District Of Columbia Appleseed Center For Law And Justice Inc

Programs: Hiv/aids project - on august 10, 2005, the center released hiv/aids in the nation's capital: improving the district of columbia's response to a public health crisis, which examined how the district was managing its hiv/aids epidemic including efforts to educate the public, prevent further spread of the disease, and care for infected individuals. Since the report release, several key recommendations have been implemented, including: an overhaul of the district's system for collecting and analyzing hiv and aids epidemiologic data, a citywide hiv testing campaign designed to make hiv testing a routine part of all medical care, and a citywide condom distribution program. Since 2006, the center has worked to ensure that additional needed changes are made by playing an ongoing monitoring role, as well as conducting further research and advocacy in several areas, including hiv prevention among drug users, hiv prevention education in the d. C. Public and public charter schools, condom distribution, hiv/aids surveillance, and mental health services related to hiv/aids. The center has released nine hiv/aids "report cards" on the district's performance between 2006 and 2014. At the end of 2014, the center was asked to undertake a new hiv/aids report on ending hiv/aids in dc, and has been developing a proposal and workplan for that report.

working poor families - in early 2007, the center was invited by four national foundations annie e. Casey foundation, ford foundation, joyce foundation, and charles stewart mott foundation to participate in their nationwide working poor families project. (the kresge foundation has since joined the collaboration, while mott has discontinued its involvement. ) the center's role was to conduct an assessment and produce recommendations to improve the ability of low-income district families to advance their education and enhance their economic stability. The center partnered with the not-for-profit dc fiscal policy institute to produce the assessment report, which was issued in january 2008, and has been advocating in a number of areas since, including post-secondary education, long-term healthcare, and workforce development, for the district to provide greater economic opportunity for the one in three district families that is working but poor.

anacostia river and watershed restoration project - the center coordinated a wide ranging project team including environmental experts, activists, stakeholders, and pro bono legal experts working to clean up the anacostia river, which remains one of the most polluted in the nation. The center is currently working with the district council and other district agencies, such as the office of planning, department of health and department of the environment (ddoe), to ensure that pollution reduction is a part of the planning process for development and redevelopment within the district. In 2011, the center released a report that lays out a multi-faceted strategy to accelerate the clean-up of the anacostia river. It recommended specific actions that the federal and local jurisdictions could take to address the anacostia's pollution problems. The center continues to advocate for the federal government and local jurisdictions in the watershed to implement key recommendations made in the 2011 report. In 2013, the center began working with the federal city council to produce a 'milestones report' which would identify key restoration milestones for the next five years against which to measure progress on the anacostia cleanup. The center achieved an important victory in 2014 with the passage of the district's anacostia river toxics remediation act of 2014. The legislation requires the publication of the record of decision (an important step in the process governing the toxic clean-up) by june 30, 2018.