NCJ Number
92892
Date Published
1983
Length
141 pages
Annotation
Testimony examines current Federal, regional, and local efforts to provide legal services for the elderly, identifies the legal needs of the elderly and current problems in meeting those needs, and suggests ways to improve legal services to the elderly.
Abstract
The hearing is intended to examine whether the Legal Services Corporation is fulfilling its mandate to provide legal services to the elderly under Section 1007 of the 1974 Legal Services Act, and if not, why not. In addition, the testimony focuses on how the special legal needs of the elderly are being met by the Administration on Aging and by efforts of the private bar. The Deputy Commissioner on Aging of the Administration on Aging discusses the legal needs of the elderly and how they are met under Title III-B of the Older Americans Act. Included is a recounting of the accomplishments, new programs, and strategies that have been developed under Title-B and Title IV of the Older Americans Act to enhance access to legal services by the elderly. Testimony by the executive director of the Iowa Commission on Aging notes the need for legal services among Iowa's elderly and advises that limitations on funding have greatly restricted legal service delivery systems for the elderly. Testimony by other representatives of agencies for the aging specifies particular needs of the elderly for legal services and suggests ways in which such services might be expanded. The director of Legal Services for the Elderly of New York City maintains that the Legal Services Corporation has not been responsive enough to the legal problems of the elderly and that the provision of legal services under the Older Americans Act has not been efficient or effective. The director of the Drake University Law School Legal Clinic describes how this student-staffed program is providing legal services for the elderly and recommends that Federal funding be provided for such programs. For individual documents, see NCJ 92893-94.