§3058j. State elder rights and legal assistance development

(a) Establishment

(1) In general

In order to be eligible to receive an allotment under section 3058b of this title from funds appropriated under section 3058a(c) of this title, a State agency shall, in accordance with this section and in consultation with area agencies on aging, establish a program to provide leadership for improving the quality and quantity of legal and advocacy assistance as a means for ensuring a comprehensive elder rights system.

(2) Coordination and assistance

In carrying out the program established under this subpart, the State agency shall coordinate, and provide assistance to, area agencies on aging and other entities in the State that assist older individuals in-

(A) understanding the rights of the older individuals;

(B) exercising choice;

(C) benefiting from services and opportunities authorized by law;

(D) maintaining the rights of the older individuals and, in particular, of the older individuals with reduced capacity; and

(E) solving disputes.

(b) Functions

In carrying out this subpart, the State agency shall-

(1) establish a focal point for elder rights policy review, analysis, and advocacy at the State level, including such issues as guardianship, age discrimination, pension and health benefits, insurance, consumer protection, surrogate decisionmaking, protective services, public benefits, and dispute resolution;

(2) provide an individual who shall be known as a State legal assistance developer, and other personnel, sufficient to ensure-

(A) State leadership in securing and maintaining legal rights of older individuals;

(B) State capacity for coordinating the provision of legal assistance;

(C) State capacity to provide technical assistance, training and other supportive functions to area agencies on aging, legal assistance providers, ombudsmen, and other persons as appropriate; and

(D) State capacity to promote financial management services for older individuals at risk of conservatorship;

(3)(A) develop, in conjunction with area agencies on aging and legal assistance providers, statewide standards for the delivery of legal assistance to older individuals; and

(B) provide technical assistance to area agencies on aging and legal assistance providers to enhance and monitor the quality and quantity of legal assistance to older individuals, including technical assistance in developing plans for targeting services to reach the older individuals with greatest economic need and older individuals with greatest social need, with particular attention to low-income minority individuals;

(4) provide consultation to, and ensure, the coordination of activities with the legal assistance provided under subchapter III of this chapter, services provided by the Legal Service Corporation, and services provided under subparts II, III, and V of this part, as well as other State or Federal programs administered at the State and local levels that address the legal assistance needs of older individuals;

(5) provide for the education and training of professionals, volunteers, and older individuals concerning elder rights, the requirements and benefits of specific laws, and methods for enhancing the coordination of services;

(6) promote, and provide as appropriate, education and training for individuals who are or might become guardians or representative payees of older individuals, including information on-

(A) the powers and duties of guardians or representative payees; and

(B) alternatives to guardianship;

(7) promote the development of, and provide technical assistance concerning, pro bono legal assistance programs, State and local bar committees on aging, legal hot lines, alternative dispute resolution, programs and curricula, related to the rights and benefits of older individuals, in law schools and other institutions of higher education, and other methods to expand access by older individuals to legal assistance and advocacy and vulnerable elder rights protection activities;

(8) provide for periodic assessments of the status of elder rights in the State, including analysis-

(A) of the unmet need for assistance in resolving legal problems and benefits-related problems, methods for expanding advocacy services, the status of substitute decisionmaking systems and services (including systems and services regarding guardianship, representative payeeship, and advance directives), access to courts and the justice system, and the implementation of civil rights and age discrimination laws in the State; and

(B) of problems and unmet needs identified in programs established under subchapter III of this chapter and other programs; and

(9) for the purpose of identifying vulnerable elder rights protection activities provided by the entities under this subpart, and coordinating the activities with programs established under subchapter III of this chapter and subparts II, III, and V of this part, develop working agreements with-

(A) State entities, including the consumer protection agency, the court system, the attorney general, the State equal employment opportunity commission, and other State agencies; and

(B) Federal entities, including the Social Security Administration, Health Care Financing Administration, and the Department of Veterans' Affairs, and other entities.

(Pub. L. 89–73, title VII, §731, as added Pub. L. 102–375, title VII, §704, Sept. 30, 1992, 106 Stat. 1285 .)

Section Referred to in Other Sections

This section is referred to in section 3012 of this title.