Wisconsin Elder Legal Needs Study: Final Report of the American Bar Association Commission on Legal Problems of the Elderly (Three Volumes)
Author(s):
Aba Commission On Legal Problems Of The Elderly, Spangenberg Group, And Wisconsin Bureau On Aging
Format:
Book
Publisher:
Madison, WI : The Bureau, 1991.
Language:
English
Abstract:
This report documents the results of the Wisconsin Elder Legal Needs Study, the first comprehensive attempt nationally to document the elderly's legal needs, with special emphasis on the needs of minority elders and the role of the Benefit Specialist Program in meeting those needs. The project involved conducting telephone surveys, convening focus groups, and utilizing in-person interviews. Findings include that (1) older people with incomes under 200% of the federal poverty level experienced more than 150,000 civil legal problems during the study period, only 18.4% of which received legal assistance; (2) black households experienced even more difficulties, and research indicates that American Indian, Hispanic, and Hmong elders may also experience higher numbers of legal problems; (3) the types of problems experienced most often involve medically related difficulties, wills and estates, housing, and public benefits; (4) Wisconsin elders had little knowledge of free legal services; (5) the Benefit Specialist Program, a county-based lay advocacy model, has shown significant strength in meeting legal needs but suffers from insufficient funding; and (6) private attorneys handle a significant amount of cases as well, but there are still many unmet legal needs among the elderly. Recommendations include substantially increasing funding for the Benefit Specialist Program, encouraging greater pro bono and reduced-fee legal work, and improving the elderly's awareness of available legal programs (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)