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Organization Description: Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance (MMLA), which includes the Legal Aid Society of Minneapolis (LASM), is a 7-office, 60-attorney program providing the full range of civil legal services free to low-income Minnesotans including elderly persons and persons with disabilities. It provides services to 20 counties in Central Minnesota including Hennepin County. MMLA has a diversified funding base including United Ways; the federal, state, county and city governments; foundations; local law firms; corporations; and individuals. MMLA enjoys a good rapport with, and strong support from, the organized bar. A key funding source for MMLA is the Fund for the Legal Aid Society. Its mission is to raise money from the private sector, primarily the legal community, vendors and other entities that work with the legal community, for the benefit of LASM and other divisions of MMLA. Since its inception in 1982, The Fund has contributed over $11 million, including $1.1 million in 2009. The Fund is a 501(c)(3) organization.

The Director’s duties include:

• Ability to understand and communicate the mission and vision of MMLA and The Fund
• Prepare annual development plan including financial goals and corresponding budget outlining revenue and expenses
• Support the Fund board, executive committee and other Fund committee meetings and activities
• Plan for and implement the Fund’s annual One Hour of Sharing Campaign
• Plan for and implement the Fund’s annual Law Day Dinner
• Monitors progress against goals and produces regular reports
• Maintain positive working relationships with donors, including Fund donors, Fund board, and solicitor relations
• Develop solicitation strategies for growing the major gifts program
• Develop and support efforts to increase planned giving and increase the MMLA endowment fund
• Develop materials related to development including an annual report, MMLA newsletters, solicitation letters, planned giving materials, web-based information, and other materials
• Improve organizational systems for creation and analysis of profiles of donor program interests, participation, and giving patterns to improve acquisition and retention of donors
• Manage donor database, including maintenance of donor information and creation of analytical reports
• Supervise development assistant

The Fund’s primary activities include:

• One Hour of Sharing (OHS) Annual Giving Campaign - Law firm, corporate and personal contributions are solicited primarily in Hennepin County. OHS efforts targeted at individuals include Leaders in Giving (gifts of $1,000 and above), an Associates Campaign at law firms and corporate law departments, and general solicitation of lawyers in Hennepin County requesting gifts of at least the value or salary equivalent of one billable hour. Law firms and corporate law departments are asked to give at least $200 per lawyer. OHS is co-sponsored by the Hennepin County Bar Association (HCBA).
• Annual Law Day Testimonial Dinner held around May 1 each year, also co-sponsored by the HCBA - This largest single annual gathering of lawyers in Minnesota attracts approximately 800 attendees.

Experience and Qualification Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree or fundraising certification desirable
• Experience in cultivating, soliciting and stewardship of donors with a demonstrated track record of securing gifts from individuals and institutions
• Highly skilled at working effectively in a collaborative team environment in which decision making is often shared
• Strong interpersonal skills
• Excellent written and communication skills; proficiency in Microsoft office and skill in tracking donor information in databases
• Demonstrated success in meeting annual fund goals, development management, and special events
• Experience working with non-profit boards and coordinating board and committee meetings
• Self-starter who is organized and who will set goals and see that they are met, able to work independently, as well as in a team, manage multiple projects and maintain a high degree of professionalism and confidentiality
• Enthusiasm for and commitment to the mission of MMLA
• Ability to present ideas in a clear and persuasive manner 
• Familiarity with Minnesota’s legal community, particularly in Hennepin County, and rapport with legal professionals desirable
• Diverse economic, social, or cultural experiences are a plus.

Salary and Benefits: The position is an exempt position. It reports to the Executive Director and the Fund board. Salary depends on experience. Benefits include family health insurance, life insurance, sick leave, and generous vacation.

Applications: Applications should include a resume, three job-related references, a letter explaining interest in this position, and salary requirements. Resumes will be accepted until the position is filled. Information should be submitted to: Pamela Cunningham, Mid-Minnesota Legal Assistance, 430 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401-1780. No Calls Please.

An Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer

Exerpt from Original Law & Politics Article:

The entire article can be found by clicking here.

SCHOOL DAYS

Assault: Not Part of a School’s Phy. Ed. Curriculum

Robbinsdale School District v. Individualized Education Program

On April 24, 2008, Robbinsdale Cooper High School’s assistant principal broke up a fight in the hallway. This wasn’t your usual student brawl, though; a special education student was assaulting a physical education teacher.

Surveillance camera footage revealed a frightening scene: a ninth-grader was late for class and when the teacher directed him to get a tardy pass, the student made lewd gestures, swore and then pushed the teacher down the hallway, pinned her against a wall and threatened her.

When the Robbinsdale School District attempted to have the student expelled or moved to another district, an administrative law judge ruled that the student should be readmitted, so the district sued in order to restart the expulsion process. “The parent of the student requested our assistance to prevent the expulsion and to get the student and the school on a better track to more constructively deal with his disabilities,” says Dan Stewart, supervising attorney for the Minnesota Disability Law Center.

“From our perspective, this case involves a school district’s attempt to expel a child for behavior that is directly related to his disabilities. This violates both federal and state special education law,” says Stewart, who says a double standard is at work. “The school finds nothing wrong with a teacher physically grabbing a student with disabilities when he is disobeying a minor school rule.”

According to the Individualized Education Program, the student had no disciplinary issues on his record prior to this incident.

“The district made more than reasonable efforts to resolve this case,” says Peter Martin, who represents the Robbinsdale School District. “The attorneys want to have their cake and eat it too. It’s regrettable that it’s gotten this far. They want money from a government agency that increasingly has less of it. At this point, that seems to be animating this case.”

The case was pending at press time. -C.M.

For more information about Hunger Solutions Minnesota, visit their website: www.hungersolutions.org

When Anne Henry, the recipient of this year’s Access Press Charlie Smith Award, is asked what she considered the most important issues she had worked on during her career at the Disability Law Center, she placed the “Welsch kids’ cases” at the top of the list. In 1980, Henry was part of a team of lawyers in the class action involving the rights of persons with developmental disabilities in Minnesota’s state institutions. She had primary responsibility for the issues relating to admission and discharge of children. As she discussed these issues with expert witnesses on both sides of the case, Henry realized how important it was to end admission of children to the institutions. The section on Special Procedures Regarding Admission of Children in the Consent Decree approved in September of that year was largely her work. That section stated that an appropriate community placement had to be developed within a year for any child with developmental disabilities admitted to a state institution. It also provided for hearings before the court monitor if a county requested an extension of time to develop a placement. She took responsibility for enforcing that section.

Henry was uniquely qualified to focus on these issues. As a girl she planned to become a teacher. She graduated from the University of Minnesota with a major in child psychology and obtained certification as a nursery, preschool and kindergarten teacher. After graduation she taught at a preschool for children of University of Colorado students and then at a University of Colorado laboratory school in Denver where children with disabilities were included in regular classes. Teaching was in her genes. Her mother, Elizabeth, taught English in Melrose after she graduated from the College of St. Benedict. Her father, Edward, taught political science and economics at St. John’s University for many years.

The “kids’ cases” required a thorough analysis of each child’s individual needs. Henry recalled that many of the children had significant medical needs. A plan had to be developed to ensure that those services would be provided. Parents, social workers and sometimes doctors had to be convinced that the child would be safe. Henry was appalled at the intensive aversive behavioral programs implemented for some of the other children. She insisted that positive behavior programs had to be in place when these children were discharged.

Henry said that she had a lot of help, primarily from Cathy Macdonald, the program specialist hired by the Disability Law Center to assist on these cases. But all would agree that Henry’s background and experience and her ability to work through issues with all the people involved was a crucial component of a successful effort to end the practice of admitting children to state institutions. She simply said that it was a joy to work on bringing children back into the community.

Henry had primary responsibility for another issue in the Welsch case that led to her work for decades in the Minnesota Legislature. The consent decree required that legislation be introduced to eliminate the fiscal incentive for counties to place persons with developmental disabilities in state institutions. For years counties had paid significantly more for services for persons in the community than for services in the state hospitals. Henry monitored the legislative proposals required to eliminate that disparity, but soon realized that her clients needed an ongoing voice there. She expanded the scope of her legislative work to address related issues such as waivered services, the Personal Care Attendant (PCA) program, and allowing children with disabilities to be eligible for services without regard to parental income. Getting rid of this “deeming requirement” was, she said, a huge step toward allowing children to live in their home communities. She said that the waiver has allowed a lot of families to get services flexible enough to meet the needs of children so that they could grow up at home.

These two issues exemplify her career. The kids’ cases demonstrate her insistence that individual needs must be identified and met. Her work on the fiscal incentive and related issues displays her mastery of the legal and policy issues presented.

Henry is buoyed by the memory of the legislative action several years ago to capture unspent funds for persons on the waiting list for waivered services for persons with developmental disabilities. She recalled the successful efforts of the mid-nineties to preserve the PCA program and Tax Equity Fiscal Responsibility Act (TEFRA), which provides health care for children with disabilities.

But she asks sobering questions today. “Why is it that this rich nation requires people to impoverish themselves to get medical care?” The “greatest challenge,” she said, “is how to survive in an era of shrinking resources that has an overlay of extreme selfishness.” She challenges us to be vigilant so that we don’t slide back to policies and practices of times past.

The original article can be found on AccessPress.org by clicking here.

The Mental Health Consumer Survivor Network of Minnesota (CSN) and the Minnesota Disability Law Center (MDLC) are leading a work group to review Minnesota law governing the use of involuntary electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The group’s goal is to propose legislative changes that will strengthen individual’s rights in the process.

The use of involuntary ECT in Minnesota became an issue of public debate this year when a Minnesota man challenged a court order that subjected him to a lengthy course of ECT treatments against his will. Many people voluntarily choose ECT as a form of treatment. However, under Minnesota law ECT is considered an intrusive treatment that cannot be forced on an individual without a court order. A legal guardian cannot consent to ECT, and court orders authorizing involuntary ECT must contain reasonable time limits. The key Minnesota Supreme Court case of Price v. Sheppard sets out other requirements as well.

Although Minnesota provides fairly robust protections compared to other states, the work group’s review of the law reveals that more could be done to ensure that individuals’ rights are protected before they receive this intrusive medical procedure against their will. A definite time limit for court orders would provide greater protection for individuals. Five other states have laws that specify a time limit for court orders for involuntary ECT, ranging from 45 days to 1 year.

The work group is also examining the procedures governing involuntary ECT in the event of an emergency. Current law allows medical directors to administer involuntary ECT without a court order if they declare an emergency situation. However, the statutes provide little detail regarding procedures or limitations for ECT in the event of an emergency. The issue of what emergency conditions would justify the immediate use of forced ECT is an initial focal point for the group’s discussion.

Other issues under discussion include the need to clarify the definition of incompetency to give or withhold consent for ECT; the need for clear limits on when ECT can be forced on individuals who have developmental disabilities; and the clinical basis for balancing the benefits and harms of ECT as compared to other treatments for mental health and other conditions.

The Minnesota Legislature’s House Health Care and Human Services Policy and Oversight Committee heard testimony from work group participants on the topic at its August 2009 hearing. The work group agreed to provide legislators with suggested legislative changes in November, 2009.

In addition to CSN and MDLC, work group participants include representatives of the Office of Ombudsman for Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities, the Mental Health Association of Minnesota, NAMI Minnesota, the Department of Human Services State Operated Services, Allina, MindFreedom (Minnesota branch), WellMind Association of Minnesota, Lutheran Social Services, the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities, the Office of the Ombudsman for Long Term Care, and the Hennepin County Commitment Defense Project.

This article appeared in Access Press in edited form.

Deaf former inmate settles with 2 counties

He was arrested in connection with a car crash and spent months in jail without access to a sign-language interpreter.

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune
Last update: September 23, 2009 - 8:28 PM

A 34-year-old deaf man has reached a legal settlement with two southern Minnesota counties regarding his contention that he sat in their jails for months and was denied access to a sign-language interpreter, his lawyer said Wednesday.

Nobles County is paying $50,000 and Martin County $25,000 to Latell Cheney, 34, of Ames, Iowa, Minneapolis attorney Eric Hageman said.

“Hopefully, this settlement will provide the impetus for these two counties to reevaluate the services they have available to deaf inmates,” Hageman said in a statement.

Martin County has made recent updates to its policy on providing an interpreter for hearing-impaired inmates, said Tanya Skow, assistant jail administrator.

Nobles County Sheriff Kent Wilkening said his jail now supplies an interpreter in a timely manner to an inmate who requests one.

In March 2006, Chaney, living in Fairmont, Minn., at the time, was arrested after a dispute with the mother of his two sons. Chaney claimed that the mother and her boyfriend had pulled his oldest child, a 13-year-old from another relationship, from his car and sped off. Chaney pursued and was arrested after his car crashed into the other car. Chaney was charged with felony criminal assault and criminal damage.

Chaney, who has been deaf most of his life and has limited English comprehension, said the crash was an accident but that he was arrested and interrogated by police through handwritten notes, although he asked Martin County for an interpreter.

Chaney was in jail for six months, held in lieu of $50,000 bail. The bail eventually was reduced to $10,000. After advocates for the deaf complained that Chaney had been neglected by his public defender and treated unfairly, a Minneapolis law firm took the case pro bono. Chaney then received an interpreter just before his release.

In August 2007, Chaney was convicted on all charges. The charges were dismissed, however, when his conviction was overturned on appeal. Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

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