Legal Momentum In Brief, August 2009

e-Newsletter of Legal Momentum

August 14, 2009 -

  

Justice Sotomayor: A Groundbreaking Justice for the Supreme Court

Legal Momentum joins our colleagues and sister organizations in celebrating the confirmation and swearing-in of Justice Sonia Sotomayor. Read Legal Momentum President Irasema Garza’s  statement on her confirmation, and Garza’s commentary on what Justice Sotomayor will bring to the bench.

Time to Fix Welfare as We Know It: New Report Shows How Welfare Fails Women and Children

Recognizing the economic climate’s stinging impact on low-income women and families, Legal Momentum is coordinating efforts to galvanize the women’s advocacy community around the federal reauthorization for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), a process set to begin in September 2009. Legal Momentum recently published two ground-breaking new reports: The Bitter Fruit of Welfare Reform, which outlines how TANF is failing to reach the vast majority of poor children and mothers that it is designed to serve; and Meager Benefits, Widespread Hardship, which focuses on how diminishing welfare benefits perpetuate material hardships for women and children.   

For more, read Irasema Garza’s Huffington Post commentary outlining these issues.
Read the full reports The Bitter Fruit of Welfare Reform, and Meager Benefits, Widespread Hardship.
Take Action by joining our EndPovertyNow listserv.


Protecting Victims of Domestic Violence from Job Discrimination: New York State Passes Pioneering Bill

As a result of legislation passed last month, victims of domestic violence in New York State have some significant help in trying to keep a job and keep safe.  With the passage of the important bill (A775A/S958B), New York State joined Illinois and Oregon as the only states prohibiting employment discrimination against victims of domestic violence. The law took effect immediately. 

Learn more about the impact of the law and Legal Momentum’s role in its drafting and implementation.

While we have reason to celebrate these actions in New York, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s recent decision to completely strike state funding for domestic violence in California threatens to put thousands of women and families at greater risk. Legal Momentum is working with sister organizations to advocate against this action and determine if alternative funds or federal funds can be appropriated to prevent shelter closures and guarantee the continuance of services to victims of domestic violence. For more, visit the LA Times coverage of the current efforts to block the Governor’s vetoes.


Legal Momentum Highlights the Invisible Face of Immigration: Women and Children in Need

The public discussion of immigration in America is heavily focused on male immigrants, with very little attention given to immigrant women and children who now constitute the majority of foreign born residents. New America Media recently published an important survey Women Immigrants: Stewards of the 21st Century Family which finally turned the spotlight on the nation’s 18 million foreign born women. NAM is following up on the survey with a national outreach campaign bringing together panels of experts to discuss the results and draw attention to the challenges facing women immigrants living in America. Irasema Garza and Immigrant Women Program Staff Attorney Kavitha Sreeharsha participated in the New York and Washington, DC panels to share Legal Momentum’s perspective -- a perspective that is informed by our economic and personal security focus and our longstanding work on behalf of immigrant women in the area of violence and family law issues.

To learn more about the unique challenges immigrant women confront, read Garza’s commentary, The Invisible Face of Immigration or watch Univision’s Aquí y Ahora piece about the plight of deported mothers separated from their children, Huérfanos de la deportación, which features Legal Momentum.


Victory for Pregnant Workers: Case Marks an End to Pregnancy Discrimination in Suffolk County Parks Police Department

Legal Momentum is celebrating a federal jury verdict that will end Suffolk County’s discriminatory policy of denying light duty to pregnant officers in the Park Police Department. Legal Momentum teamed with attorney Janice Goodman to stand up for the rights of Suffolk County Park Police Officer Tara Germain, who was forced to take a nearly year-long unpaid leave of absence during her pregnancy because of a discriminatory policy.  

Read more about the Germain case.