FORT IRWIN, Calif. — The Fort Irwin Legal Assistance Office currently provides a variety of services to all active duty service members, retirees and their eligible family members. These services include legal advice on family law, landlord/tenant disputes, SCRA protections, immigration, consumer transactions, debt collections, financial fraud alerts/transactions, tort claims, and income tax returns, among other services. Notaries, Powers of Attorney, medical directives and wills are also some of our common and most requested services. These services are provided at no cost to those eligible. So what’s new?
We are proud to announce that the Fort Irwin Legal Assistance Office now offers legal assistance to military families with special education needs. This new legal service offers advice and assistance on education and school related issues that military families may encounter and how the law applies to the special education process. Parents often struggle when moving to a new duty station while also trying to meet the special education needs of their children. There are countless resources to help parents who have children with learning or other diagnosed disabilities that impact their school education, but sometimes having a knowledgeable attorney can better help to move along the process.
The special education system was designed to ensure that a child with a disability has an opportunity to succeed in his or her education just as a child without a disability. A mechanism was established to measure education progress. Schools and parents are expected to work together to create a team-based approach to meet each child’s unique education needs. If all goes well, the child will progress, but that is not always the case.
We are here to educate and advocate for parents and children with special education needs, to include attending a meeting with a parent and child if requested. Our attorneys will advocate to ensure plans and decisions are in the best interest of the parent and child; giving them the right to a free, appropriate public education and free disability evaluations at the school or through military resources.
COVID-19 has impacted many offices and operational procedures, including ours. We assure you that our current remote services and precautions to safeguarding the confidentiality of all privileged communications during the attorney-client relationship is taken seriously for all legal services provided. Prior to appointments requiring legal advice, we will need more information and documents. For an appointment, leave a message at 760-380-5321 or email us at usarmy.irwin.imcom.mbx.ntc-osja-client-services@mail.mil and your call or email will be promptly returned. Our hours of operation are Monday through Wednesday, and Friday 8a.m. -4p.m. and Thursdays from 1p.m. – 4p.m.
