Greetings to Friends and Supporters of the Arizona Center for Disability Law
                       
I want to thank you for your continued interest and support of the Arizona Center for Disability Law (Center).  As the new Executive Director, I am looking forward (with your help) to meeting the legal and policy challenges that confront people with disabilities. 

Please permit me to take a moment to introduce myself.  I was born and raised in Arizona and received my Juris Doctorate from the Arizona State University in 1974.  I practiced law in Arizona before moving to Washington, D.C. to begin my career in federal service.  I had the pleasure of serving as a Special Assistant to then Attorney General Griffin Bell in the Carter Administration.  Also, I have served as an Immigration Judge for the U.S. Department of Justice and as Assistant General Counsel for the U.S. Office of Personnel Management.  Until my move back to Arizona, I was the Regional Chief Administrative Law Judge for the U.S. Social Security Administration with responsibility for the eight-state Southeast region.  I am convinced that my experience will mesh nicely with the considerable talent and experience of other Center staff so as to make us an even more potent force in Arizona in service to those with disabilities.

After only four weeks on the job, I can tell you that the need for our assistance exceeds our resources.  Just since my arrival our staff has served over 165 individuals.  We are committed to maximizing our impact in the community by using our resources as efficiently as possible.  Having said this, the number of people we could serve would be greatly expanded with even more resources.   To this end, I ask that you consider making a tax-deductible year-end contribution to the Center.  You can also support the Center through the Bashas’ Thanks A Million Program.  Bashas will donate 1 percent of your total sales to the Center every time you shop with your Bashas’ Thank You Card.  Participation is easy.  Just ask a Bashas’ cashier to link the Center’s group ID number (27946) to your Bashas’ Thank You Card.  The program runs through March 31, 2006.  Your support is always appreciated.

My goal is to build on the Center’s excellent record by working with like-minded organizations, policy makers, businesses, institutions, and individuals in the community to more fairly and fully integrate people with disabilities into employment, housing, public accommodations, and education and to ensure that people with disabilities have access to the health and mental health care services they need.  We can do this only with your help.  If you have ideas for updates or issues you would like us to address, please let me know.  You can reach me at hwatkins@azdisabilitylaw.org; [If you would prefer to opt out of our email list, let us know and this will be the only e-mail you will receive from us]. 

I also want to thank Leslie Cohen who stepped down as Executive Director of the Center on October 21.  Leslie worked tirelessly for the Center for the past ten years.  My thanks and regards to her for her work on behalf of the Center.

               
Over 125 People Celebrated The Center’s 10^th Anniversary

The Center’s 10^th Anniversary Celebration in Phoenix on October 20^th was a big success.  We raised over $12,000 and paid tribute to the outstanding work of the Center over the past decade.  The Center extends special thanks to the law firm of Perkins, Coie, Brown and Bain for hosting our celebration and to all of you who supported our work through the silent auction.

 

Center Obtains Lifesaving Transplant for Three Year Old Linda Moreno

In October, Jennifer Nye, staff attorney for our Health Team, obtained a  lifesaving transplant for Linda Moreno.  Linda is a three year old Phoenix resident with metastatic retinoblastoma.  Retinoblastoma is an extremely rare cancer that occurs in only 200-300 children per year in the United States. In approximately 5% of these cases, or in about 10-15 children per year, the cancer recurs and metastasises outside of the eye, as it has in Linda’s case.

Jennifer originally filed a lawsuit in Maricopa County Superior Court against the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS), Arizona’s Medicaid program, seeking a reversal to an earlier decision by AHCCCS to deny an autologous stem cell transplant for Linda.  AHCCCS had decided the transplant was “experimental.”  AHCCCS requires evidence of standard of care, peer reviewed journal articles, and safety and effectiveness to find a service to be non-experimental. The Center argued that meeting any one of these standards is legally sufficient to show the procedure is non-experimental.

In Linda’s case, AHCCCS relied, in part, on the fact that there have not been large randomized studies of the stem cell transplant for metastatic retinoblastoma to find that it is not the standard of care and therefore experimental.  The Center submitted to the Court affidavits by leading pediatric oncologists across the county who all agreed that if Linda did not receive this transplant, she had a 90% chance of death. With the transplant, she had a 75-80% chance of survival.  Before a Court date could be set, Linda’s health plan authorized the transplant.

Center Wins Battle Over Diabetic Testing Equipment in Tempe

In October, the parents of Alexander Lagman (Alex) and the Arizona Center for Disability Law, agreed to settle a federal lawsuit filed against the Tempe Union High School District (District) under the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The lawsuit sought preliminary and permanent injunctive relief as well as compensatory damages on behalf of Alex, a seventeen year old Mountain Pointe High School student with Type I diabetes. The lawsuit alleged the District violated federal disability law when it prohibited Alex from carrying his glucose (sugar) monitoring supplies, thereby placing his health and safety at risk.

Under the terms of the Agreement, the District may not interfere with Alex’s right to possess his testing equipment while at school or at school functions. The District also agreed to publish and widely disseminate a statement to parents, students, and staff indicating that students with diabetes may carry testing equipment to school without risk of disciplinary consequences.

Alex was diagnosed with Type I diabetes at the age of 12 in 2001. Alex’s body does not produce insulin; therefore, he must carry a glucose testing meter at all times and monitor his glucose levels throughout the day. He uses an insulin pump to ensure the proper amount of insulin is available at all times to move sugar from his blood to his cells. Alex tests his blood approximately 4-10 times throughout the day to ensure that his glucose levels remain within the targeted range. The process takes approximately 30 seconds and does not require Alex to leave his classroom to conduct the test.

Fair Housing Victories

In November, Diana Chen, our fair housing attorney, had two victories on behalf of clients with psychiatric disabilities.  I’d like to highlight just one of those cases for you. 

KH, an individual with bi-polar disorder, filed a housing discrimination charge against a rural Arizona apartment complex.  KH alleged that the landlord refused to permit two doctor-prescribed therapeutic cats to reside in her apartment as a reasonable accommodation.  As a result of the landlord’s delay in granting the accommodation, both therapeutic animals were killed during the separation.  The Arizona Civil Rights Division conducted an investigation that resulted in a cause finding.  Diana represented KH in a mediation negotiation and was able to convince the landlord to pay $61,000 in damages (almost exclusively emotional distress) to KH.

                                       
New Staff                      

I am pleased to introduce you to several new staff at the Center. 

Robbin Coulon is a new staff attorney in Phoenix on our health and mental health care teams.  She comes to us with over 20 years of legal experience, much of that serving as an Assistant Attorney General with the Arizona Civil Rights Division.

Sara Boles is our new special education advocate in Tucson.  Sara most recently served as a social worker for the Arizona Division of Developmental Disabilities.

Kathy Roberts is our new Office Manager in Phoenix.

Paul Rubi is our new support staffer for our mental health team in Phoenix.

 

Staff Departures

Rose Daly-Rooney has decided to leave the Center after 17 years of outstanding work on behalf of people with disabilities.  She will be the new Assistant Attorney General in the Arizona Civil Rights Division in Tucson.  Rose began her career as our special education advocate, went to law school, then came back to the Center to work in the employment arena.  Rose has championed many significant cases that have directly benefitted Arizonans with disabilities.  We wish her well and look forward to partnering with her and the Arizona Civil Rights Division on future housing, employment and public access cases.  The Center will be hosting a reception to honor Rose’s work.  The event will take place on December 22 in Tucson from 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm.  We will serve coffee and cake and honor Rose with a brief program.  We will hold the event in the foyer of our building in Tucson.  We are located at 100 N. Stone.  The event is free.  Please stop by and thank Rose for her hard work on behalf of people with disabilities.

 

Thank you again for your continued interest and support of the Center.  I look forward to updating you soon.

Henry G. Watkins
Arizona Center for Disability Law
hwatkins@azdisabilitylaw.org
www.azdisabilitylaw.org