The Health Rights Law Clinic (“HRLC”), directed by Professor Suzanne Jackson, advocated for a client to help her keep her home care, which was threatened by evaluators using new eligibility criteria. The students argued that the client had significant disabilities which were being discounted because they are "invisible" chronic illnesses like fibromyalgia. Additionally, they argued that her relatively young age should not disqualify her from the home care she needed for herself and the three children in her custody.
Student attorneys considered the assessment tool used by the evaluators and its meaning within the context of the client's daily activities. Additionally, they gathered medical information needed to support the client's request for a reassessment. As a result of their work on behalf of their client, she was found eligible for continued home care. This allowed her to maintain custody of her three children and keep them out of foster care. The client was also able to retain her primary caregiver, which in turn helps her adult daughter have more flexibility to provide care for her own children, who have disabilities as well.
Due to the complexities of the matter, teams of student attorneys across four semesters including Ustina Ibrahim (Class of ‘22), Bhakti Desai (Class of ‘22), Tiange Chen (JD ‘21), Rebecca Frederick (JD ‘21), Christina Saad (JD ‘21), Avram Young (JD ‘21), Rebecca Miller (JD ‘20), and Preeti Rangaraj (JD ‘20), worked toward the client victory.