CA

The California Senior Legal Hotline, the state Department of Aging, and the Legal Aid Association of California are partners in the 2009 Model Approaches Project with the goal of meeting the legal needs of more seniors throughout the state. Although the Senior Legal Hotline has since limited statewide services to pension counseling and domestic violence, the work of the partners is actively continuing and the Project has recently completed various studies including “Assessing the Legal Needs of California’s Seniors” and “Assessing the Capacity of California’s Legal Service System to Meet the Needs of Older Californians.”

In the past year a number of senior legal hotlines operating have taken a hit:

CA: The Senior Legal Hotline at Legal Services of Northern California, in operation since 1994, suspended statewide operations, except for specially funded projects, in 2010. During the last few months, David Mandel, the longtime supervising attorney, left the program, and statewide operation of the telephone hotline is limited to pension counseling and domestic violence matters. It is unlikely that LSNC will pursue re-opening a statewide senior legal hotline.

David Mandel, former Supervising Attorney of the California Senior Legal Hotline and a founding member of the National Association of Senior Legal Hotlines, was inducted into the National Association of Legal Services Developers (NALSD) Class of 2011 Elder Rights Advocacy Hall of Fame.  The induction took place during NALSD's annual symposium, November 10th in Boston, Massachusetts, in conjunction with the 2011 National Aging and Law Institute. The three other inductees for 2011 are Mary Catherine Rabbitt, Legal Services Developer from Colorado, Mary Louise Wilson, Legal Services Provider from Nebraska, and Paul Greenwood, Assistant District Attorney from San Diego prosecutor’s cases of Elder Abuse.

After several rounds of Model Approaches grants, 23 states have used this opportunity to improve legal services for seniors in their state.  This article highlights the efforts and successes of five of model approaches projects:  Michigan, Vermont, Rhode Island, Utah, and Ohio.

What happens to hotline clients after the call? Finding ways to measure the ultimate impact of the hotline service on clients’ lives is an intricate puzzle. Some programs use their case management coding system to record the immediate impact of the hotline consultation on the client. This method looks at the service provided from the client’s point of view. If the hotline advocate explained the client’s legal rights or referred the client to a legal aid attorney, the immediate outcome can be identified as ‘client obtained explanation of legal rights, client obtained referral to legal aid attorney.'

The Iowa MA Project was funded with the first round of MA awards in 2006. The Project period ended in May 2010. With the combination of a dynamic and dedicated Legal Services Developer, Deanna Clingan-Fischer, an experienced and committed Senior Legal Hotline Manager, Scott Hartsook, and a team of aging and legal services network partners, the Project has produced an impressive library of documents which other programs will find extremely useful.

The first round of Model Approaches Projects was funded by the Administration on Aging in 2006. The three year awards were made to the State Units on Aging in Alabama, Idaho, Iowa, Maryland, North Dakota and Virginia.  The Virginia award was directed to planning and coalition building under the leadership of the Legal Assistance Developer and did not include plans for a statewide senior legal helpline. The other MA states’ Legal Assistance Developers partnered with legal aid programs to start or expand statewide senior legal helplines as part of their goal to develop an integrated legal service delivery system for seniors.

The National Association of Senior Legal Hotlines held its 2010 Annual Meeting at NALC in December. It was very well attended with members from California, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Massachusetts, Michigan, Rhode Island, Utah, Texas, Ohio, Nebraska, West Virginia, Maryland, Washington D.C. and Florida present.

Special thanks to Omar Valverde, Program Specialist at the Administration on Aging for his summary of the content of Assistance Secretary of Aging Kathy Greenlee’s Keynote Address. The summary used for this article was not intended to represent a transcript of the ASA’s remarks, but was intended to highlights key aspects of the ASA’s comments.

NALC 2010 was terrific. The workshops were highly rated, the topics were relevant and the networking extremely fruitful. ASA Kathy Greenlee’s Keynote Address alone was worth the trip. ASA Greenlee, a former Kansas Legal Services attorney, inspired the attendees by stressing that she understands us, supports us, and is one of us. When she highlighted the importance of legal assistance developers and legal helplines to the legal services delivery system, the surprise and excitement was palpable.

I’ve been fortunate enough that before working with CERA, I had the opportunity to see how two very different legal hotline models function:  a full-service model and a hotline-only model.  Both do a wonderful job of providing much needed legal advice to underserved clients.  However, there is definitely a wide range of differences, as well as advantages and disadvantages, between the two models.  This article explores some of the brief observations that I have made, transitioning between the two.

In the July 2010 LHC we listed the 2010 Model Approaches awardees. In this issue, we will summarize each of the project plans.  The overall Project goal is to increase the availability of high-quality, high-impact, low-cost legal services for the most vulnerable seniors. As the request for proposals required,  each of the states will target vulnerable populations and seek to expand access to legal services to seniors most in need. Each of the states will be embarking on a legal needs study of some type, a legal system capacity study, the creation or expansion of coalitions and workgroups for planning and maintaining the statewide delivery system, and the integration of low cost delivery mechanisms, including a senior legal helpline. Below we describe some additional specific attributes of each project.

History

Legal Aid of Nebraska (LAN) instituted a telephone “AccessLine®” in 1999 to provide centralized intake screening and advice for its seven offices.  LAN currently operates three separate legal hotlines from its Omaha office:  the AccessLine® for intake/advice for LSC eligible clients, the ElderAccessLine® for Nebraskans over 60 years of age and the Native American AccessLine®.   Legal Aid also operates a Rural Response Hotline out of their Bancroft office.  This hotline primarily handles agriculture issues.  The ElderAccessLine® was added as a separate service because the staff and leadership realized that many seniors were having trouble connecting through the regular AccessLine®. Long hold times, telephone system navigation, and the subject matter of the calls made it somewhat difficult for seniors to get through to the specialized services they needed. In 2005, LAN took advantage of the opportunity presented by an Administration on Aging (AoA) competitive grant to develop low cost legal delivery innovations to launch its ElderAccessLine®. The line began operating in 2006 and in 2009, LAN, in partnership with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, received an AoA “Model Approaches to Statewide Legal Assistance Systems” award to increase access to legal assistance for seniors through the ElderAccessLine®, among other aspects of the MA project.

On July 8^th, 2010, HHS Assistant Secretary for Aging Kathy Greenlee announced an award of $700,000 to seven states to help at-risk older Americans have better access to legal services. The awards of $100,000 were made to the State Unit on Aging or a legal service provider in each state. Whether the awardee is the State Unit on Aging or the legal provider, the state Legal Assistance Developer and the legal services organization will work in partnership to integrate senior legal helplines, pro bono attorneys, law school clinics, Title IIIB providers and others into a coordinated statewide legal services program. “Through [Model Approaches]” demonstration grants the AoA assists states in integrating helplines and other low-cost legal assistance mechanisms as critical, permanent, and sustained components of components of comprehensive legal service delivery programs across the county.”’

History

Kansas Legal Services (KLS) Elder Law Adviceline was started with an AoA Title IV Legal Hotlines grant back in 1996. Fourteen years since its launch, the program is still going strong. Marilyn Harp, now Executive Director of KLS, was instrumental in applying for the AoA grant and launching the Kansas Elder Law Adviceline. This model is unique among the statewide senior legal helplines in that it was designed to operate with pro bono attorney staffing and a majority (about 50%) of its calls are handled by volunteers. We talked with Marilyn and Jan Wagner, Chief of Staff for the Hotline, to learn why KLS chose this model, and to understand its benefits and limitations.

The Equal Justice Conference took place this year on May 13-15^th in Phoenix. The Cliffside resort locale was dramatic but no more so than the political and emotional atmosphere generated by passage of Arizona SB 1070 shortly before the conference dates. The week before the conference NLADA pulled its sponsorship. Huge numbers of attendees decided not to come in protest of the law, reducing attendance from 1000+ registrants to less than 600. Many workshops were canceled and many others went on without their full panels. Some of our most experienced senior legal hotline colleagues and presenters did not attend because of their programs’ decision to boycott Arizona. The opening plenary session attendees were greeted by a line of good natured picketers singing their protest to the tune of the Village People’s “YMCA”. The irony of the protest was that the attendees of this conference are the people most dedicated to securing equal justice. Many were equally disturbed by the law and looking for ways to express their disagreement.

A handful of the 30 statewide senior legal helplines (TX, MI, KY, WV, NM, and LA) are part of organizations that do not provide extended legal services. Historically, this model was called a “standalone” hotline but that designation has the unfortunate connotation of isolation rather than integration. In fact, these helplines are integral parts of the senior legal service delivery system and provide a focal point for access, screening and advice, streamlined referrals, collaborative planning efforts, and training.  For that reason, we will refer to them as “independent” rather than “standalone” helplines in this article, but if you have a better name, please let us know.

Utah Legal Services, with funding from an AoA Model Approaches for Statewide Legal Assistance award, launched its Statewide Senior Legal Helpline on March 1st. Utah Legal Services has operated  a statewide telephone intake system for more than fifteen years. A telephone and case management software infrastructure was already in place on which to build the senior legal helpline.

Pro Seniors, Inc. located in Cincinnati, received an AoA Model Approaches to Statewide Legal Assistance Systems Award in 2009.  Since Ohio does not have a Legal Assistance Developer, the proposal was submitted by Pro Seniors with the support of the Ohio Department of Aging, which houses the Office of the Long Term Care Ombudsman.

Robert Carowitz, Senior Attorney, Legal Hotline for Michigan Seniors

The idea of having a panel of attorneys who would accept cases from the Legal Hotline for Michigan Seniors arose when the Hotline began in 1990.  Hotline founders felt a referral panel would be important for two reasons.  Importantly, it would be a benefit to Hotline callers who needed the assistance of a hands-on attorney and were uncertain how to find one.  A referral to a Panel Attorney carried with it the Hotline’s “stamp of approval” that the attorney would be competent and appropriate.  Additionally, it was felt the arrangement might provide some revenue to the fledging Hotline if a portion of the fee was split with the organization.

James Cook, Deputy Director, Idaho Legal Aid Services

Idaho Legal Aid Services (ILAS) is grateful to have been received Model Approaches funding in partnership with the Idaho Commission on Aging (ICOA). The project goal was to create an integrated, statewide, legal services delivery system to target and more efficiently serve larger numbers of seniors. The project included an assessment of the legal needs of Idaho seniors, review of Idaho’s legal services delivery system, and development of a plan to effectively incorporate low-cost mechanisms to address the needs of the senior community. Selected mechanisms included: (1) the re-establishment of a statewide senior legal hotline (Hotline); (2) creation of the nation’s first web-based senior legal form library linked to document automation and assembly software; (3) an increase in the number of senior related content on the ILAS website and; (4) greater coordination of services by senior legal service providers. The project has been guided by an Advisory Committee (Committee) with stakeholders from the legal services delivery community and senior service organizations.

Jaffe Pickett, Supervising Attorney, Alabama Elder Law Helpline

The AOA Model Approaches project has been a huge success.  As our grant cycle comes to an end we realize the impact Legal Services Alabama’s Elder Helpline has made throughout the state.  Through our partnership with the Alabama Department of Senior Services the Helpline has become a major source of legal assistance for seniors in Alabama.

We have aging partners throughout Alabama who have largely benefited from our services by receiving referrals as well as assistance on handling files and calls they would otherwise have to handle.  In this light, the helpline has served as a “filter” of sorts, to offer council and advice, referral and resource information and limited legal assistance to seniors across Alabama.  This has greatly expanded the number of extended services our partnering Aging Attorneys can handle.

Bay Area Legal Services’ Senior Legal Helpline has been honored by the Florida Coalition on Aging with its Quality Senior Living Award. The award is presented annually to an individual or organization for actions that improve the lives of the state’s older citizens.  “We are honored to have been chosen,” said B. Maria Carruba-Fuentes, manager of the helpline. “It reflects the hard work of everyone who staffs the helpline.”  Established in 2005 and funded by the Florida Bar Foundation and the Florida Department of Elder Affairs with a U.S. Administration on Aging Grant, the helpline provides a convenient point of access for Floridians aged 60 and older to receive free legal advice, brief services and referrals for extended legal representation.  Learn more about Bay Area Legal Services at www.bals.org
Source:  LSC Updates Newsletter

When the statewide senior legal hotline model was launched and expanded by a partnership of AARP Foundation and the Administration on Aging close to 20 years ago, the goal was to connect seniors with free, high quality legal advice and referral through the easy accessibility of the telephone. Most likely unforeseen at the time, however, was that the legal hotline platform would serve as infrastructure for responding to natural disasters and various surges in legal needs.

The 2008 Senior Legal Helplines Annual Report is up at www.legalhotlines.org. Twenty-two statewide senior legal hotlines provided data to CERA on their productivity, funding, levels of service, and client demographics.  Legal helpline managers and planners can compare their own program data to the averages for the twenty-two helplines. Since the report contains detailed data for each of the twenty-two participants, programs can also compare data to states with similar populations and/or helpline models.  The report can be used as a tool to determine whether a program operates at a typical level of productivity and expense. If a program varies greatly from the average, it can analyze whether the variance is the result of a programmatic decision to provide more in-depth, hence fewer and more expensive services, or whether the deviation is the by product of procedures which could be adjusted to achieve more efficiency or quality.

On September 18^th, the AoA issued a press release announcing the recipients of its Model Approaches to Statewide Legal Assistance Systems awards. Eleven cooperative agreements, a record number, were awarded. The purpose of the funding opportunity was to support state leadership efforts to develop integrated, coordinated state legal services for seniors that incorporate senior legal helplines and other low cost delivery mechanisms with Title IIIB legal services and other available resources. Most of the Projects include the completion of legal needs and system capacity assessment. The awards were for approximately $100,000 per year for a three year period.  The awards went to: