Presentations by PSLS

Prairie State Legal Services provides outreach presentations for organizations and groups in the 36 counties we serve. We can respond to requests from your group to speak on a wide range of topics and issues facing the community, depending on availability of knowledgeable staff. For more information or to inquire about presentations, please contact the managing attorney in your local office.

For attorneys, Prairie State provides MCLE-approved training on a variety of subjects. For more information, please contact Linda Rothnagel, Director of Advocacy Training, at training@pslegal.org.

We also take requests from social service or government agencies, attorneys and client groups to deliver presentations on substantive legal subjects. Let us know what subject(s) you would like us to present to your group. Some of the trainings we have provided in the past include:

• Prairie State Legal Services Overview
• How to Survive in Eviction Court: Defenses and Procedures
• Landlord’s Duty to Provide a Safe, Secure Rental Property
• Tenants' Rights: Evictions and Fair Housing  Issues
• How to Avoid or Deal With Gas, Electric and Telephone Service Shut-offs
• Basics of Wage Deductions, Garnishments and Repossessions
• Things to know about Debt Collection and to Avoid Harassment
• Subsidized Housing: Where is it and Who Qualifies?
• Basics of Housing Discrimination
• What it Takes to Obtain SSI Benefits
• Drugs, Alcohol, and SSI:   Review of New Restrictions
• Returning to Work:  its Effect on  Social Security and Medicaid
• HIV in the Workplace (confidentiality on the job, insurance, accommodations, employment discrimination, Family and Medical Leave Act, when should an employer know about HIV status?)
• Living Wills, Powers of Attorney and Guardianships
• Dealing with Department of Public Aid and Department of Human Services: when and how to appeal
• KidCare
• Medicaid Mysteries: QMB, Spend-down, and SLMB
• Benefits for Immigrants: What’s the Story?
• Social Security Issues, including: process for application for SSDI benefits; the sequential evaluation of disability; and trial work periods.
• Mortgage Foreclosure Defenses and Dealing with Mortgage Rescue Fraud Scams
• Child support:  myths and realities
• Parentage:  What Unmarried Parents Need to Know
• Domestic Violence Orders of Protection:  Your Rights
• Elder Abuse:  Rights and Protections under the Law