SOSC 405 - Upstate Law Project: Poverty, Law, and Public Policy

Introduces students to the Social Security system, discusses the barriers that low-income and disabled families face in accessing social services and medical care, and introduces students to the following legal topics: legal analysis, legal ethics, Social Security disability law, and legal writing. Students engage in a practicum experience, which involves assisting the instructor, an attorney, with pro bono work helping low-income children (many of whom suffer from psychiatric illnesses) in securing benefits through the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program of the US Social Security Administration. The course practicum takes place at the Utica office of The Legal Aid Society of Mid-New York.

Credits: 1.00
Corequisite: None
Prerequisites: None
Major/Minor Restrictions: None
Class Restriction: None
Restrictions: Only students who have completed their Social Relations, Institutions, and Agents area of inquiry requirement can apply.
Area of Inquiry: Social Relations,Inst.& Agents
Liberal Arts CORE: None

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