LEGAL ACTION CENTER

Arthur Liman Policy Institute

About | Current Projects | Accomplishments | Publications

The Arthur Liman Policy Institute conducts cutting-edge public policy research. Chief among its goals is to give Federal and State policy makers and other interested parties assistance in improving access to treatment, prevention, and other needed services and otherwise facilitating re-entry into society for low-income individuals with alcohol and drug problems, individuals who are HIV positive and individuals who have criminal justice histories.

Arthur Liman chaired the Legal Action Center from its founding in 1972 until his death in 1997. To honor his memory and his commitment to both the public interest and the law, LAC launched the Arthur Liman Policy Institute in November 1998.

As the public policy research arm of LAC, the Arthur Liman Policy Institute has enabled LAC to expand its public policy work in the areas of addiction, AIDS, and criminal justice through a program of research, publication, and education.

Key areas of focus for the Liman Institute have included:

The barriers to reentering society faced by people with criminal records;
The relationship between welfare reform and recovery from alcoholism and drug dependence;
How public benefits programs can facilitate offender re-entry;
The effects of the Rockefeller drug sentencing laws in New York State;
Public and private insurance coverage for alcohol or drug treatment ;
The effect of syringe exchange programs on drug use and the spread of HIV; and
The effect of partner notification on the spread of HIV.

An integral part of the Center and its work, the Arthur Liman Policy Institute is staffed by LAC and supervised by its Board of Directors.

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Current Policy Research Projects of the Arthur Liman Policy Institute

The Arthur Liman Policy Institute is proud to have completed the following studies:

Blueprint for Criminal Justice Reform in New York State: Bringing Justice to Scale (2007). The “Blueprint for Criminal Justice Reform in New York – Bringing Justice to Scale,” is a comprehensive plan for improving New York’s criminal justice system with a particular focus on community corrections, sentencing reform and reentry. The Coalition for Criminal Justice Reform developed the Blueprint after thorough consultation with a wide range of stakeholders around the State and after a broad review of relevant research, articles and books. The Blueprint is based on the fundamental principles that reform must be bipartisan; a coherent vision and comprehensive plan will increase public safety, reduce criminal justice costs and strengthen affected communities; and sentences must be rational, proportionate and fair. The Blueprint focuses on sentencing reform and expansion of community corrections and community- and family-focused reentry, because these are three policy reforms New York can implement that research has shown will further reduce crime, cut costs, help people, and build communities.

After Prison: Roadblocks to Reentry (2004), the first-ever comprehensive compilation of data from the 50 states about legal barriers facing people with criminal records, including state barriers in the areas of employment, public assistance & food stamps, access to records for non-criminal justice purposes, voting, drivers’ license privileges, foster and adoptive parental rights, and public housing. Click here for the full report. The Arthur Liman Policy Institute is proud of the widespread media attention and editorial support received by the After Prison: Roadblocks to Reentry report and is in the process of updating its findings. We expect to release the new version of the report in late 2007.

Study of national policies on addiction and recovery (in progress). The Arthur Liman Policy Institute is conducting a study on federal and state policies regarding alcohol and drug addiction and recovery, with a focus on (1) legal barriers faced by people in recovery from addiction that create roadblocks to their ability to successfully maintain their recovery and live productive lives, and (2) the availability and quality of public health responses to addiction, including treatment, recovery, prevention, and research. The Arthur Liman Policy Institute expects to complete and release this study in mid-2007.

“One Stop” Anonymous Shopper Survey (To be completed in mid-2007). Using the “anonymous shopper’ audit approach, the National HIRE Network is surveying and evaluating 10 One-Stop Career Centers in selected states to determine whether and how consumers with criminal histories are being served. The goal of the study will be to highlight effective practices, share findings with policymakers, and make recommendations to local Workforce Investment Board (WIB) Directors that can be used to enhance services to jobseekers with criminal records who utilize the One-stop Centers to find employment.

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Key Accomplishments of the Arthur Liman Policy Institute

Liman Institute publications and materials have been distributed to and used by a wide network of Federal, State, and local policy makers in the addiction treatment, criminal justice, public health, and welfare systems.

Liman Institute studies and policy recommendations have influenced many States’ welfare reform policies, including leading a majority to opt out of or narrow the ban on welfare and food stamp benefits for individuals with drug felony convictions.
Liman Institute staff are national experts and have spoken at numerous conferences about research findings, including those sponsored by SAMHSA, CSAT, International Association of Community Corrections, Physician Leadership on National Drug Policy, American Public Health Association, Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Maryland Drug Task Force, Families USA, and Center for Law and Social Policy.
Liman Institute staff have provided direct technical assistance to dozens of Federal and State agencies and front line staff on these issues.

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Publications of the Arthur Liman Policy Institute
To download these and other documents, visit the Publications section of this web site

After Prison: Roadblocks to Reentry (2004), the first-ever comprehensive compilation of data from the 50 states about legal barriers facing people with criminal records, including state barriers in the areas of employment, public assistance & food stamps, access to records for non-criminal justice purposes, voting, drivers’ license privileges, foster and adoptive parental rights, and public housing. This study contains both a detailed description of the laws in all 50 states and a “Report Card” grading and ranking the state laws as to their fairness and impact on achieving the twin policy goals of protecting public safety and facilitating the successful reentry of qualified people with criminal records.

Addiction & Welfare Policy

Safe & Sound: Models for Collaboration Between the Child Welfare & Addiction Treatment Systems (2003) discusses the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) and its implications for families at risk for involvement or involved in the child welfare system because of parental addiction, presents case studies of how two localities (Cook County, Illinois, and Cuyahoga County, Ohio) are addressing addiction in their child welfare systems, and presents a model for addressing addiction among families involved in the child welfare system based on case study findings. To download this study and other documents, visit the Publications section of this web site.
The State of State Policy on TANF & Addiction: Findings from the Survey of State Policies and Practices to Address Alcohol and Drug Problems Among TANF Recipients (2002). This report documents policies and practices States have adopted to address addiction-related barriers to work in their welfare caseloads.
Making Welfare Reform Work Better - Improving the TANF Program for Recipients With Alcohol & Drug Problems (2001) documents policies and practices States have adopted to address addiction-related barriers to work in their TANF caseloads.
Welfare Reform Community Case Studies (1999) discusses findings from focus groups with providers and consumers of publicly funded treatment programs in six sites about how welfare reform has affected them.
Steps to Success: Helping Women with Alcohol and Drug Problems Move from Welfare to Work (1999) profiles 20 alcohol and drug treatment programs serving women with children, focusing on best practices for promoting recovery, training, work, and success.
Key Provisions of TANF Final Rule Affecting Welfare Recipients with Alcohol and Drug Problems (updated February 2003) analyzes the final regulations implementing the TANF program and focuses on how States and treatment providers can work within the new system to improve outcomes for TANF recipients with alcohol and drug problems.
Making Welfare Reform Work: Tools for Confronting Alcohol and Drug Problems Among Welfare Recipients (1997) examines the 1996 Federal welfare law and offers policy recommendations for how States can implement the law in a way that facilitates treatment and recovery for welfare recipients affected by addiction.
Fact Sheet for Policy Makers: Welfare Reform - How States Can Use TANF Funding to Pay for Alcohol and Drug Treatment (1998) describes allowable, appropriate, and legal options for States to fund alcohol and drug treatment through their TANF programs.
Fact Sheet for Policy Makers: Welfare Reform - Implementing Drug Felony Conviction Provisions (1996) discusses policy options for States for opting out of or narrowing the 1996 Federal welfare law’s ban on benefits for individuals with drug felony convictions.
Drug Testing in Connection with Welfare Reform (1996) presents information about the necessary components of drug testing for welfare recipients and cost estimates of such testing.

Criminal Justice & Welfare Policy

Welfare, Workforce Development & Ex-Offenders: Background Paper (2001) prepared as background for participants in a Department of Labor conference, examines policy issues related to how the TANF and workforce development systems are serving people with criminal justice histories.
Getting to Work: How TANF Can Support Ex-Offender Parents in the Transition to Self Sufficiency (2001) discusses policy issues at the intersection of TANF and criminal justice and offers State policy recommendations for improving the success of parents with criminal justice histories.

Addiction & Medicaid Policy

Resources for Recovery: State Policy Options for Increasing Access to Alcohol and Drug Treatment Through Medicaid & TANF (2002) examines policy issues around Medicaid and TANF funding for addiction treatment, presents case studies of four States and one county that have adopted innovative practices to increase the use of Medicaid and TANF for treatment, and offers state policy options for improving reimbursement for alcohol and drug treatment services through these programs.

Addiction & Child Welfare

Increasing Access to Alcohol and Drug Treatment and Prevention Services for Pregnant and Postpartum Women with Children (1998) discusses four key policy options for improving access to alcohol and drug treatment for pregnant and parenting women.
Safe & Sound: Models for Collaboration Between the Child Welfare & Addiction Treatment Systems (2003).

Addiction & Insurance/Managed Care

Finding the Right Fit: Managed Special Care in New York City (The Final Report of the Managed Special Care Model Development Project) (1996). This study describes how eight states addressed addiction and mental health care within Medicaid managed care programs and sets forth policy recommendations on how New York City and State could best ensure access to these services for Medicaid managed care enrollees.