FebruCERAary 2009
Legal Hotline Connection
Telling the Story of the Hotlines
The Hotline Outcome Conundrum
by Shoshanna
Ehrlich
 Clearly, measuring outcomes resulting from the helpline services is a very different process than measuring outcomes of a full service legal program. The hotlines can not typically document outcomes such as "client's home was saved", or "Social Security Disability eligibility was established".

The hotlines, of course, are geared to analyzing the clients' problem, applying the law to the client's situation, educating the client about his legal rights, obligations and courses of action, counseling the client on solutions, and referring eligible clients for free or reduced fee extended legal services where the case type and the case posture match available programs. The lucky hotline advocate will get to talk with a client before he takes a detrimental action.

How to measure outcomes for these types of services has been a perennial puzzle for hotline managers.
Register Now for Webinar on Outcome Measures

Thursday, March 26th, 2pm-3pm EST
Many senior legal hotline managers struggle with how to tell others about the good work that their hotlines are doing each year.  Many funders and community leaders are looking for more than just a report on the number of clients and cases.  This workshop will discuss telling the story of the hotlines through various outcome measures.  It will discuss the challenges and limitations for hotlines in reporting outcome measures because of the limited levels of service that many offer.
Spotlight on Nevada
by Shoshanna Ehrlich
A Case Study on Providing Legal Services to Elders
While many of us picture Nevada as a place of glittering casinos and dancing hotel fountains, in reality Nevada has the fastest growing population of seniors aged 65 and older in the county and almost a quarter (23%) of the senior population lives below 200% of the Federal Poverty Guidelines.

To address the great and growing legal needs of Nevada Seniors, the Nevada Division for Aging Services successfully applied for an AoA Model Approaches to Statewide Legal Assistance Systems Award in 2007. Sally Ramm, the Nevada Legal Services Developer, oversees the Project. The Division contracted with Nevada Legal Services for implementation of the Project. One of the stated objectives of the Project was to marshal the varied resources for Nevada seniors into a network and maximize efficiencies.
VISTAs Build Capacity at California Senior Legal Hotline
by David Mandel
A NASLH Best-Practice Tip
In late 2005, the California Senior Legal Hotline won approval as a host for AmeriCorps VISTA, and we recruited our first member in early 2006. We're now on our fourth and fifth participants, with No. 4 having re-upped for a second year.

The program is part of the federal Corporation for National and Community Service, which comprises several other AmeriCorps branches and more -- even a senior volunteer corps, RSVP, from which we have also benefitted. VISTA, "Volunteers in Service to America," is distinguished by its mission: "capacity building" work for anti-poverty nonprofits. It's really a great fit for legal services in general -- the anti-poverty part is a no-brainer, and without legal training, the participants couldn't really do legal work anyway. And for a hotline like ours, with chronic funding instability, struggling to survive on a shoestring and in tremendous need of relationship building with a broad range of partners, "capacity building" is exactly where we need help.
Outcome Measures for Title IIIB Legal Assistance Programs
by Matthew G. Batista, J.D.
An Introduction
This article presents an overview of the concept of outcomes measures for legal assistance programs, specifically as it applies to programs serving older persons. As an overview, it describes the impetus for the increased significance of outcome measures, explains the measures themselves, how they can be used, and how and where they "fit" with traditional reporting systems.
Note:  This is a good article for those who are not familiar with outcome measures.  It is included with permission for www.tcsg.org.
Hotline 2008 Data Reporting Has Begun
by Keith L. Morris
Telling the Story of the Hotlines at the National Level
As mentioned in our webinar in January, we are collecting 2008 data from all senior legal helplines.  Thanks to all of the participants in that webinar that provided us feedback and recommendations.  We have finalized the data collection tool, an online survey tool, and are now ready to begin collecting the data.  You can download a copy of the data collection form and access the survey tool by going to our website. 

We want to have all hotlines' data entered by April 1st.   We will then compile all of the information and prepare a formal report for publication that shows the work of the hotlines and the effectiveness of this low-cost delivery system.  You can download a copy of 2007's report here.