The Center for Social Gerontology
2307 Shelby Avenue,
Ann Arbor, MI 48103 tel: 734 665-1126 fax: 734 665-2071
tcsg@tcsg.org
LAW &
AGING
The
Center for Social Gerontology, Inc. (TCSG), since its inception in 1972, has
been a non-profit research, training and social policy organization dedicated
to promoting the individual autonomy of older persons and advancing their
well-being in society. TCSG has pursued this goal through a wide variety of
projects, including serving since 1985 as an Administration on Aging-funded
National Support Center in Law & Aging.
TCSG's
mission is to help society adapt to the dramatic increase in the numbers of old
and very old, and to insure that older persons at all socio-economic and health
levels are able to meet their needs and use their talents and abilities in a
changing society. We undertake to lead, and even prod, policy makers and others
to consider carefully the implications of the aging of America in formulating
social policies and programs.
This
web site on Law & Aging was
created to provide information on a variety of topics related to the law and
older Americans.
This
site is divided into the following main sections:
State Legal Services Development -- Including Daily Legal
& Elder Rights News Reports 
This
section of TCSG's site is devoted to State Legal Services Development and has
been created to provide substantial information and resources which will enhance
efforts by Legal Services Developers, providers of legal services for the
elderly, state and area agencies on aging, policymakers and others to promote
elder rights advocacy and the delivery of legal services to the most vulnerable
older Americans. Included are complete lists of each state's Legal Services
Developer, legal services providers for older persons and legal hot lines for
older Americans.
This
section of the site is divided into the following main sections:
RECENT
NEWS: DAILY UPDATES ON LEGAL SERVICES & ELDER RIGHTS DEVELOPMENTS
LISTINGS
OF LEGAL SERVICES DEVELOPERS & ELDER LAW PROGRAMS
OLDER
AMERICANS ACT INFORMATION & LINKS
THE
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF LEGAL SERVICES DEVELOPERS
TCSG's
COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE DELIVERY OF LEGAL ASSISTANCE TO OLDER PERSONS
LEGAL
NEEDS SURVEYS OF OLDER AMERICANS
POWERPOINT
PRESENTATION ON SELECTING A TITLE IIIB LEGAL PROVIDER
ELDER
RIGHTS ADVOCACY
REPORTING
SYSTEMS FOR LEGAL SERVICES FOR THE ELDERLY
INFORMATION
& DATA ON OAA LEGAL SERVICES FOR THE ELDERLY
ELDER
LAW NEWSLETTERS
KEY
LINKS
Older Americans Act Reauthorization, with Complete
Unofficial Compilation of the 2006 Act
TCSG
provides comprehensive information on the Older Americans Act (OAA) related to
its 2006 reauthorization by Congress. Included is an UNOFFICIAL COMPILATION of
the 2006 OAA as amended, prepared by TCSG. Also included are updates related to
the reauthorization of 2006 and links to relevant resources. The site also
contains background information on prior reauthorizations of the OAA, a link to
the official version of the OAA as amended in 2000 as found in the U.S. Code, a
summary of Congressional actions related to the year 2000 reauthorization of
the OAA, together with other information on the OAA, with special focus on
legal services and elder rights.
Best
Practice Notes is published periodically by TCSG. Each issue includes one or
more articles on timely substantive and delivery issues in the field of law and
aging. Past issues can be viewed or downloaded on-line.
Legal Needs Surveys of Older Americans
Legal
Needs of Older Ohioans: A 2008 Survey This
December 2008 survey and report on the legal needs of Ohio's older persons was
prepared by AARP Knowledge Management in collaboration with Pro Seniors, Inc in
order to “understand the legal and personal challenges currently being faced by
older low-income Ohioans.” The survey findings in this 49-page report are
plentiful and indicate “there is a need for free legal services for older Ohio
residents, as well as an opportunity for state officials and organizations to
make strides in areas to improve legal options” for these older Ohioans. 12,000
Ohioans age 60+ with income below $32,000 were targeted in a survey mailed
March-May 2008, and 47% met income target. The respondent sub-groups are also
identified in the 4,715 surveys that were returned, a 39% response rate. To
read a pdf copy of the study including its findings in entirety, please click here.
Legal
Needs of Older Floridians: A 2006 Survey
This 2007 AARP publication, prepared by Erica L. Dinger, AARP Knowledge
Management, reports results from the 2006 Florida legal needs study. The
62-page report provides data on the legal needs and concerns of older
Floridians that include healthcare coverage, housing issues, hurricane repair,
and consumer issues. Conducted in October through December 2006, surveys were
mailed to 13,000 Floridians. Persons age 60 and older with incomes below
$30,000 a year were targeted, and an over-sample of Hispanic Floridians was
drawn. The response rate was 29%, with over 3,750 surveys returned. A
demographic profile of respondents is included in the report, and annotated
questionnaires for the entire sample and for the Hispanic respondents are
included as appendices. To access a copy of this report in pdf, please click here.
Elderly
Legal Assistance Program: Report on the Legal Needs of Seniors in Georgia This September, 2006 report was prepared for the
Georgia Division of Aging Services by the Planning and Evaluation Section
Quality Assurance Team in collaboration with the Georgia Legal Services
Developer, Natalie Thomas. This 23-page report provides an assessment of the
legal needs of Georgia's senior population. In the fall of 2005, the Division
of Aging Services sent a survey form to 1,596 seniors; the response rate was
nearly 30%. The survey was based on a similar survey done in Utah in 2004, and
assistance with the Georgia survey was provided by TCSG staff and TCSG Consulting
Attorney Jilenne Gunther, who was the co-author of the Utah study. The purpose
of the study was to assess (a) the legal needs of Georgia's seniors, (b) their
awareness of available legal services, (c) their experiences with and
perceptions of lawyers, (d) the barriers seniors have with using lawyers, (e)
legal issues that concern seniors, and (f) the legal services that would have
the most benefit for them. To access the 23-page report, in pdf format, click here.
Planning
for the Legal Needs of Utah's Seniors This
2004 survey and report on the legal needs of Utah's older persons was conducted
and written by Jilenne Gunther, J.D., M.S.W., Alan Ormsby, J.D., and Nathan
Stephens, B.S. The study assesses the legal needs of Utah's seniors, their
perceptions of and experiences with attorneys, their awareness of current legal
services, and the barriers to obtaining legal assistance. This 34-page study,
with charts and graphs, provides excellent data, as well as a fine example of
the value of such needs assessments as planning documents and as an essential
document in fund-raising efforts for legal services for older persons. To
access the full study, in pdf format, click here. The 6-page,
43-question, survey questionnaire which was used to conduct this assessment is
available in pdf format by clicking here. To access a
PowerPoint presentation by Jilenne Gunther titled Assessing the Legal Needs
of Seniors describing the study and
its findings, click here.
The National Survey of Legal Assistance for the
Elderly
The
National Survey of Legal Assistance for the Elderly was conducted to assess the
impact of several changes and potential changes in the delivery of legal
assistance to low income older persons. The survey report provides a basis for
programmatic and policy analysis, and decision making on the national, state,
and local levels. The report can be viewed or downloaded on-line.
The Center for Social Gerontology, Inc.
2307 Shelby Avenue Ann Arbor, MI 48103
Tel: (734) 665-1126 Fax: (734) 665-2071
Email: tcsg@tcsg.org
Web site updated daily.