Legal Assistance Program
What is the Legal Assistance Program?
Recognizing that, nationally, older people have always faced a variety of legal issues that affect their ability to live independently and with dignity, Congress amended the Older Americans Act (OAA) in 1984, designating legal assistance as a priority service. The Legal Assistance Program is an advocacy program providing legal advice and representation on civil legal matters (including representation in court) by attorneys participating in the program to older adults with greatest economic or social needs who otherwise would not be able to obtain the services of an attorney. The program may include counseling or other appropriate assistance by a paralegal or law student under the direct supervision of an attorney.
In accordance with Title III of the OAA each area agency on aging (AAA) offers legal assistance. The AAA contracts with one more providers which may be a Legal Services Corporation grantee (e.g., a legal aid society) or not-for-profit corporation organized for the delivery of legal services, a law firm or private practitioner, or a law school based clinic. Legal assistance providers help older adults to understand their rights, exercise options through informed decision-making and achieve optimal benefit from the support and opportunities promised by law.
The AAA in consultation with its provider(s) determines case priorities for service delivery in order to allocate program resources for older adults least able to obtain legal assistance elsewhere. The case priorities should be based upon an assessment of the legal needs of those older adults who are most vulnerable due to social and/or economic circumstances, particularly those who are frail, isolated and/or minorities or who have limited English proficiency. Pursuant to the OAA, AAAs are to give priority to legal assistance related to income, health care, long-term care, nutrition, housing, utilities, protective services, abuse, neglect, age discrimination and representation of an alleged incapacitated person seeking to avoid a guardianship.
Whom does the program serve?
The program serves older adults, 60 years of age or older. Although there is no means test for participating in the program, the resources for the program are limited. Legal assistance is targeted to particularly needy populations. Needy populations include the following groups: anyone whose income is at or below the federal poverty line; residents of nursing homes or adult homes; anyone who has assisted living needs or chronic health problems; anyone who has difficulty accessing health care; people who are homeless or threatened with homelessness; people who have limited English proficiency, victims of abuse, neglect or exploitation; or people who are physically isolated.
What services are available?
The program provides advice and, whenever appropriate and necessary, legal representation. Legal representation could include a letter or telephone call to resolve a dispute, or an appearance at a fair hearing or other administrative proceeding. In rare instances it may involve representation in civil court. The program does not provide representation in criminal matters. The program should provide services in the areas of law most likely to be encountered by older adults with greatest economic or social need. The case priorities selected by the AAA and its legal assistance provider(s) may include:
- Assistance with appeals of public benefits decisions, workers compensation, unemployment compensation, and veterans benefits;
- Landlord-tenant issues, foreclosure, home repair issues, utility shut offs;
- Medicare or Medicaid issues;
- Nursing home or adult home issues;
- Consumer contract or warranty issues;
- Bankruptcy or debt collection improprieties; or
- Preservation of personal autonomy including preparation of a power of attorney, health care proxy and/or living will or representation of an alleged incapacitated person seeking to avoid guardianship.
How does someone access the services?
The process for accessing legal services varies among the AAAs. In some AAAs the older adult is required to contact the AAA to be referred for legal assistance. In such AAAs older adults who believe that they would benefit from the counsel of an attorney initiate the process by contacting the AAA to be referred to the legal assistance provider. Alternatively, some of the AAAs encourage the older adult to contact the legal assistance provider directly. In these instances the AAA includes on their website the contact telephone number or e-mail address of the legal assistance provider(s).
The contact information for the AAAs is available at the NYSOFA website.
Other Resources
For assistance with consumer issues:
The New York State Office of the Attorney General includes the Bureau of Consumer Frauds and Protection
as part of its Economic Justice Division which provides general information to consumers, receives and mediates consumer complaints and prosecutes businesses and individuals engaged in fraudulent, misleading, deceptive or illegal trade practices.
The Division of Consumer Protection of the New York State Department of State protects New Yorkers by conducting investigations and hearings; enforcing the “Do Not Call Law”; responding to individual marketplace complaints; and publicizing unscrupulous and questionable business practices and product recalls.
For assistance with landlord-tenant issues:
The New York Office of the State Attorney General has published a
guide for tenants providing general information about the rights of tenants summarizing and explaining the laws.
For residents of New York City the New York City Department of Housing and Community Preservation has published a guide entitled the ABCs of Housing: Housing Rules and Regulations for Owners and Tenants.
The New York City Department of Homeless Services provides information for individuals at risk of eviction and there are organizations that provide legal assistance to tenants that have been issued an eviction notice.
The Office of the State Attorney General issued a guide for
manufactured home park tenants addressing the unique aspects of such relationships.
The Division of Housing and Community Renewal (DHCR) is authorized to enforce the law governing year-round mobile home parks (Section 233 of the Real Property Law). DHCR administers the
Manufactured Home Park Program
which includes a 24-hour telephone hotline.
Download Microsoft Word doc and docx viewer
Download Adobe Acrobat Reader to view our pdf documents
