Lessons learned from the first 13 model approaches to legal services delivery

1. Lessons learned from the first 13 model approaches to legal services delivery

2. Presenters • Omar Valverde,U.S. Administration on Aging • David Godfrey,ABA Commission on Law and Aging • Keith Morris,Legal Hotline for Michigan Seniors and Center for Elder Rights Advocacy • Sue Wasserkrug,Senior Law Center

3. Model approaches • Strategic Goal • To promote the creation of comprehensive, well integrated, and cost effective legal service delivery systems that target scarce resources to older adults in the most social or economic need • Tactical Application • Systems that function with the right legal entities, handling the right kinds of legal cases, at the right level of service

4. Model approaches • Essential Features • Senior Legal Helplines • Needs and Capacity Assessments • Leveraging Low Cost Mechanisms • Integration with Aging network • Outreach and Targeting • Reporting Systems and Outcomes • Role of Legal Assistance Developer

5. Model approaches • Needs assessment • Systems capacity • Collaboration with aging network • Training • Targeting services • Integration • Statewide reporting system • Leveraging resources • Outcomes

6. a. Needs Assessments

7. Needs Assessment • Understand before you improve • Legal Needs Studies examine the Demand side of the equation • Legal Needs vs Legal Wants • Benchmarking

8. Many Models for Studies • Statistically valid sample • Targeted sample • Online • Paper • Multiple choice • Narrative • Interviews • Focus groups

9. Look for conditions that place elders at risk: • Income, • Food • Shelter • Health care • Risks to autonomy • Risks of abuse, neglect, exploitation

10. Look beyond the choir • Needs of those we know • Who do you never reach?

11. b. Systems Capacity

12. Supply side of the equation • What is the capacity of the system to meet the needs of the population • How can the supply be enhanced • How can the supply be better coordinated

13. Look beyond the usual suspects • Traditional and non-traditional providers • Collaborations with new partners • Quantitative and Qualitative measures • How many • What issues • What level of service • Think of the full spectrum of legal assistance

14. c. Collaboration with aging network

15. Collaborations • Who else works with or helps your target population?

16. What kind of collaborations • Reciprocal referral arrangements • Cross training • Communications sharing of resources • Collaborative funding • Private bar • Invite – invite – invite

17. d. Training the project that never ends

18. Training, training, and training… • Who to train? • Staff & volunteers • Other legal providers • Aging services network • Government staff, e.g., victim services

19. Training • Topics • Our services & how to access them • Substantive legal issues • Issue spotting • Serving seniors • Capacity issues

20. Training can be an opportunity… • To enlighten the general populations about seniors, their needs and vulnerabilities • To educate the aging services network about low-income issues • To inform about the importance of SLH’s • To create collaborations & coalitions • To find allies & advocates

21. e. Targeting Services

22. Targeting services • Most programs are still very numbers driven and have a hard time changing to impact driven work • Older Americans Act requires targeting to the most economical and socially needy • Cannot means test

23. Targeting services • A struggle for hotlines because most are used to helping all eligible callers • Hotlines have been effective in helping target III-B programs by triaging all clients to identify ones with priority cases • Use the needs assessment to help you determine what types of services are most important to your target population

24. f. Integration

25. Integration • Goal is to create a seamless network of referrals and services, from the client’s perspective • Must include both legal and aging • Use formal agreements to cement relationships • Hard to overcome territorial feelings from some programs

26. integration • Hotlines can play a major role in establishing this seamless program • Use of “warm handoff” is a great benefit to clients • Use technology, such as automated case transfer, to help client and providers • Survey clients to make sure there is no breakdown in the process

27. g. State reporting system

28. Statewide reporting system • How you tell if your efforts for targeting and integration are working • You have to be able to tell your story with an accurate picture • Identify trends and gaps in service • Must have buy-in from AAA because they control the contracts • A strong Legal Assistance Developer is crucial

29. Statewide reporting system • Michigan’s model • Automated data extract of non-identifying client-level information • Statewide system that cross references all entries to create a uniform report • One source for all reports

30. h. Leverage resources

31. Sustainability • Who moved my cheese? • From Day One • New and innovative • Never done before • Share projects • Use legal needs and systems assessment to build the case for state and local funding • Involvement builds buy in • 50% of spending on Title III legal assistance

32. i. Outcomes

33. Outcomes • How did your work change the lives of clients? • Define it • Measure it • Report it • Qualitative vs. quantitative • Outcomes vs. outputs • Crucial for funding!

34. Legal Service Delivery System

35. Customer Centered vision • No wrong door • Improved access

36. Resources • www.nlrc.aoa.gov • www.legalhotlines.org • Omar Valverde, omar.valverde@aoa.hhs.gov • David Godfrey, godfreyd@staff.abanet.org • Keith Morris, kmorris@elderlawofmi.org • Sue Wasserkrug, swasserkrug@seniorlawcenter.org