The Social Security Administration can now take 100 percent of recipients’ monthly checks for overpayments. Here’s what you need to know. 

By Victoria Richardson In March 2024, the Social Security Administration (SSA) changed its overpayment rules so no more than ten percent of a recipient’s monthly check could be withheld to repay an overpayment. Starting March 27, 2025, the SSA has reversed this policy. People who receive SSDI or OASDI may now see 100 percent of […]

VPLC Sponsors CLE-Eligible Housing Trainings for Fair Housing Month This April

April is Fair Housing Month Join VPLC housing advocates, allies, and partners for a series of virtual lunchtime trainings about pressing topics in housing law that impact low-income Virginians. Pending approval, each session will be 1 CLE credit. Find more information about these Fair Housing Month training sessions below and click the links to register […]

Frances Perkins: The Architect of America’s Social Safety Net

90 years ago this August, the Social Security Act (SSA) was signed into law. Like many women before and after her, the architect of SSA has largely been forgotten.   This Women’s History Month, we recognize and honor Frances Perkins for the social safety net she helped create–a legacy lasting generations. Social Security is a program […]

Federal legislation aims to keep families together

By Valerie L’Herrou. Published in The Virginian-Pilot: February 7, 2025 (subscription required) Imagine you’re a low-income parent, faced with the impossible choice of paying for food or the gas to get to work. Or one day, your child care provider doesn’t show up, leaving you to decide between leaving your children with an older sibling […]

HB2621: Promises of Savings for APCo Customers Won’t Bring Needed Immediate Relief

By Carmen Bingham, VPLC Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) Project Coordinator HB2621, as amended by the House of Delegates, will be before the Senate Commerce & Labor Committee Monday, February 10, 2025 in the afternoon. It is not the savior bill for APCo customers as it is being touted to be. There are no “immediate” savings […]

Honoring Martin Luther King Jr.’s Legacy of Global Justice and Peace

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was a transformative leader whose legacy continues to inspire individuals and organizations committed to justice, equality, and the fight against systemic oppression. With tireless dedication to nonviolence and a firm commitment to creating a more just society, his influence resonates with individuals and communities around the globe. As we reflect […]

Fall Newsletter: SCC demands utility company assist struggling customers

VPLC Advocacy Helps Secure $85 Million Savings for Utility Customers Collectively, Appalachian Power customers avoided an $85 million rate hike in their monthly utility bills after the State Corporation Commission (SCC) denied the company’s request for a substantial rate hike. As part of the decision, regulators directed Appalachian Power to collaborate with Virginia Poverty Law Center […]

Ward Scull: Honoring a Legendary Advocate for Fair Lending

by Jay Speer, VPLC Executive Director I have been thinking a lot about Ward Scull who died recently.  Ward was a long-time ally of VPLC in our multi-year legislative fight with Virginia’s payday lenders.  VPLC advocated for just and fair lending, but the payday lenders wanted to continue making huge sums of money exploiting Virginians […]

VPLC Elevates DEI Amid Political Division

— By Louis Green, VPLC DEI Director It is no secret that the upcoming political election has unearthed age-old debates across the sociopolitical landscape. In addition to the usual list of hotly-debated issues within the political space, contemporary elections have been split along racial lines due to arguments on how federal and state institutions should […]

VPLC joins Virginia’s Senators asking Governor Youngkin to allow direct file option

Direct File is the IRS’ first attempt to provide a free filing program comparable to existing commercial software. While the pilot was limited to people with simple tax returns in a handful of states, the Department of the Treasury estimated that one-third of taxpayers in those states — almost 19 million people — were eligible […]

Beware the Loan Sharks Still Circling for Consumers

Shark Week 2024: Be Careful Where You Borrow By Jay Speer, Virginia Poverty Law Center Executive Director Welcome to Shark Week 2024, at least according to the annual designation fronm Discovery Channel   In years past, the Virginia Poverty Law Center has used this week to call out all the loan sharks attacking Virginia borrowers.  There […]

Virginia legal aid programs challenge debt buyers’ predatory practices in Virginia 

By Jay Speer, VPLC Executive Director Last week Virginia legal aid programs and the Virginia Trial Lawyers Association filed an amici (friend of the court) brief in a case before the Virginia Court of Appeals challenging the shady practices of Portfolio Recovery Associates (PRA) and other debt buyers that has led to over $217 million […]

At VPLC, April is Help Families Thrive Month 

Every April, Virginia and the nation observe “Child Abuse Prevention Month.” But at VPLC, we prefer to think of April as “Supporting Families Month” or “Help Families Thrive Month.” Why? Because the best way to help children is to support families and help them thrive.  In Virginia as elsewhere, the number one reason families are […]

ACTION ALERT: Our dysfunctional health care system can ruin the lives of Virginians.

HB1370, introduced by Delegate Karrie Delaney, prohibits medical providers from reporting medical debt to consumer reporting agencies.   VPLC supports this bill which has passed the House and a Senate committee. Why did Delegate Delaney introduce this bill and  Why is the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau concerned about health care debt?  “The fact that the CFPB […]

Exploitative Lenders Fight Back Against Fair, Transparent & Competitive Loans

Why are the payday lenders trying to destroy the CFPB? The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is a U.S. government agency that makes sure banks, lenders, and other financial companies treat you fairly. The CFPB was created in the wake of the 2008 recession when reckless financial practices by banks and other financial institutions nearly […]

Helping Families Thrive: A New Approach to Child Abuse Prevention  

Author: Valerie L’Herrou/VPLC Family & Child Welfare Attorney Around the country and here in Virginia, every April is designated “Child Abuse Prevention Month.” But at VPLC, we think this term is misleading.   Why? Because we believe that the best way to help children is to help families thrive.  Most cases of child abuse are actually cases […]

OPINION: Dominion Faces the Consequences of its Actions (Richmond Times Dispatch)

Read the Richmond Times Dispatch opinion piece by Albert Pollard, published February 19, 2023 here. If you are unable to reach the linked page, a pdf is below.

Reimagining Virginia’s Mobile Home Parks

Over 350,000 Virginians live in Mobile Home Parks. According to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, mobile homes are the largest source of non-subsidized affordable housing in the U.S. At a time when, according to JLARC, over 900,000 Virginia households pay more than they can afford for their housing (53% are renters, 47% owners), […]

Five Ways to Address the Virginia Employment Commission’s First Level Appeals Backlog   

By Pat Levy-Lavelle, Legal Aid Justice Center and Flannery O’Rourke, Virginia Poverty Law Center The Virginia Employment Commission (VEC) currently has a backlog of more than 96,000 first level appeals of unemployment decisions. The persistence of this backlog directly harms workers and employers, who (on average) must wait a whole year for an appeal hearing. […]

When Virginia fails to provide meaningful legal representation to parents, it’s rural, low-income, and Black families who are torn apart.

Author: Anna Daniszewski/VPLC Legal Fellow Impressive reporting from Cardinal News this week shows the crisis of parents’ legal representation in Virginia. Services providers for children and even a county attorney – the person who brings child welfare cases against parents – agree: children suffer the consequences when parents have “paltry legal support.”  When parents have […]

PRESS RELEASE: Virginia Ratepayer Protection Alliance Urges General Assembly to Oppose “Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE    Virginia Ratepayer Protection Alliance Urges General Assembly to Oppose “Virginia Electric Utility Regulation Act”  Utility-backed legislation is bad for ratepayers, erodes regulatory oversight  The Virginia Ratepayer Protection Alliance, an initiative launched in 2022 by the Virginia Poverty Law Center to advocate for millions of forgotten and over-charged ratepayers, has announced its opposition […]

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