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STATE
OF NEVADA
DIVISION FOR AGING SERVICES
SERVICE
SPECIFICATIONS
LEGAL
ASSISTANCE
(Revised
1/01)
Any
exceptions to these Service Specifications must be requested in advance in
writing and approved by the Administrator.
SERVICE
DEFINITION:
This
service provides assistance, consultation and representation in legal matters to
maintain or improve the quality of life of older persons.
SERVICE
CATEGORIES AND UNIT MEASURES:
The
following service category and unit measure established by the Administration on
Aging (AoA) must be used to document the amount of service provided:
Legal
Assistance: Provision of legal
advice, counseling and/or representation by an attorney or other person acting
under the supervision of an attorney.
One
unit equals one hour of Legal Assistance.
GENERAL
REQUIREMENTS:
A. Legal services must be
provided by, or under the direction of, an attorney admitted to, and in
good standing with, the State Bar of Nevada pursuant to SCR 49 et seq. and in
accordance with the rules of professional conduct pursuant to SCR 150 et seq.
B.
A policy shall be written and implemented concerning conflict of
interest. This policy shall include a statement that attorneys are prohibited
from privately representing any Legal Assistance client while the attorney is
employed by, or under contract with, the Legal Assistance program. The policy
may include a provision prohibiting
representation for a period of one year after termination of employment or
contract.
C. Legal Assistance
providers must maintain malpractice insurance, or be underwritten by a
program sponsor approved by the Division for Aging Services, in an amount
sufficient to cover any and all potential liabilities, but in no event for an amount less than $250,000 per single occurrence and
$500,000 aggregate.
SPECIFICATIONS:
1.
Required Services:
1.1
Provide service in the areas of law indicated in attachment A.
A written plan for outreach must be established for the provision of
service to homebound individuals, nursing home residents, group care home
residents and the vulnerable elderly.
1.2
The Legal Assistance program shall conduct educational presentations to
organizations and individuals concerning senior issues. Presentations
shall include information about services provided by the Legal Assistance
program.
2.
Service Prohibitions:
2.1 Legal
assistance programs are prohibited from accepting cases that generate fees or
handling criminal cases.
3.
Documentation:
3.1
Each case record shall contain sufficient documentation of the issues involved,
rule or rules of law that apply, analysis undertaken and conclusions derived.
3.2
Documentation shall be maintained which annually verifies that each
attorney is a member in good standing of the State Bar of Nevada.
3.3
Documentation shall be maintained concerning the educational presentations
required in 1.2 above, including the names of organizations, number of
individuals attending and the nature of the presentation.
4.
Operating Procedures:
4.1
Legal Assistance attorneys must establish written protocols for paralegals to
utilize when conducting interviews.
4.2
Legal Assistance program staff must establish a written list of
legal resources for client referrals. The
list may include Lawyer’s Referral Service, pro bono, and legal service
practitioners in specific areas of legal expertise. A referral policy will
be established which at a minimum includes:
4.2.a
A “no favoritism” referral approach to rotate providers when there are
more than one
4.2.b
A procedure for adding and removing resources from the list
4.2.c.
A procedure to document referrals in client files
4.3
A policy shall be written and implemented to assure that the conduct of each
employee is compatible with the professional obligations of Legal Assistance
attorneys and the delivery of legal services.
The program must notify the Division for Aging Services if any attorney
has been reported to the Nevada State Bar for misconduct.
4.4
Legal Assistance providers shall develop a system for tracking assistance,
causes, and cases to ensure deadlines are met in a timely fashion and to
maintain this information in a database form.
It is recommended that the database include:
client name, social security number, nature of the case, outcome,
referrals, as well as any other pertinent information.
5.
Quality Improvement:
5.1
The program shall establish an annual method to determine consumer satisfaction
with service through questionnaires or some other means. The results of the
quality improvement review must document any program deficiencies and contain a
plan of correction.
ATTACHMENT A
LEGAL
ASSISTANCE PRIORITIES
|
|
Area
of Law
|
Priority
Areas
|
|
|
|
|
|
1.
|
Long Term Health Care
Issues
|
Advance Directives
(Living Wills and Durable Powers of Attorney for Health Care), Nursing
Home Issues, Medicaid Planning and Spousal Impoverishment information.
|
|
|
|
|
|
2.
|
Consumer Matters
|
Consumer debt,
consumer fraud, contract disputes, billing disputes, information regarding
small claims actions, debt collection and protection of assets.
|
|
|
|
|
|
3.
|
Real Property &
Housing Matters
|
Affidavits Terminating
Joint Tenancy, Homestead Declarations, legal representation of tenants in
landlord/tenant disputes and evictions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
4.
|
Governmental Benefits
and Entitlements
|
Includes assistance in
Social Security, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, Medicaid, public
housing and other public entitlements.
|
|
|
|
|
|
5.
|
Estate Planning Issues
|
Preparation of Simple
Wills, Affidavits of Entitlement, information regarding long term estate
planning and probate. Does
not include preparation of Living Trust documents.
|
|
|
|
|
|
6.
|
Elder Rights Law
|
Intervention in cases
of elder abuse, neglect or exploitation, guardianships, termination of
Powers of Attorney, alternatives to guardianships, civil recovery of
property for abused elders, where appropriate.
|
