Law and Disability Conference

DISABILITY ISSUES TO BE DISCUSSED AT APRIL 7 CONFERENCE

The public is invited to attend a free workshop on disability issues sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. This free Law and Disability Conference will be held Tuesday, April 7, 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at the New Jersey Law Center in New Brunswick off Ryders Lane.

Cosponsored by the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the conference is planned and presented by the Community Health Law Project (CHLP).

After a keynote address from Thomas Garrity, Jr., chief of the Collingswood Police Department and board member of the Mental Health Association of Southwestern New Jersey, the conference begins with a plenary session, where a panel of experts will discuss how jail diversion programs, pioneered in New Jersey by Mr. Garrity, are working with the nonviolent mentally ill. Harold B. Garwin, Esq., president and executive director of CHLP, will serve as moderator for the session. The panel includes Robert Davison, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Essex County; Mary Lynn Reynolds, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Southwestern New Jersey; Juan Santiago, director of the Developmentally Disabled Offenders Program, Arc of New Jersey; Linda Reynolds, program director of the Adult Outpatient Unit, Trinitas Regional Medical Center; Maureen O'Brien, assistant prosecutor, Union County Prosecutor's Office; and Mr. Garrity. Following the plenary session, participants have a choice of attending one of two concurrent workshops.

David Popiel, senior managing attorney of CHLP, moderates the first workshop, "The ADA Amendments Act of 2008: Reversing the Supreme Court's Assault on the ADA." Panelist James Weisman, Esq., general counsel, United Spinal Association, joins Mr. Popiel in a discussion of the court decisions that necessitated the amended Americans with Disabilities Act legislation, its effect on ADA jurisprudence and transportation law under the ADA.

The second workshop, "The Future of Mental Health Care Reform in New Jersey," examines recent reforms in the state as well as those that were part of the federal economic stimulus package, plus the recent amendment to the federal Mental Health Parity Act. Mr. Garwin moderates the discussion by panelists Dennis Lafer of the Mental Health Association of New Jersey; Joshua Spielberg of Legal Services of New Jersey; and Eve Weissman, Health Care Coordinator, New Jersey Citizen Action.

The Law and Disability Conference is made possible by funding from the IOLTA Fund of the Bar of New Jersey. Although admission is free, registration by April 1 is required. A brochure containing a registration form is available at the Law Center, by calling the Foundation at 1-800-FREE-LAW, or online at www.njsbf.org.

Founded in 1958, the New Jersey State Bar Foundation is the educational and philanthropic arm of the New Jersey State Bar Association. The Bar Foundation's mission is to promote public understanding of the law through a free, comprehensive public education program. Among its activities, the Foundation conducts seminars and conflict resolution training, publishes materials, operates a videotape loan library and speakers bureau, and coordinates elementary, middle and high school mock trial competitions. For more information about the Foundation's programs and publications, visit us online at www.njsbf.org or call 1-800-FREE-LAW.

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