Daniel L. Hatcher - The Poverty Industry

Families, Law, and Society series

General Editor: Nancy E. Dowd

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The Poverty Industry: The Exploitation of Americas Most Vulnerable Citizens

Daniel L. Hatcher

Daniel L. Hatcher

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS

New York

NEW YORK UNIVERSITY PRESS

New York

www.nyupress.org

2016 by New York University

All rights reserved

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ISBN: 978-1-4798-7472-9

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For my parents, James and Barbara, and for my children, Landon, Raina, and Ava

Bibliography

I would like to begin by acknowledging and thanking my past clients who inspire my advocacy, writing, and teaching: low-income mothers and fathers striving for economic stability; disabled individuals fighting for their rights; aging adults seeking the quality of treatment they deserve; and the many foster children I representedwho are now adultsand who I deeply hope have beat the odds and are doing well.

I am grateful for the opportunity provided by NYU Press, and for the wonderful support from Clara Platter and Constance Grady. I am also grateful to Deborah Gershenowitz, formerly at NYU Press, who initially encouraged me to write this book.

I am lucky to teach at the University of Baltimore School of Law, and thankful for the leadership and support from Dean Ronald Weich. The Dean, the school, the faculty, and staff have provided me with excellent support and encouragement in writing this book. I also could not be more grateful for the opportunity to teach in the University of Baltimores outstanding clinical program. I am always inspired by the enthusiasm of the clinics wonderful faculty, staff, and students. Many of my colleagues provided me with invaluable feedback and encouragement in the writing process, both in this book and prior articles that ultimately led me to write this book. Special thanks to Professors who reviewed my prior scholarship, including Jane Murphy, Robert Rubinson, Michael I. Meyerson, Christopher J. Peters, and Elizabeth J. Samuels. I am fortunate to teach with Professor Michele Gilman in the Civil Advocacy Clinic, and I credit her with helping me learn how to translate my grounding in advocacy into teaching and scholarship. I also thank my administrative assistant, Rosalind Williams, and my research assistant, Alexa Curley, for their very helpful and insightful work and support during the writing process.

Professors Nancy Dowd and Barbara Bennett Woodhouse provided me with mentorship, support, and helpful feedback from the very beginning of my initial book proposal. I cant thank them enough. And I am also thankful for past comments and support from Professors Karen Syma Czapanskiy, Martin Guggenheim, David Super, Leigh Goodmark, and Bruce A. Boyer. I also thank Ezra Rosser and the American University Washington College of Law for the opportunity to present portions of this book and to benefit from participants comments and feedback. Portions of my earlier articles appearing in the Wake Forest Law Review, Arizona Law Review, New Mexico Law Review, Cardozo Law Review, and the Brooklyn Law Review provided foundational research and material for this book. I thank the excellent staffs at those journals. Further, I am grateful for assistance creating charts from Marcelo Agudo.

I would like to thank all my former colleagues from the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau and Childrens Defense Fund. Special thanks to Rhonda Lipkin, Hannah Lieberman, Joan Little, Wilhelm Joseph, and Deborah Weinsteintheir mentorship and encouragement led me to where I am today.

I also am incredibly thankful for family and friends. All were supportive, and many also provided helpful suggestions, including David Hatcher, Pam Wallis, Kella Hatcher, R. J. Wallis, Judi Marzullo, Caterina Hatcher, Walter Helmke, and Rowene Helmke. And I want to thank Mark Helmke, who went out of his way to encourage and help me early on regarding how to seek media coverage and foster interest in my writing and advocacy, and who left us too early. He is deeply missed.

And finally, I want to especially thank my parents, James L. and Barbara J. Hatcher, and my children, Landon, Raina, and Avato whom this book is dedicated. They have showered me with their pride, support, and helpful suggestions. My parents inspired my life path, including my desire to serve the vulnerable populations discussed in this book. I learned from my mothers giving nature and her passion for reaching out to those who are less fortunate or simply different. While writing, I have been surrounded by beautiful furniture creations made by my father (with me often serving as his apprentice), and I was inspired by his wonderful views on lifeincluding in his excellent book, Going to Camp: A Memoir of Twin Boys Quest for Education in the Rural South. And my children also inspire me every day, with their amazing qualities and insightsand their passions for learning and living life true to who they are. They have encouraged me with fascinating questions about my writing, and have been incredibly supportive and patient during the countless hours I have devoted to this book.

Alex was taken into foster care at age twelve after his mothers death. Over a six-year period, he was moved at least twenty times between temporary placements and group homes. Soon after losing his mother, Alex learned his older brother might be able to care for him, but then his brother died. There were also hopes that Alex could go to live with his father, but then his father died as well.

Unknown to Alex, he was eligible to receive Social Security survivor benefits after his father died. These funds could have provided an invaluable benefit to Alex, supplying an emotional connection to his deceased father and financial resources to help with his difficult transition out of foster care.