In cooperation with the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Schiff Hardin has been counsel for a class of 34,000 abused and neglected children
in the custody of the Illinois Department of Children and Family
Services (DCFS). Our attorneys obtained a consent decree requiring the
Department to provide the children in its custody with minimally
adequate care.
Also in cooperation with the Roger Baldwin Foundation of the
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), our firm has brought a class
action suit on behalf of certain individuals who have been subject to involuntary commitment into the custody of the Illinois Department of Human Services.
The suit alleges that these committed individuals are not receiving
appropriate mental health treatment as required by the United States
Constitution.
Additionally, Schiff Hardin has joined a group of legal advocacy organizations in a lawsuit challenging the improper placement of individuals with mental illness in nursing homes.
The lawsuit charges that hundreds of New York residents with mental
illness, but no need for nursing care, have been discharged from New
York State psychiatric hospitals to nursing homes in and around New York
State in recent years. While in the nursing homes, most of these
individuals live in locked wards and receive grossly inadequate
psychiatric and social work care. The lawsuit resulted from a year-long
investigation conducted by Schiff Hardin, Disability Advocates, Inc.,
New York Lawyers for the Public Interest, Inc. and Mental Hygiene Legal
Service, Second Department.
Glenkirk Foundation
In cooperation with the Glenkirk Foundation, we have
represented developmentally disabled people in Chicago's northern
suburbs in connection with employment discrimination matters.
The Glenkirk Foundation's mission is to provide quality, lifetime
support and services that empower individuals with developmental
disabilities to participate fully in all areas of community life.
Schiff Hardin was honored by The Glenkirk Foundation in 1998 and 2002 with their "Volunteer Service Award."
For more information on the Glenkirk Foundation, visit their Web site: http://www.glenkirk.org/.
The Pro Bono Center for Disability and Elder Law
We handled several matters for the The Pro Bono Center for Disability and Elder Law. These matters include:
- efforts to obtain cancellation of an amount due to the Social
Security Administration, which had been deducted from our client's
social security check after she had already paid it,
- obtaining cancellation of a student loan due to our client's
disability, and claims that food stamp allotments were improperly
reduced because she received an insurance payment for property damage to
her house.
Schiff Hardin's work was honored with The Pro Bono Center for Disability and Elder Law's "2006 Volunteer of the Year Award" and the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois "2006 Annual Excellence in Pro Bono and Public Interest Award."
For more information on The Pro Bono Center for Disability and Elder Law, visit their Web site: http://www.probonocdel.org/.