Read more about Thomas E. Beltran’s background and experience

With the ECF, he started a gardening company that resulted in employment opportunities for ECF clients. The program later moved completely off-site, giving participants actual job experience, including a paycheck, outside of the traditional site-based segregated setting almost universal that time.

It was due to the success of the program that Mr. Beltran began to transition to an advocates role. Due to the income, many of the clients were at risk of losing their SSI. Working with Protection & Advocacy, Inc. (now Disability Rights California), Mr. Beltran was able to restore their benefits. Later, in 1985, he worked with Project 2000, which was one of several Congressional demonstration projects established to determine whether the SSI work incentives would become law. The bill was enacted and work incentives of Sections 1619(a) became part of the Social Security Act. The work incentives, allow an SSI recipient to retain the first $ 85.00 of earned income, and $ 0.50 of each subsequent dollar.

Later, Mr. Beltran went on to work with three Los Angeles area regional centers, F.D. Lanterman Regional Center, Westside Regional Center, and North Los Angeles County Regional Center. At F.D. Lanterman Regional Center, Mr. Beltran served as the state hospital coordinator for several state developmental centers, providing case management and assisting the transition from the centers to placement in the community. At Westside Regional Center, Mr. Beltran managed the criminal diversion case load, making court appearances to put together Penal Code § 1001.20 plans, and follow-up reports to the court. After law school, Mr. Beltran served as Clients Rights Advocate for the North Los Angeles County Regional Center.

In 1994, Mr. Beltran began private practice, and in 2001, joined Beltran, Beltran, Smith, Oppel & Mackenzie, L.L.P.