School: Emory University School of Law

I applied to the Barton Clinic's Emory Summer Child Advocacy Program hoping to learn more about child advocacy work in Georgia. After teaching math, business, and special education for three years in a large public high school, I sought a summer internship where I could apply my past work experience to a new career in law and still be involved in the lives of children. My ten weeks as a legal intern at the Georgia Advocacy Office (GAO) in downtown Decatur passed too quickly. I cannot imagine a better summer work experience after my 1L year -- the work was challenging, varied, and meaningful. Working under the direction of Josh Norris, I have had the opportunity to conduct legal research and writing, attend meetings related to various child health care initiatives with other government agencies, and visit mental health and residential treatment facilities. I investigated the efficacy of various state programs for children with disabilities, talked to parents, and gained a better understanding of the needs of individuals with disabilities. Throughout my summer, I met many passionate and committed people advocating for individual rights. I was impressed and inspired by the attitude and dedication of the GAO's advocates and attorneys and hearing their stories proved one of the most rewarding aspects of the summer.

The GAO is the federally mandated protection and advocacy agency in Georgia and advocates for individuals with developmental disabilities and mental illness. The GAO investigates incidents of abuse and neglect throughout Georgia and helps individuals with disabilities access appropriate community services. As the state protection and advocacy agency, the GAO has unique access to public and private facilities, including hospitals, nursing homes, residential treatment facilities, and schools. Upon probable cause of neglect and abuse, the GAO can investigate and request records related to the incident or situation.

Throughout the summer, I researched various issues related to child advocacy. I learned about Medicaid services under Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT), reviewed proposed regulations for Children's Transition Care Centers, and examined the constitutionality of forced medication. Working with the other summer legal intern in our office, my longest project spanned the entire summer and involved an investigation of state psychiatric residential treatment facilities (PRTFs) -- non-hospital facilities licensed to provide in-patient psychiatric treatment to Medicaid-eligible youth. Specifically, I surveyed state and federal safeguards surrounding the application of restraint and seclusion in psychiatric residential facilities. Collaborating with Atlanta Legal Services, we investigated high incidents of restraint and seclusion in psychiatric residential treatment facilities throughout the state, eventually focusing on a facility in the metro Atlanta area with the most emergency safety incident reports. During the summer, we visited the facility, talked to children and staff, and accessed the clinical records of two youth in the facility. We concurrently investigated the education plans of children in the facility to determine whether the facility and state were meeting the educational needs of children in the PRTF, specifically related to least restrictive environment, based on federal requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

Visiting the treatment facility and meeting the children proved an invaluable experience because it allowed me to see first-hand how our society unnecessarily segregates and isolates people with disabilities. Meeting these young children living away from families, I realized that isolating children with serious psychological needs does not solve the problem. Instead of treating people in facilities, away from their friends and families, supportive services should be available to individuals in the community and home. Most of the people I met this summer from various state agencies acknowledged that community-based services best serve children and adults, which made it all the more frustrating to see that many individuals with disabilities struggle to get needed services, especially those living in rural areas or small cities. In July, I attended a meeting on community-based alternatives to PRTFs and it was inspiring to hear from MHDDAD that Georgia is taking steps, with programs such as KidsNet Georgia, to provide home and community based services as alternatives to PRTF services.

When I started my internship I knew very little about disability law or mental illness. Working with the advocates, attorneys, and investigators at the GAO helped me better understand the needs of children with disabilities and showed me the impact that I could make in this field.