“To amend the Older Americans Act of 1965 to authorize a national network of statewide senior legal hotlines, and for other purposes.”
No CRS summary available for this bill.
This section establishes a competitive grant program under the Older Americans Act of 1965 authorizing the Assistant Secretary to award grants to eligible entities (i.e., nonprofits or partnerships providing free legal assistance to older individuals) to establish or operate statewide senior legal hotlines. The hotlines provide telephone-based (and potentially other) civil legal services—such as counseling, advice, advocacy, information, and referrals—at no cost, targeting older individuals with the greatest social and economic needs and partnering for more extensive services including representation. Grant applications must identify the state served, detail compliance plans, assure a 25% non-Federal match (in-kind eligible), and certify conflict-of-interest processes for staff and volunteers; awards prioritize capacity and ensure one grantee per state per fiscal year. Grantees must employ sufficient trained attorneys, paralegals, staff, and volunteers; collaborate with state agencies, the aging network, free/low-cost providers, Legal Services Corporation (LSC) programs, Older Americans Act title III-B services, law school clinics, and others; and establish referral mechanisms to such providers.