The Center for Social Gerontology
2307
Shelby Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48103 tel: 734 665-1126 fax: 734 665-2071
tcsg@tcsg.org
STATE LEGAL
SERVICES
DEVELOPMENT
Updated July 2, 2009
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.
In these roles, TCSG has, since the early 1970s, been
actively involved in working on aging programs and advocacy related to the
Older American's Act. A primary focus of TCSG's activities has been on legal
services development on
the national, state and local levels. A major part of our legal services
development activities has been the promotion of the effective and efficient
delivery of legal services for the most vulnerable older persons. A key
component of a states' legal services delivery system and of its elder rights
advocacy is the State Legal Services Developer, a position which originated in 1976
through the actions of the federal Administration on Aging and which now exists
in all 50 states. TCSG has been deeply committed to the Legal Services
Developer concept since its inception and has worked closely with the
Developers in the 50 states since they began. TCSG also was instrumental in the
creation of the National Association of Legal Services Developers in the late 1980s and continues to
provide support to this important organization. In addition, TCSG played a
significant role in the formulation and adoption by Congress in 1992 of Title
VII of the Older Americans Act - the Elder Rights title - and particularly the State
Elder Rights and Legal Assistance Development Program chapter of Title VII.
This web site on State Legal Services Development has been created to provide
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 the delivery of legal
services to the most vulnerable older Americans.
RECENT NEWS
Recent News
about Legal Services & Elder Rights Developments: Updated July 2, 2009
NEW:
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 above.
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 above.
Legal
Needs Assessment 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., (Utah Legal Services Developer) 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, is available in pdf format, by clicking above. 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.
State
Legal Assistance Development Program Study Prepared in October, 2003, by Natalie
Thomas, Esq., Georgia Legal Services Developer, and Richard Ingham, Esq.,
Oklahoma Legal Services Developer, under a grant from the Borchard Center on
Law & Aging. This landmark, 150-page study is available in pdf format by
clicking above.
PowerPoint
Presentation on Selecting a Title IIIB Legal Provider Prepared by Natalie Thomas, Esq., Georgia
Legal Services Developer
Oklahoma's Law
Establishing "An Office of Elder Rights & Legal Assistance Services
Development" (Signed
by Governor Keating on April 16, 2001)
LISTINGS OF LEGAL SERVICES DEVELOPERS & ELDER LAW
PROGRAMS
Listing of State
Legal Services Developers in 52 states & territories: Updated May 1, 2009: to access a printer-friendly, Adobe pdf
version of the Legal Services Developers listing, click here.
Listing of
State Long Term Care Ombudsman in 53 states & territories: This link takes you to a complete list of
the Long-Term-Care Ombudsman on the National Citizen's Coalition for Nursing
Home Reform website.
Listing of State
Legal Services Providers for Older Americans: By State
Listing
of Legal Hotlines for Older Americans -- AoA Site
Link
to Legal Services Corporation site to locate all LSC-funded legal services
programs in the nation: these programs serve low-income older persons and many also have
Title IIIB OAA grants to serve older persons.
Links to other key
Legal Services-related sites
Consumers'
Guide to Legal Help on the Internet - ABA site
OLDER AMERICANS ACT INFORMATION & LINKS
TCSG's
Reauthorization of the Older Americans Act Web Site This link is to TCSG's site for
comprehensive information on the OAA, including on the reauthorization of the
OAA which occurred in 2006 and including a complete UNOFFICIAL COMPILATION of
the OAA as amended in 2006, as prepared by TCSG.
Older Americans
Act as amended in 2000 online: official version This is the copy of the Older Americans
Act as amended in 2000 as found on the site of the official U.S. Code, prepared
by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives.
This link takes you to the U.S. Code where you will be able to access each
Title of the OAA separately, but not as one document; to access the full OAA in
one document, see link immediately below.
Older
Americans Act as amended in 2000: official version This is a complete copy of the OAA as
amended in 2000. Unlike the version above, this will allow you to access the
U.S. Code version with the complete text in one document.
Legal Assistance
& the 2000 OAA Amendments: Questions & Answers
The Focus on Elder
Rights Advocacy in the new Title VII in the 1992 Amendments to the OAA
2005
White House Conference on Aging authorization language in OAA of 2000 This link takes you to the language in the
OAA of 2000 which authorizes the 2005 White House Conference on Aging. Go to
this site and scroll down about three-fourth's of the way, where you will find
the language.
THE ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES OF LEGAL SERVICES
DEVELOPERS
State
Legal Assistance Development Program Study Prepared in October, 2003, by Natalie
Thomas, Esq., Georgia Legal Services Developer, and Richard Ingham, Esq.,
Oklahoma Legal Services Developer, under a grant from the Borchard Center on
Law & Aging. This landmark, 150-page study is available in pdf format by
clicking above.
Legal Services
Developers: The Key to a Strong Elder Rights System
TCSG's COMPREHENSIVE GUIDE TO THE DELIVERY OF LEGAL
ASSISTANCE TO OLDER PERSONS
This guide, which has been in print form since 1988, with periodic updates, is
now being updated; over the coming months, TCSG will be placing individual
chapters of the Guide on this web site. Click below for the Introduction pages
of the guide and each chapter.
Introduction
Pages for the Comprehensive Guide
Chapter
12: National Resource and Support Organizations
LEGAL NEEDS SURVEYS OF OLDER AMERICANS
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 above.
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 above.
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., (Utah Legal Services Developer) 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 above.
Survey
Questionnaire for Utah Legal Needs Assessment: The 6-page, 43-question, survey
questionnaire which was used to conduct the Utah Legal Needs Assessment (see
above) is available in pdf format by clicking above. Such a survey could be
utilized in other states to conduct similar assessments. In Spring, 2005, TCSG
expects to publish an article in our Best Practice Notes describing how to conduct and utilize
such legal needs assessments; the article will be available online.
PowerPoint
presentation on Utah Legal Needs Assessment:Jilenne Gunther created a PowerPoint
titled Assessing the Legal Needs of Seniors describing the Utah Legal Needs
assessment and its findings. To access the PowerPoint click above.
POWERPOINT PRESENTATION ON SELECTING A TITLE IIIB LEGAL
PROVIDER This PowerPoint presentation was
prepared by Natalie Thomas, Esq., the Georgia Legal Services Developer, for a
speech delivered to Area Agency on Aging directors and staff to assist them in
understanding and implementing the requirements of the Older Americans Act
regarding the selection of the "best entity" as their Title IIIB
legal provider. The 15-slide PowerPoint presentation can be downloaded and
adapted for your own use by clicking here
ELDER RIGHTS ADVOCACY
Elder
Rights Advocacy & the LSC Restrictions: How Serious is the Conflict?
A
Model for Statewide Elder Rights Advocacy: the Massachusetts Elderly Legal
Coalition
REPORTING SYSTEMS FOR LEGAL SERVICES FOR THE ELDERLY
Outcome Measures for
Title IIIB Legal Assistance Programs: An Introduction
Reporting &
Title IIIB Legal Assistance Programs; also, the Michigan Statewide Reporting
System
INFORMATION & DATA ON OAA LEGAL SERVICES FOR THE
ELDERLY
TCSG's
National Survey of Legal Assistance for the Elderly: 1998
ELDER LAW NEWSLETTERS
Link to
TCSG's Best Practice Notes Newsletters
KEY LINKS
Link to Administration on
Aging overall web site
Link
to Administration on Aging "Elder Rights & Resources" site
Link
to Legal Services site of National Aging Information Center
Link to Long Term
Care Ombudsman Resource Center, with listing of all State LTC Ombudsmen
Link to Legal
Services Corporation's Online Resource Library