Students will assist young adults with disability transitioning out of special education programs and their families (or other caregivers/supporters) in learning about guardianship and alternatives to guardianship, with an emphasis on an option in state law to enter into Supported Decision-Making (SDM) agreements. Students will provide direct counseling to young adults on SDM agreements and will assist in preparing SDM agreements where appropriate and desired. SDM agreements and other alternatives to guardianship allow individuals with disabilities to maintain maximum control over their lives and avoid unnecessary and costly probate proceedings.
Organization
INCLUDE Project, Mithoff Pro Bono Program
The INCLUDE Project enables students to provide free legal services to persons with disabilities and their families. Through INCLUDE, law students have counseled more than 400 families on guardianship alternatives since the 2015 passage of the Texas Supported Decision Making Act, a law that is the first of its kind nationally and that incorporates certain protections afforded by the U.N. Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Texas Law. INCLUDE is an internal project of the Richard and Ginni Mithoff Pro Bono Program, in partnership with the William Wayne Justice Center for Public Interest Law.
Project Details
- Project Date
Thursday, September 17
- Project Time
- 6pm-8pm
- Approximate hours of work requested
- 3.5 hours, including training and preparation
- Training
- Tuesday, September 15, 6pm-7:30pm (Zoom link on Canvas site)
- Skills used
- Client interviewing/counseling; community education/outreach; mediating between those with divergent interests; cultural competence; document preparation
- Project location
- Virtual
- Number of student volunteers requested
- 11
- Class year preference
- 1L, 2L, 3L, LLM
- Required skills
- Strong English skills required; Spanish helpful but not necessary; students with an interest in probate and disability law are strongly encouraged to apply
- To Apply
- Register at https://sdm2f20.eventbrite.com