National Legal Resource Center

Authorizing legislation: Title IV, Section 420 (a) of the Older Americans Act, as amended

• The Purpose of the Program and How it Works
• Data Highlight: Services Provided to Legal and Aging networks
• Funding History

The National Legal Resource Center (NLRC) serves as a centralized access point for a national legal assistance support system serving professionals and advocates working in legal and aging services networks, and advances the following two (2) primary objectives:

• Objective 1: The NLRC supports the leadership, knowledge, and systems capacity of states, legal services providers, area agencies on aging, ADRCs, and other organizations serving older persons in order to enhance the quality, cost effectiveness, and accessibility of legal assistance, and elder rights programs provided to older persons.
• Objective 2: The NLRC supports demonstration projects designed to expand or improve the delivery of legal assistance and elder rights protections to older persons with social or economic needs.

The NLRC repositions the legal assistance support system to advance initiatives designed to create integrated and efficient legal service delivery systems, promote home and community-based long-term care, and enhance  independence,choice , and financial security  for older persons and their families.

Cooperative Agreements awarded under the NLRC fund organizations that collaborate within the NLRC to generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge and expertise. The organizations seek to enhance state and local efforts that promote and provide legal assistance and elder rights protections to elders most in need.

Five (5) organizations are currently funded as collaborating organizations under the NLRC and serve the following core support functions for aging and legal networks:

• Case Consultation: The National Senior Citizens Law Center (NSCLC) provides case consultation for professionals and advocates in the field of law and aging to assist them in the resolution of complex legal problems impacting older persons. http://www.nsclc.org/
• Training: The National Consumer Law Center (NCLC) provides training for professionals and advocates from aging and legal services networks on a wide range of legal and elder rights issues.
  http://www.consumerlaw.org/
• Technical Assistance/ Legal and Aging Systems Development
1. The Center for Social Gerontology (TCSG) provides technical assistance in the development of efficient and effective legal and aging service delivery systems that address priority issues impacting older persons. http://www.tcsg.org/
2. Center for Elder Rights Advocates (CERA) provides technical assistance to a network of legal helpline professionals that provide cost effective and accessible legal assistance to older persons. http://www.elderslaw.org/
• Information and Resource Development and Dissemination:
  The American Bar Association, Commission on Law on Aging (ABA-COLA) provides professionals and advocates in aging and legal services networks with quality information and resources on legal and elder rights issues impacting older persons.http://www.legalhotlines.org/

The provision of case consultation, training, technical assistance, and other legal resources enhances the ability of legal and aging service providers and advocates to help older persons maintain independence, live in the community or the least restrictive environment, exercise choice and self-directed care, and maintain their financial security.

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Anticipated NLRC Outcomes include:

• The NLRC will increase the number of professionals and advocates in the field of law and aging receiving case consultation, training, technical assistance, and other legal resources.
• The NLRC will quantify the percentage of professionals and advocates in the field of law and aging who assign a high rating to the quality of support received.
• The NLRC will quantify the percentage of professionals and advocates in the field of law and aging who attribute the successful resolution of specific legal issues to the support provided.
• The NLRC will measure and provide the results of direct technical support and training to aging and legal service providers who are developing innovations in integrated and targeted service delivery systems.

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