retired Reformer
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RAP-UPS OF A RETIRED REFORMER STORIES ABOUT HOW LEGAL SERVICES ADVOCATES TRANSFORMED THE LAWS FOR POOR PEOPLE IN MASSACHUSETTS ALLAN RODGERS November 2013 Copyright © 2013 by Allan Rodgers [email protected] All rights reserved DEDICATIONS I dedicate this book first and foremost to the members of my immediate family. Sons David and John, son Michael (who died in 1988), and wife Sandy (who died in 2003) tolerated and encouraged my dedication to my work, enabling me to spend more hours on it, at times, than they should have endured. But they never complained or suggested that I should be doing other things with that time. I also thank my sisters, Joan and Susu, and my brother, David. We have been a close-knit group since the beginning, and their companionship and good humor have energized me constantly. And I salute my friend, Carolyn Harder, who has unfailingly supported me in writing this book. I remember with fondness my mother, Priscilla Rodgers, and my father, Jack Rodgers. Mother started doing volunteer work in Rochester's African- American community well before the advent of the civil rights revolution and continued this work for most of her life. My father, whose politics were quite different from those of his four children, nevertheless was supportive of what we did in our lives, particularly to help people in need. Their tolerance of others and concern for those less fortunate than we were influenced the direction of all four of us. I dedicate this book also to the many legal services advocates, clients, and allies who collaborated so effectively to make the reforms described in this book possible. As the years went on, it became increasingly difficult because of the deteriorating climate for poor people to achieve major gains, and much of the activity became defensive—to hold on to what had already been accomplished and prevent even worse things from happening. In the face of these great odds, it is particularly impressive and heartening that so many people stayed with it; many have made their careers in legal services or in other advocacy groups. I am especially grateful to have served as the leader of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute staff. Many have given their careers to MLRI. Those who left have taken important positions: some became law professors; some judges (including a Justice of the Supreme Judicial Court); some public officials (one has run the federal Medicaid program since 2009, and one is a longtime Massachusetts state legislator); and some are in the private practice of law. I've said many times that the accomplishment I'm most proud of is that I hired them all. Many of those long-standing advocates are still at MLRI, under the leadership of my successor as Executive Director, Georgia Katsoulomitis. Pat Baker – Public Benefits Ruth Bourquin – Public Benefits and Emergency Shelter Neil Cronin – Health Annette Duke – Housing Susan Elsen – Family Fran Fajana – Racial Equity Iris Gomez – Immigration i Deborah Harris – Public Benefits Judith Liben – Housing Margaret Monsell – Employment Vicky Pulos – Health They are the greatest! If you want to find out more than I've been able to describe in this book about what MLRI has accomplished, particularly in recent years, please go to the program's website: www.mlri.org. There you will find the stories about what's been happening and about the many other activities, such as the publications, websites, and trainings that I have not covered in this book because it is focused on advocacy. I also commend those other staff members, not advocates, who have been employees of MLRI over the years. They are not mentioned in the text of this book only because they did not directly advocate for the law changes that are the subject of the book. But they contributed greatly to what was a collective effort to engage in statewide advocacy for poor people and to provide support to others who assist poor people. Technology Staff: Peter Smick, Sharon Armour, Dina Brownstein, Mary Connelly, Deb Gardner, Anne Felker, Linda Landry, Jolette Westbrook, Bob Ritchie, Ed Toro, and others Development Director: Jamie Gilmore Training Staff (Regional and State): Jim Rowan, Ken MacIver, Gladys Maged, Jane Saunders, Nina Coil, Vanita Datta, Ellen Hemley, Dina Brownstein, Brad Honoroff, and many others Publications: Annette Duke, Tom Spriggs, Linda Myer Websites Project: Rochelle Hahn, Caroline Robinson, Gene Koo, and Sandra Quiles Finance: Shirley Witchley, Frankie Lieberman, Larry Smith, Jacqueline Humbert, and Denise Matthews-Turner Office Managers: Jessie Hill, Millie Peters, and Sharon Armour Administrative Assistants: Sylvia deMurias, Gale Halpern, and Lena (Bee) Wilson I also want to commend the MLRI Board of Trustees. Many members have been on the Board for many years. At one point, I counted five or six past Board presidents who continued to be Board members. They were unfailingly supportive of our work and tolerant of my occasional inclination to cut things close to the line (or even over the line) financially. As a result of their willingness to stay supportive even in hard times, we were able to keep as many of our outstanding staff as was possible. Finally, I thank the many funders and strong supporters of legal services and of MLRI: the Massachusetts Legal Assistance Corporation, led since its beginning in the early 1980s by Lonnie Powers; the Legal Services Corporation; lawyers and bar associations; and those in the private sector ii who have come forward as government funding stagnated or declined. We could not have accomplished all this without their help. I also give my great thanks to those who helped me produce this book. Gale Halpern prepared and proofread the manuscript that began as some 460 handwritten pages. She produced an electronic version as well as address lists for use by the book's printer in a direct mailing to over 300 people. MLRI staff helped with addresses, and MLRI will be the repository for the printed books that are not mailed out. MLRI will also post the book on MLRI's website (www.mlri.org) and on the Mass. legal services website (www.masslegalservices.org) for all to see. As this book was going to print, we learned that our longtime colleague at MLRI, Tony Winsor, has passed away. Tony and I worked together at MLRI for nearly thirty-nine years. We were the generalists there, taking on such areas as court reform and language access that did not fall within the specialties of other staff. Tony was dedicated, meticulous in his work, and dogged in pursuit of its success, which he usually achieved. He was also cheery and humorous, a joy to have in the office. I hope that these qualities are adequately portrayed in this book. iii iv TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATIONS .............................................................................. i INTRODUCTION............................................................................ 1 Chapter One: The Status of Laws and Practices Affecting Poor People in the Late 1960s ...................................................... 3 A. Cash Assistance ............................................................................. 3 B. Unemployment ............................................................................... 4 C. Housing.......................................................................................... 4 D. Public Utilities................................................................................ 4 E. Health Law ..................................................................................... 5 F. Language Access ............................................................................ 5 G. Programs for Persons With Disabilities and Youth .......................... 6 H. Consumer Law ............................................................................... 6 I. Discrimination................................................................................ 7 J. Family Law..................................................................................... 7 K. Administrative Agency Law ............................................................. 8 L. The Courts ..................................................................................... 9 Chapter Two: The Climate for Recognizing the Needs of Poor People ................................................................................ 11 Chapter Three: Administrative Agency Advocacy........................ 16 A. Agency Rule-Making.....................................................................16 B. Agency Hearings...........................................................................17 1. Administration & Finance Standard Rules of Adjudicatory Procedure............................................................17 2. Department of Public Welfare (DPW), now called the Department of Transitional Assistance (DTA) ...........................17 3. Division of Employment Security (DES), now called the Division of Unemployment Assistance (DUA) ......................18 4. Local Housing Authorities........................................................20 5. Department of Social Services (DSS), now called the Department of Children and Families (DCF) .............................20 C. Other Agency Decision-Making .....................................................21 1. Department of Public Welfare...................................................21 2. Division of Employment Security .............................................22 D. Administrative Agency Lawlessness ..............................................23