FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact Florence Nathan
732-937-7518
March 23, 2010
The public is invited to attend a free conference on disability matters sponsored by the New Jersey State Bar Foundation. The Law& Disability Issues Conference will be held Tuesday, April 27, 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 Jennifer Velez, Esq., Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services, the conference begins with a plenary session, at which a panel of experts will discuss New Jersey's past and future efforts to integrate people with developmental disabilities and mental illness into the community rather than place them in institutions, in line with the U.S. Supreme Court's Olmstead decision. David P. Lazarus, Esq., Director of Litigation for CHLP, will serve as moderator for the session. The panel includes Jon Poag, Assistant Commissioner of Mental Health Services; Joseph Young, Esq., Executive Director of Disability Rights New Jersey; and Kenneth Ritchey, Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Developmental Disabilities.
Following the plenary session, participants have a choice of attending one of two concurrent workshops.
Stuart H. Weiner, Esq., Managing Attorney of CHLP, moderates the first workshop, "How to Protect the Privacy of Your Psychiatric Hospital Liens." Panelists Barbara Johnston, Director of Advocacy, Mental Health Association in New Jersey, Inc.; Phillip Lubitz, Associate Director, National Alliance on Mental Illness New Jersey; and Mr. Young will explain how former patients in state and county psychiatric hospitals, whose records can still be viewed by the public, will gain privacy rights protecting them from stigma and identity theft when a new Lien Privacy Law takes effect in November.
The second workshop, "Health Care Reform: How Did We Get Here?," is a combination workshop-lecture that offers a synopsis of the often contentious century-old history of health care reform as background to the bills now before Congress. Recent legislation dealing with coverage of autism and mental health services will also be discussed by a panel consisting of Dennis Lafer, Consultant, Mental Health Association in New Jersey, Inc., and Robert Titus, Public Policy Director, Autism New Jersey. Moderator is David J. Popiel, Esq., Senior Managing Attorney, CHLP.
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 21 is required. A brochure containing full details and 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.