Nebraska Appleseed

Since Arizona passed its divisive and unconstitutional immigration law last April, many top law enforcement officials have raised serious concerns about the approach. Police officials have argued that such laws are an unfunded mandate on local police, reduce officers, undermine community policing, and force local departments to allocate more officers to processing immigration status for individuals without criminal records rather than spending time on the street fighting crime.

Listen to South Sioux City Police Chief Scot Ford describe concerns with Nebraska’s proposed Arizona-style law, LB 48. Ford argues that the bill won’t resolve the broader issue – a broken immigration system – and will put up barriers between police officers and members of the community.

Posted at 10:34am 4 notes #immigration #race #reform #arizona #Fremont

Job Announcement: Director of Finance & Administration→

BACKGROUND
Nebraska Appleseed is a non-profit, nonpartisan public interest law firm that works for equal justice and full opportunity for all Nebraskans. Appleseed uses litigation, public policy reform, and community education to positively impact low-income families, immigrants, children in foster care, and access to health care.

OVERVIEW OF THE POSITION
This position is responsible for working with the Executive Director to manage and oversee the finances of the organization and assisting with the administrative operations of the organization.

Read the Complete Announcement

Posted at 11:50am #jobs

Free Screenings of Film About Arizona-style Law→

Student groups at the Kearney, Lincoln, and Omaha campuses of the University of Nebraska will host a free screening of the award-winning documentary 9500 LIBERTY on Thursday, December 2 at 7pm.

The film chronicles the rise and fall of a Virginia county law that briefly required police to check the immigration status of those they had “probable cause” to suspect were undocumented immigrants.

Helping Small Businesses→

Stethoscope

There was more proof last week that the health reform law is helping just as it was intended. One of the goals of the health care law was to provide tax credits to small businesses to help ease the burden of health care costs. It’s working. According to a new survey, the number of small businesses with 10 employees or less that are offering health care coverage has increased by 15%.

Tell the Governor & DHHS to Slow Child Welfare Privatization→

Sign on and show your support for meaningful reform of the Nebraska child welfare system

Since November 2009, our state has been in the process of reforming its child welfare system to produce better outcomes for Nebraska’s children and families. While we applaud the state for seeing the need to improve a flawed child welfare system, we have deep concerns about the current reform’s ultimate effect on Nebraska’s most vulnerable children and families.

Posted at 9:20am #foster care #reform #HHS

Smart Choices in Hard Times→

Best practices for addressing state budget shortfalls have been identified by a group of ten nonprofit organizations today in a report entitled “Smart Choices in Hard Times: Best Practices for State Budgets.”

“When budgets are tight, families are counting on smart budget choices that protect what matters most. We have to look at the budget as a whole so that good choices are made that protect families in the economic downturn and position Nebraska to recover as quickly as possible. This report provides ideas from other states that have done just that,” Rebecca Gould, Executive Director of the Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest.

The report identifies seven “best practices” from other states for addressing budget shortfalls. Best practices indentified include: expanding tax collection efforts, increasing efficiencies, using available resources, embracing “multiplier” initiatives, implementing creative revenue generating initiatives, updating the tax structure to reflect the service-focused economy, and developing priorities for programs and services.

Loss of Third Child Welfare Lead Agency Demands State Reconsider Reform→

Yesterday, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that Boys and Girls Home and HHS have mutually agreed to terminate their contract with the state as one of three remaining lead agencies in the child welfare reform. Boys and Girls Home had the contract for the entire central, northern and western service areas of the state, creating a significant disruption for children and families in rural Nebraska.

This result is devastating, but it is not a surprise. When contracts with two of the original five lead agencies were terminated in April, the state had an opportunity to restructure the reform and prevent the further collapse of the system. Financial reports have indicated that the lead agencies were losing millions of dollars and incurring unsustainable losses, creating a ripple effect in the system. Children have missed or had delays in receiving critical services and visits with their parents. Yet the state failed to make the necessary changes.

Court Strikes Down City Anti-Immigrant Law→

A federal appeals court has blocked Hazleton, Pennsylvania’s anti-immigration ordinance, which is very similar to the one in Fremont. Both ordinances were drafted and are being defended by the same attorney, Kris Kobach, who is Of Counsel to the Immigration Reform Law Institute, the legal arm of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, which has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center. In a unanimous opinion written by the Chief Judge of the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Philadelphia, the Court ruled that federal law preempted Hazleton’s ordinance, which would punish landlords for renting to undocumented immigrants and employers for hiring them, since regulation of immigration is “clearly within the exclusive domain of the federal government.” It is our hope that communities will continue to reject the fear-mongering and divisive rhetoric that lies behind these unconstitutional and destructive measures.

Read the AP/Omaha World-Herald article | Read the court’s opinion

Posted at 9:20am #immigration #Fremont #Hazleton #race

A Law Clerk’s View of Public Interest Work→

Law Clerk Kelsie Brandlee: “Ever since I decided to go to law school I have been interested in public interest law. So, when I began searching for a job to keep me busy between my 1L and 2L years of law school, I was excited to come across Nebraska Appleseed. While I wanted to work in an area of law that I was interested in, my first priority was to find a job that would allow me to practice the skills that I learned in my first year of law school and provide me with substantive legal work. Fortunately, Nebraska Appleseed allowed me to do both.”