FSU, attorneys team up to assist children.

What do special education and health care have to do with each other?

Plenty when it comes to helping children, say the lawyers and law students at the Children's Advocacy Center at the Florida State University College of Law.

Thanks to a $60,000 grant from The Florida Bar Foundation, the charitable arm of The Florida Bar, the Children's Advocacy Center's Special Education/Health Care Law Project is flourishing.

"I can't say enough about what an important grant this is in the state of Florida," said Clinical Professor Paolo Annino, co-director of the Children's Advocacy Center.

"These are children who would have been injured or not receiving services needed to flourish, but for The Florida Bar Foundation grant. That $60,000 grant really is our backbone, the keel of our ship."

There are 41 ongoing cases involving the neediest of children -- homeless children, abused and neglected children in the dependency system, and pregnant teenagers.

One recent case Annino described is a 4-year-old severely autistic child, who runs away, jumps out of car windows and loves to sit in the middle of the road.

"His mom and dad are wonderul working folks, out there trying to keep their heads above water," Annino said.

"But they have their hands full and have two other autistic children. The 4year-old needs a behaviorial management plan, and to get that you have to have a Medicaid waiver."

But the state of Florida refused to grant such a waiver, Annino said, because there was no crisis.

"They were saying he hadn't been hospitalized yet -- the very thing we're trying to avoid."

So Annino and his students represented the child at a contested hearing before an administrative law judge June 13, and they await a ruling.

While Annino has no trouble getting grants for pamphlets, education, and community outreach, it is difficult to get money for litigation on behalf of children.

"A lot of places don't feel comfortable about children having legal rights and going into court. But the Foundation does," a grateful Annino said.

What makes this project unique is the way it links special education and health care, because at least one-third of the kids the Children's Advocacy Center represent have both special education and health care issues.

Described as a model for the state and nation, the project has joined forces with the Leon County Health Department, the Public Defender's Office, the Guardian ad Litem Program, and the Child Protection Team to address special...