| |
 Letters to the 106th Congress September 13, 2000
The Honorable James M. Jeffords, Chair Dear Mr. Chair: I write to you today on behalf of the American Bar Association, in reference to S. 1536, the "Older Americans Act Amendments of 2000," to commend you and your colleagues for your bipartisan efforts to reauthorize the Older Americans Act, and to reaffirm our longstanding support for the Act and the programs it funds. We are very pleased that S.1536 retains Title III-B legal assistance as a priority service and exempts it from cost sharing; that it continues funding for statewide elderlaw hotlines and national legal assistance support under Title IV; and that it retains the legal assistance developer position in Title VII. We also appreciate the requirement that state agencies consider both the capacity and the actual performance of volunteer programs in assessing the need for funding legal services under the Act. However, we are concerned that, in streamlining the position description of the legal assistance developer, S.1536 would eliminate key responsibilities that are likely to reduce the developer's ability to promote the comprehensive legal assistance and elder rights advocacy system envisioned by the Act. As the state's representative, the legal assistance developer is the heart of that system, responsible for identifying and coordinating existing legal assistance programs, providing support and assistance on elder rights issues to the aging network, encouraging the development of alternative systems; assessing unmet legal needs, and ensuring that seniors have access to high quality services to meet those needs. S.1536 eliminates reference to such critical functions as coordinating Older Americans Act legal assistance programs with those funded by the Legal Services Corporation and other sources, including pro bono programs; developing alternative systems, such as pro bono programs, legal hotlines and alternative dispute resolution programs; monitoring the quality and quantity of the legal assistance funded under the Act; assessing the unmet legal needs of older residents; and identifying and coordinating vulnerable elder rights protection activities. The more general language of S.1536 may have been intended to encompass the current range of responsibilities. However, without language expressly delineating Congress' intent that legal assistance developers continue these essential activities, or at the very least a preamble indicating such intent, there is a great likelihood that states will presume such activities to be of a very low order of priority, if not prohibited. The Older Americans Act has created an effective system of legal assistance and advocacy at the local, state and national levels. At each level, legal assistance and other elder rights advocacy programs work collaboratively with the public and private sector to meet the most basic legal needs of those who are economically and socially at risk due to low income, disability, victimization, cultural or geographic isolation, and other circumstances beyond their control. We appreciate the efforts made thus far to preserve this system, but we urge that you retain the language of the current Act with regard to the specific expectations of the legal assistance developer position. We further urge you to fund legal assistance and advocacy services at a level sufficient to meet the objectives of the Act. In so doing, you will ensure that our nation's most vulnerable elders continue to have access to a comprehensive system of high quality legal assistance and advocacy services. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Robert D. Evans cc. Members of the Committee |
AMERICAN BAR
ASSOCIATION Governmental Affairs Office 740 Fifteenth Street, NW Washington, DC 20005 ph: 202-662-1760 fx: 202-662-1762 |