People with disabilities need full and inclusive access to meaningful employment opportunities. Many North Carolinians with disabilities are being left out of the economic mainstream. State policies continue to subject many people with disabilities to unfair wages, isolation, and limited work expectations and options. Employment services also continue to fail people with disabilities who aspire to obtain meaningful employment.

For nearly 40 years, Alliance for Justice (AFJ) has worked to ensure that our nation’s justice system advances core constitutional values, preserves critical rights and unfettered access to the courts, and adheres to the even-handed administration of justice for all Americans. We have never witnessed an assault on our justice system like the one we have seen since Donald Trump became President.

A new release from NC Child highlights the plight of many who work in early childhood education: no access to health coverage. Statewide, one in five early childhood educators lacks health insurance, and in some rural North Carolina counties those numbers may be even higher.

North Carolina lawmakers are debating two proposals that would direct state money to fund long overdue public school construction needs, but both fall short of offering sustainable solutions for the state, according to a new report from the NC Justice Center. Ultimately, rolling back tax cuts made in the last several years could completely address the state’s school building needs without undermining funding for education.

A report, issued by Disability Rights North Carolina provides strong evidence that federal, state and local emergency management officials must take action to ensure the well-being of people with disabilities during natural disasters. Analyzing the response to Hurricane Florence, the report shows how public officials must do more to include the voices of people with disabilities and disability rights advocates as they plan for future emergencies and ensure their safety.

North Carolina’s legislators are back at work for the 2019-2020 “long session.” While the state’s policy-makers and budget writers face a host of challenges, they also have a shot at making a real difference in the state’s long-term outlook. NC Child has identified five leading opportunities for lawmakers to remove obstacles to the success and well-being of North Carolina’s children.

Gene Nichol has produced a vitally important new book summarizing his work in recent years to document the vexing poverty that continues to plague North Carolina - "The Faces of Poverty: Stories From Our Invisible Citizens (UNC Press, 2018).

A new report from Prof. Gene Nichol and Heather Hunt at the North Carolina Poverty Research Fund is shining a light on an important area in which the General Assembly has been repeatedly undermining the independence of the judiciary: the micromanagement of court fines and fees. The report is entitled “Forcing Judges to Criminalize Poverty: Eroding Judicial Independence in North Carolina” and in it, authors Gene Nichol and Heather Hunt build on their past research efforts regarding the burdensome nature of court fines and fees for poor people.