Alexis M. DeLaCruz (1L)

Disability Rights Washington

Seattle, WA

Alexis is interning this summer at Disability Rights Washington. DRW is a private non-profit that advocates for and protects the rights of individuals with disabilities. Alexis will spend several hours a week responding to calls from individuals seeking assistance from DRW by interviewing callers, researching the issue at hand and providing information and referral services. Issues can include, but are not limited to, discrimination, civil rights, housing, employment, education, healthcare and government benefits. Additionally, Alexis will be working on a project involving the conditions of the state's prisons and jails by helping with legal research, document review and offender interviews. Alexis anticipates working on other projects including an investigation that relates to the enforcement of a class action. Spending the summer at DRW has already been a rewarding and challenging experience. Alexis hopes her summer will give her greater exposure to the area of disability law, her focus area. Alexis hopes to use the experiences she gains over the summer to bring awareness of disability related issues to the greater Seattle University community. Alexis is from Denver, Colo., and graduated from the University of Colorado with degrees in journalism and Spanish language and literature.

August 1, 2011

I am beginning the last week of my internship at Disability Rights Washington. It is going to be a busy week as I have two memos and a report to complete. The first few weeks here a supervising attorney told the interns to enjoy the downtime because toward the end of summer it will be busy and hectic. She was right.

For the last half of my internship I have been juggling several projects including an abuse investigation, a brief and wondrous foray into the world of the Americans with Disabilities Act and a research project into the depths of solitary confinement.

Last week I was able to spend the day at the Monroe Correctional Complex meeting with offenders serving life sentence and others who are in administrative segregation or solitary confinement. The last time I visited a prison, I was in 8th grade and I went with a group of middle school girls. I remember being yelled and whistled at and totally mortified. I am not quite sure who thought it would be a good idea to expose a bunch of 8th grade girls to a prison. I suppose it had some educational value but at the time it was lost on me. It did leave a lasting impression though. Now, at 28, I was unsure what to expect and asked the supervising attorney what to wear. She suggested pants, neutral colors and closed-toe shoes. I was eager to meet with the offenders and begin putting faces to the names I had been seeing all summer. One of the document reviews I have worked on all summer deals with an offender who has been in administrative segregation or the intense management unit for years, and is not receiving proper mental health treatment. As a result of our looking into the offender's records he received a transfer to Monroe with the hopes he is at a facility better suited to meet his needs. We were unable to meet the offender because during our visit as he was getting a much-needed comprehensive evaluation. I was happy to see this young man looking better than the last time I saw his photo.

Also, I was able to meet with a group of offenders who had gotten involved with a very unique cat fostering program. The men, all serving life sentences, are piloting a program where they serve as foster parents for kittens until the non-profit that has partnered with Monroe can adopt the kittens out. The rules are very stringent for offenders getting into the program. There are only about eight men who currently are "foster dads" to the kittens. Over 300 cats have been fostered at Monroe and now have loving homes. The offenders raved about the program and conveyed to me how the program made them feel like they worth something and that they value the connections they are making with the animals. It was a touching interview.

Beyond my prison work, I have been working on a research project involving the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"). The issue is whether political parties are required to provide reasonable accommodations under Title III of the ADA at caucuses or conventions. It appears to be a question of first impression. The ADA is a broad, expansive body of law that has taken me a fair amount of time to research. I have been communicating with attorneys all over the country getting their thoughts on the topic. I have called the Department of Justice, which enforces the ADA, to get some technical assistance as well. At time I felt like Alice going down the ADA Rabbit Hole. It has been interesting and challenging work.

Additionally, I have visited a nursing facility in Edmonds to do outreach work with an attorney who specializes in assistive technology or AT. Under federal law, AT is defined as "[A]ny item, piece of equipment, or product system, whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized that is used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities." 29 U.S.C. § 2202(2). We did not get a chance to tour the facility or meet with any residents, which is what the attorney I went with typically does, but we did get to share information about DRW with the head of rehabilitation therapy. She was interested in what DRW does and did not know DRW could be such an asset to the clients she works with. We had a nice conversation about how DRW can help people get the tools they need to live their lives.

Lastly, I am wrapping up an abuse investigation I have worked on all summer. I received more documents from the Department of Social and Health Services last week and will begin writing my report this week. It has been fascinating learning how state agencies function, are supposed to function, and actually do function.

I have had an amazing summer working at DRW. My internship has been exactly what I expected and hoped to get out of it. This work is very important to me as I am intensely passionate about protecting and advocating for the rights of people with disabilities. I will be returning to DRW in September to continue my work - I can't wait!

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June 28, 2011

I have been interning at Disability Rights Washington for six weeks now. As proverbial and cliché as it may sound, I cannot believe how quickly the time has gone by.

I knew I wanted to intern for DRW before I even began law school last summer. As I was getting to know Seattle, I also made a concerted effort to research and learn about the different legal organizations in the city that advocate for peoples with disabilities. While there were a few I found, DRW stuck out to me. Being the Protection and Advocacy agency for the State of Washington, DRW's staff has unique access to records and places that other legal organizations do not have access to.

I came to DRW having only had personal experience with people with physical disabilities. I have since been exposed to a myriad of disabilities and how those disabilities can impact the lives of Washington's citizens.

One of the parts of my internship I enjoy the most is doing resource advocacy. I have received calls from clients dealing with everything from family law issues to criminal law issues to discrimination and housing law issues. I enjoy the intake, the issue spotting and then researching to provide the caller with resources or referrals. It can be challenging and draining at times, but at the end of the day I leave feeling like I helped someone.

Additionally, I have been working on two investigations. Both deal with rights violations. One involves a prison inmate and the other a protected DRW class member. As these investigations are ongoing, I won't say anything more than I have enjoyed the challenge and experience.

Lastly, I would recommend anyone who would like to know more about the disability rights movement to read Joseph Shapiro's "No Pity." It was suggested to me and I cannot put it down. It is a phenomenal book that dispels many of the myths of disability while educating the public. I believe any attorney, regardless of what area s/he wants to practice, should read the book to better understand how to represent and work with clients with disabilities.