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Legal Hotline Connection
June 2010
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Equal Justice Conference 2010 Recap
The Equal Justice Conference took place this year on May
13-15th 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 cancelled 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.
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Independent Senior Legal Hotlines
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.
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Administration on Aging Awards Three Year Grants for Model Approaches Statewide Legal Assistance Systems and
Pension Rights Projects
Model Approaches to Statewide  Legal Assistance
Systems
On
July 8th, 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.
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Kansas Legal Services Elder Law Adviceline- A Pro Bono Attorney Model
 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.
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NCLC Launches New Website!
 The National Consumer Law Centers has launched a new website! On the home page, it has easy access to the NCLC's webinars and the National Elder Rights Training Project. To visit the NCLC website click here. |
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Data Collection Report Update
Reporting Guidelines ad a Data  Collection Form for the
Senior Legal Helplines are nearing a completion. Omar Valverde at AoA drafted
"Reporting
Guidelines for AoA-funded Senior
Legal Helplines/Hotlines" based on the latest LSC Case Service
Handbook. A work group made up of AoA, CERA, and TCSG staff, along
with
managers at four senior helplines using the most popular case
management software systems, having been refining the guidelines,
definitions, and data to be collected. As soon as these are
finalized, we will announce a webinar to familiarize everyone with the
guidelines and how to input data into the online collection form. |
National Aging and Law Conference
National Aging and Law Conference December 9-11, 2010Westin HotelAlexandria, Virginia(Registration to open soon at www.aarp.org/nalc) |
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This
newsletter is produced by the Center for Elder Rights Advocacy, a
partner in the National Legal Resource Center.
Other partners in this effort to provide support to senior legal
programs throughout the nation are National Senior Citizens Law Center,
National Consumer Law Center, The Center for Social Gerontology,
and American Bar Association-Commission on Law and Aging.
For questions, email CERA.
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