Plaisance v. Dejoie was filed in February 2021, challenging the Louisiana Workforce Commission’s failure to determine eligibility for unemployment benefits, hear appeals, and issue vital unemployment assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Barbara McDowell Foundation is pleased to announce the addition of Katie McDonald as a new member to its staff.

The Barbara McDowell Foundation’s 2021 Grantees have submitted their final reports and fourth quarter timesheets.

The Barbara McDowell and Gerald S. Hartman Foundation has selected five organizations for 2022 grants, each receiving an award of $50,000.

All four of the Barbara McDowell Foundation's 2021 grantees were contacted in July in accordance with the Foundation’s requirements and reported with respect to the progress of their case through the third quarter of their grant cycle.

The Barbara McDowell Foundation is pleased to announce the addition of three new members to its Advisory Committee, Michael Cleveland, Jim Kilbourne, and Richard Ugelow.

The Barbara McDowell Foundation maintains communications with its grantees to monitor the status of its grants. As the cases which the Foundation funds sometimes do not resolve in the one-year grant period, the Foundation also annually contacts previous grantees to receive updates on their cases.

The Barbara McDowell Foundation is pleased to share a recent tribute to the Foundation’s namesake, Barbara McDowell, by David Reiser, a colleague of Barbara's, in his speech accepting a lifetime achievement award from the DC Bar for his pro bono work.

The Barbara McDowell Foundation thanks the Bikram Yoga Alliance, a yoga studio with locations in Alexandria and Falls Church, VA, for holding a fundraising event on behalf of the Foundation.

The Board of Directors of the Barbara McDowell Foundation held its May meeting on Tuesday, May 11, at 5 p.m., The full Board was in attendance.

The Barbara McDowell Foundation announces the approval by its Board of Directors of the addition of four new members on Tuesday, May 11, 2021.

All four of the Barbara McDowell Foundation's 2021 grantees were contacted in April in accordance with the Foundation’s requirements and reported with respect to the progress of their case through the second quarter of their grant cycle. A summary of each grantee’s report can be found below, along with a link to each grantee’s full report.

The Barbara McDowell Foundation has revised its organizational structure by amending its by-laws to better allow the Foundation to achieve its mission of creating social justice through legal action.

The law firm of Eversheds Sutherland (US) LLP and Capital Area Immigrants’ Rights Coalition, through the coordination of the Barbara McDowell Foundation's High Impact Litigation Project, have joined to seek relief for three children asylum-seekers who have received faulty removal orders under the Remain in Mexico/Migrant Protection Protocols (MPP) program.

ArchCity Defenders located in St. Louis and the international law firm DLA Piper at the initiation of the Barbara McDowell Foundation through its Pro Bono High Impact Litigation Project have joined together to continue prosecuting a class action case, Cody, et al. v. City of St. Louis, on behalf of thousands of people who have been held in the Medium Security Institution in St. Louis (a jail more commonly called the "Workhouse") over the past eight years.

Children’s Rights, the law firm of Ropes & Gray, and Disability Rights Iowa succeeded after trial in C.P.X. v. Garcia (formerly known as C.P.X. v. Foxhoven and G.R. v. Foxhoven) that was filed in November 2017 on behalf of boys confined to Iowa’s Boys State Training School who have significant mental illnesses

All four of the Barbara McDowell Foundation's 2021 grantees were contacted in January in accordance with the Foundation’s requirements and reported with respect to the progress of their case through the first quarter of their grant cycle.

A class action lawsuit challenging New York City’s segregated school system for students with disabilities on Staten Island was filed on January 26, 2021.