Anne Vankirk (1L)

Disability Rights Washington

Seattle, WA

Anne is spending her summer working with Disability Rights Washington ("DRW"). DRW is a private nonprofit organization that advocates for and protects the rights of individuals with mental illness, developmental disabilities and other disabilities. DRW is located in Seattle, Washington and serves individuals statewide. Anne will be spending part of her summer internship providing resource advocacy for individuals with disabilities who have issues that include, but are not limited to, discrimination, civil rights, housing, employment, government benefits, and education. Resource Advocacy is a service that aids the individual with disabilities in self advocacy and includes information and referral services and technical assistance in regard to client-specific issues. Additionally, Anne will also be working on developing strategies for assisting both individuals and families of children with disabilities with compliance issues in special education secondary transition services. Finally, Anne will dedicate a large portion of her summer to work on guardianship reform which includes: identifying and analyzing initiatives around the country; developing content for education and web-based reference; collaborating with other committees; and developing an alternative to guardianship handbook. Anne graduated from the University of Washington in 2010 with a BA in Psychology.

August 1, 2011

My internship here at Disability Rights Washington (DRW) is coming to an end. I could not have chosen a better way to spend my summer, and a better way to grow as a person. The entire experience has changed my perspective on what law is and what it can do for people. I know that no matter what field of law I choose to enter in to when I graduate, this job will have substantially shaped how I approach it.

This summer I have completed the investigations I mentioned in my last entry, and helped to resolve some of the serious issues they raised. Some of the other things I have done include the following: researched and presented about Special Education Secondary Transition issues; developed monitoring tools for compliance with investigation findings; provided resource advocacy for at least 100 individuals with disabilities; written an article for the DRW newsletter about seclusion and restraint practices on minors in institutions in Washington State; and helped to develop an alternative to guardianship training for lay-guardians.

The investigations have been the most compelling thing I have done this summer. While I can't go into much detail about those experiences because some issues are still on-going, I can say that I have changed the lives of many individuals with disabilities for the better. I also learned how to talk to clients and people in crisis, how to write letters requesting release of information, and most importantly, what information is pertinent to build a case. I have learned how to review and formulate that information into concrete legal issues that are presentable to supervising attorneys. It was particularly rewarding when four of my investigations were turned in, with findings and recommendations, and they were relayed to the opposing side nearly verbatim. My work in this area has been rewarding on a personal level and affirming on a professional level.

My work as a resource advocate has also been especially rewarding. While I can't help every individual to completely resolve their issues in such a short time-frame, I have been able to help guide them on the way to that resolution. One of the highlights of my internship was when I received my first heart-felt thank you letter explaining to me how the help I offered allowed a senior with disabilities stay in their home. I know that learning to be resourceful for others will carry through to any path I choose in the legal field.

As I approach my 2L year at Seattle University School of Law, I look forward to all of the new areas of law that I will engage in, and I know that I will bring aspects of this wonderful experience forward with me to every discussion. I will highly recommend this experience to my peers and do everything I can to further the Public Interest Law Foundation's goal of bringing this line of work to the student body. Thank you to the PILF group for all their efforts that allowed me to have this experience. I am no longer afloat on a cloud of theoretical legal knowledge; I am now anchored in the ground of commitment to public interest.

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June 30, 2011

It is hard to imagine that I am nearly halfway through my internship here at Disability Rights Washington. I am so pleased to be able to write this journal entry because it has really given me a moment to stop and reflect on the whirlwind that has swept up the last few weeks. My time here started with primarily providing resource advocacy which is a service that aids the individual with disabilities in self advocacy and includes information and referral services and technical assistance in regard to client-specific issues. This was not only my crash course in disability-related services and issues, but also my first experience in providing front-line assistance for people who are in a real state of personal crisis. I have dealt with calls such as, heartbreaking conversations with tearful mothers trying to advocate for their children, calm renditions of disturbing discrimination against individuals with disabilities, and quiet, fearful individuals who are being exposed to abuse or neglect. The task of meeting each new need with accurate, individualized, and swift responses has been a bit daunting at times but always a rewarding experience. The most difficult part so far has been not always knowing the outcome for each life that has crossed paths with mine while seeking assistance.

DRW is a multi-faceted organization to say the least. Some of the calls we receive from individuals during resource advocacy are so grave and in such dire need of help that they need to be investigated immediately. In the past couple of weeks, I have received five of those kinds of investigations. My other projects have been shifted back a little to accommodate for this large influx of abuse and neglect situations. Because DRW is the Protection and Advocacy Agency for the State of Washington, they have a much higher level of access to any individual or organization in this state that treats any type of disability. This allows DRW to access and monitor individuals and institutions around the state for compliance with both state and federal laws. Investigations can take all shapes and forms, but so far mine have encompassed both face-to-face client or staff interviews and extensive document reviews. This process has really given me great insight into both how the law can work to help people and how agencies can collaborate to improve lives rather than be strictly adversarial. We are so often told in law school that most legal work is done under the shadow of litigation, and now I understand what that really looks like in practice.

So far this has been a fantastic experience for me. It has been amazing to move from the theoretical idea of law to the hands on reality of it. In some ways it will be almost difficult for me to return to the books, but I know now how vitality important my studies are and I am grateful for the opportunity to share what I have learned with my peers.