Last modified: Sep 22, 2023
- 1976 Community Health Law Project established by the New Jersey State Bar Association and designated by the New Jersey Supreme Court as a legal aid society
- 1978 Successful CHLP suit ensures that community residences for people with disabilities may operate in residential districts
- 1978 CHLP advocacy leads to amending the NJ Law Against Discrimination to apply to people with mental health disabilities
- 1985 Federal lawsuit in Mercer County opens federally subsidized housing to people with mental health disabilities
- 1988 Successful CHLP lawsuit prohibits state from terminating adult dependents with mental health disabilities from health insurance coverage under their parents' State Health Benefits Plan
- 1994 CHLP receives U.S. Housing and Urban Development grant for work in removing architectural barriers in public accommodations
- 1995 Favorable Appellate Division ruling on CHLP - initiated suit forces NJ casinos to implement affirmative action programs of employment for people with disabilities
- 1996 CHLP statewide survey shows that only 4% of residential multifamily units comply with state and federal architectural barrier laws
- 1996 CHLP federal court suit results in invalidation of NJ municipal zoning laws that exclude group homes for people with disabilities from residential neighborhoods
- 2002 CHLP class action results in agreement by developer to fund $300,000 worth of accessibility renovations in 266 residential units
- 2004 Successful CHLP precedent – setting Appellate Division decision excluding SSI benefits from being used for child support obligations of parents with disabilities in Burns v. Edwards
- 2005 CHLP successfully advocated for eliminating state and county institutional and hospital liens, and limiting cost of care for patients of public psychiatric hospitals
- 2005 CHLP successfully advocated for statewide ADA standards and compulsory training of local welfare agencies to identify and accommodate the special needs of people with disabilities
- 2005 CHLP advocacy leads to NJ Fair Housing Act amendment requiring all new multifamily Mt. Laurel housing to be adaptable for use by people with physical disabilities
- 2008 NJ Superior Court judge orders $1.5 million worth of retrofits to make condos accessible in ADA v. Renaissance
- 2009 CHLP successfully advocated for a law requiring public official and commercial data companies to remove lien records of former psychiatric patients from public view
- 2013 CHLP received grants from Robin Hood Foundation, Kessler Foundation, Hurricane Sandy NJ Relief Fund, and Sandy Legal Assistance Fund to assist victims of Hurricane Sandy
- 2014 CHLP settles 2007 federal court complaint against Port Authority of New York and New Jersey alleging that Jersey City PATH Station is inaccessible with the agreement to construct an elevator and lift to give access to the Grove Street Station
- 2016 CHLP expands services to clients living with HIV/AIDS to seven counties.
- 2017 CHLP helped draft the language and advocate for the successful passage of a new law which provides "due process" rights to residents of free-standing Residential Healthcare Facilities prior to eviction
- 2018 CHLP launches Medical-Legal Partnership with addiction agency to provide legal services to those afflicted by the opioid crisis
- 2018 CHLP enters into a contract with the City of Elizabeth to assist residents in expunging their criminal records
- 2019 CHLP establishes Medical-Legal Partnerships with behavioral health providers in Monmouth and Essex Counties
- 2021 CHLP collaborates with the Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Horizon’s Neighbors in Health Program, the Visiting Nurse Association of Central Jersey’s DULCE program, and the Department of Community Affairs’ Access to Counsel Pilot Program
- 2022 CHLP receives grants to assist tenants who were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic avoid eviction and maintain stable housing
- 2022 CHLP is awarded a grant from the NJ Department of Community Affairs to be a legal partner in their Access to Counsel program to represent low-income tenants with disabilities in housing matters
