The VA is offering COVID-19 vaccines to all veterans, their family members (who are 16+ years old), and their caregivers. Learn more here: VA Vaccine Info

Attorneys and their age-eligible family members became eligible on April 5 for the vaccine.  Attorneys are a part of the “legal frontline workers”, which includes court staff, judges, attorneys, court reporters and parole and probation officers. Check your email for more info on this- the Bar sent an email out about it on April 6.

All adults will be eligible for the vaccine in Oregon beginning April 19.

Oregon has a “get vaccinated” tool to help determine eligibility and find a vaccine. The eligibility has been expanded in the past week to include several new large groups. https://govstatus.egov.com/find-covid-19-vaccine

Section members:

We are considering hosting a virtual lunch and learn, in which a medical provider would speak on the potential long-term health impacts of COVID-19, related to how those impacts may affect advocacy for clients with disabilities. This would not be for CLE credit. If you’re interested, please complete this very short survey: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WGXBCCF

This round of stimulus payments includes payments for adult dependents with disabilities. Payment will go to the individual claiming them as a dependent.  The Social Security Administration previously indicated stimulus payments would not count as income for SSI recipients and would be excluded from resources for 12 months. Read more here: https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2021/03/19/stimulus-payments-headed-to-adult-dependents-with-disabilities/29250/?fbclid=IwAR0O8wfx30zRLjUdl9G8GoQraUMXFptQ335VhCcgML4WWzn1s6_-NDumo7o

Law Clerks for Diversity is hosting an event in partnership with the National Disabled Law Students Association. They will have a panel of former law clerks talking about navigating the hiring process and clerkships with a disability. The event is 3/24 at 12:00 PM PST. Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/disability-and-judicial-clerkships-panel-tickets-145735939117

The Law & Mental Health Conference, which is focusing this year on Reducing the Impact of Alcohol on State and Local Governments, is being held virtually, July 19 & 20, 2021. Early Bird registration is before April 1 and offers a 30% discount. Find out more and register here: http://www.lawconferences.org

They also have the 2020 program available to watch on video for free, and you can get CLE credit for watching the 2020 program too.

There is an upcoming CLE series on ADA compliance, which has two sessions: “How to Make Zoom More ADA Compliant” and “Creating ADA Compliant Word/PDF Documents.” The sessions are 2/10/21, and 3/10/21, both from 12-1:15PM. Learn more and sign up here:  http://www.osbar.org/cle/2021/ADA21.pdf

Individuals within Group 1A can now receive the COVID-19 vaccine- and that group includes: “Homecare workers, personal support workers, and personal care attendants, along with the people they support, are eligible to receive vaccinations now at vaccine clinics statewide,” as well as adults with I/DD who receive foster care or group home services and employees of such homes, residents and employees of skilled nursing facilities and memory care facilities, and several other groups relevant to individuals with disabilities. Group 1A includes individuals providing both paid and unpaid care to the vulnerable populations who are a part of this group.

To determine Group 1A eligibility, check here (note that Group 1A was originally separated into 4 subgroups, but those subgroups are currently abolished and all of Group 1A is eligible to receive the vaccine):  

Group 1A(sequencing plan)

Chart of Group 1A and Group 1B

SEIU503 hosted its first clinic with OHSU this past weekend, giving home care workers the opportunity to get the first dose of the vaccine- they have stated more clinics will be planned. There are other clinics planned around the state through different unions/organizations/medical facilities; any clinics we see that are open to individuals with disabilities and/or their caregivers will be shared here. Some medical facilities have indicated they are able to administer the vaccine to Group 1A members at their clinics/hospitals; for example, appointments can be made through Kaiser. If you’re a Kaiser member, and a Group 1A member, you can make an appointment online (simply go to your KP.org account, schedule an appointment for “COVID-19 vaccine”), and you can schedule an appointment by phone for non-members.

1/22 update: Clinics are being held 1/25 and 1/26 for individuals with I/DD and their family/caregivers to get the vaccine. They are not accepting walk-ins, appointments can be made here: https://lvc.lhs.org/3PYsKfvw; Call Center Phone: 971-268-5550

2/4 update: There is now a screening tool to help you determine if you currently qualify for the vaccine, and there are resources to find an appointment. https://www.ohsu.edu/health/covid-19-vaccines-information-and-appointments

Some sites giving further info:

•  Home Care Commission Vaccine Info
• Office of Developmental Disability Services Vaccine Info
• https://covidvaccine.oregon.gov

On Dec. 28, 2020, the 9th Cir. court decided Ashe v. Saul. Plaintiff and her counsel contended neither ever received notice of the Appeals Council denial, resulting in an untimely appeal. Defendant argued that it was presumed that Plaintiff received the notice 5 days after it was mailed. The Court held that Plaintiff met her burden to rebut the presumption she’d received the notice; Plaintiff and her counsel, as well as counsel’s assistant, signed affidavits declaring they never received notice, and the only proof of the notice Defendant pointed to was the copy of the notice in the record which did not have any proof the notice was actually mailed. The Court held that based on the facts, the burden had shifted to SSA to prove actual receipt of the notice. As the lower court had not performed the burden shifting analysis, the case was remanded.  Read more here: https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2020/12/28/20-15531.pdf

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/woman-caught-in-social-security-bureaucracy-wins-court-ruling/ar-BB1ciLHL?ocid=uxbndlbing

A recent OPB piece looked at the disparate treatment of individuals with disabilities in their medical treatment for COVID and other conditions.  The article highlights a Pendleton patient with an intellectual disability who was encouraged to sign do-not-resuscitate (DNR) and do-not-intubate forms, and her group home who was encouraged to have all residents DNRs. It also highlights the situation of several other patients who were recently denied care due to their disabilities when they were being treated for other conditions such as pneumonia. Read more here: https://www.opb.org/article/2020/12/22/oregon-hospitals-didn-t-have-shortages-so-why-were-disabled-people-denied-care/?fbclid=IwAR1jlX_CBrT_76QObPSqwOcA5K6Dz44ongx2WUqCwcQil3byGtaWihzk5D8

The Disability Law Section Executive Committee wishes you all a happy holiday season! As the year wraps up, we wanted to share some opportunities to give back to the community.

MONETARY DONATIONS

Throughout 2020, we have received a few requests for donations from organizations whose missions we support but their missions are not directly in line with our section’s mission. Our section annually donates to the Campaign for Equal Justice, and we have donated in the past to help fund events/causes directly related to disability law and/or serving the disability community. For causes whose missions are not directly in line with ours, we have not donated but wanted to pass on their requests in case you are interested in personally donating to their cause:

Classroom Law Project: Their impact, reported on their site: “Classroom Law Project empowers teachers and students around Oregon with quality civic education programs. Last year we reached over 1,200 teachers and 97,000 students.” classroomlaw.org/donate/

Oregon Minority Lawyer’s Association (OMLA): Their impact, from their site: “OMLA sponsors numerous activities and programs” such as “Networking and Social events,” awarding “Bar Exam Preparation Scholarships,” preparing “Amicus Curiae briefs filed on issues such as Interpreters in the Courtroom and same sex marriages” and more. You can mail a donation to OMLA at Attn: Adam Gamboa,1235 SE Morrison St., Suite 150, Portland, OR 97214.

Lawyers for Literacy (a campaign fundraising for Start Making A Reader Today (SMART)): SMART “brings volunteers into classrooms to read one-on-one with PreK through 3rd grade students,” and they will “give away 140,000 books to kids across Oregon and link those to a digital library of read-aloud videos so kids can practice along.” https://smartreading.org/get-involved/donate/

Other Causes:

STATEWIDE/MULTIPLE CITIES

Volunteer with or donate to Every Child, an organization that benefits foster children in most counties in the state: https://everychildoregon.org/volunteer/

Volunteer with or donate to Special Olympics Of Oregon: soor.org/make-an-impact/volunteer/

Volunteer with or donate to Easterseals: easterseals.com/oregon/get-involved/volunteer/

PORTLAND

Oregon Food Bank: you can donate to Oregon Lawyers Against Hunger: https://give.oregonfoodbank.org/campaign/olah-2020/c304936 or volunteer: https://www.oregonfoodbank.org/get-involved/volunteer-2/

Find a local cause in Portland to volunteer with: handsonportland.org/calendar

Help houseless youth by donating goods, or providing food or baked goods, or more: https://www.pearmentor.org/covid/

Donate clothing, care kits, prepare meals, and more to help houseless Portlanders: https://blanchethouse.org/volunteer/

EUGENE

Volunteer or donate to help reduce hunger in Lane County: foodforlanecounty.org/volunteer/

MARION/POLK COUNTY

Volunteer or donate to reduce hunger in Marion and Polk County: https://marionpolkfoodshare.org/volunteer/

BEND

Volunteer or donate to reduce hunger in Bend: https://hdffa.org/get-involved/