Elder Law Prof Blog

Urgent Action on CLASS Act Needed! Take Action and tell your Rep. to vote NO on repeal

Urgent Action on CLASS Act Needed! Click Take Action and tell your Rep. to vote NO on repeal

House vote to repeal CLASS	Take Action!
Tell your Representative to vote NO on repeal
Tomorrow, February 1, the House of Representatives will vote on the Fiscal Responsibility and Retirement Security Act (H.R. 1173), a bill that would repeal  the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports (CLASS) Act.   The House is not offering any alternative to the CLASS long-term care services program. Repealing the CLASS Act is not a solution to the dire need for a real long-term care solution. Tell your Representative to MEND it, don't END it! CLASS is a voluntary, fiscally responsible program that would provide a cash benefit to people needing care at home, regardless of income or pre-existing conditions.  CLASS is not perfect, but it is a critical first step in solving a national long-term care crisis.  We can make CLASS better and more affordable, but only if the law stays on the books. Please follow the directions to forward a message to your Representative  or call 1-855-218-2109 to tell your Representative to vote against H.R. 1173.

Job posting-Maryland Legal Adi, Assistant Director of Advocacy—Public Benefits

Assistant Director of Advocacy—Public Benefits

Maryland Legal Aid Bureau is hiring an Assistant Director of Advocacy (“ADA”) to provide leadership, support, and mentoring to staff on direct representation of low-income clients and will spearhead systemic, statewide advocacy related to public benefits and employment.  The ADA will work closely with advocates in Legal Aid’s 13 offices, providing consultation and support on casework and keeping staff apprised of relevant changes in policy and law relative to public benefits and employment.  

The ADA will identify systemic barriers experienced by clients across the state, develop strategies to address those barriers (litigation, policy, other), and work in collaboration with Legal Aid staff and other organizations to implement those strategies and monitor the outcomes. Systemic advocacy undertaken by the ADA includes serving as lead and co-counsel on complex litigation, appellate advocacy, permissible legislative work, community education, and collaborative work with community organizations and other legal services providers.  The ADA also will supervise Legal Aid’s Migrant Farmworker Program.

The ADA must be familiar with legal services practice, the legal needs of low income persons, have in-depth knowledge of publicly funded cash and in-kind assistance programs and law (such as SSI, SSD, UI, SNAP, TCA and TDAP), have substantial litigation or administrative law practice experience, and have demonstrated an aggressive and innovative approach to advocacy. A working knowledge of employment law and issues facing low-income workers is highly desirable.  The ADA must also have a commitment to staff development, including hands-on involvement in formal and informal training.  The ADA must demonstrate an ability to supervise staff and otherwise meet all of the qualifications of a senior level manager for Legal Aid.

The ADA must have a law degree, plus a minimum of 5 years experience as an attorney.  Prior supervisory experience in a legal services or similar program is highly desirable. Excellent interpersonal, mentoring and communication skills (oral and written) are required, as is a mastery of basic computer skills.  The ADA must be admitted to the Maryland Bar or eligible and willing to take the first available Maryland Bar examination.  Salary is a minimum of $68,150+, depending on experience.  Interested applicants may apply by submitting cover letter and resume at www.mdlab.org or by e-mailing same to Cheryl Hystad at [email protected].

 

Save the Date: 2012 National Aging and Law Institute

SAVE THE DATE:

National Aging and Law Institute

Will be held November 8,9, and 10, 2012

At the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington DC.

This conference is the merger of the National Aging and Law Conference and the NAELA Advanced Institute

 

A request for proposals will be out late in January or early in February – please start planning for workshop proposals.

AALS Aging and the Law Listserv for January 12, 2012

The AALS Conference last week featured Professors A. Kimberley Dayton (Director, Center for Elder Justice and Policy, William Mitchell College of Law) and Linda S. Whitton (Valparaiso University School of Law) as well as Assistant Director Erica F. Wood of the American Bar Association, Commission on Law and Aging, speaking on GUARDIANSHIP: RECONSIDERING THE REALITY OF REFORM. The panel discussion was moderated by Professor Lawrence A. Frolik (University of Pittsburgh School of Law and our former Section Chair).

Our new Section Chair is Professor Barry Kozak, (Associate Director, Graduate Employee Benefits Programs and Director, Elder Law Studies at the John Marshall Law School in Chicago). His bio is available at: http://www.jmls.edu/directory/profiles/kozak-barry/

 1. Nutrition: 4 Vitamins That Strengthen Older Brains: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/03/health/research/vitamins-b-c-d-and-e-and-omega-3-strengthen-older-brains.html?_r=1&src=recg

 2. Jack Cross: New Year's Resolutions For Seniors in 2012: http://www.wickedlocal.com/medford/news/x545131592/JACK-CROSS-New-Years-resolutions-for-seniors-in-2012#axzz1iSeTkS8l

 3. Record Number of Federal Criminal Health Care Fraud Prosecutions Filed in FY 2011: http://trac.syr.edu/tracreports/crim/270/

4. Social Security Disability Fund A Last Resort For The Unemployed As Benefits Dry Up: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/28/social-security-disability-unemployment_n_1172682.html

 5. What We Can Learn From Old Animals: http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/what-we-can-learn-from-old-animals/?ref=elderly

 6. Spinal Tap May Predict Alzheimer’s Years Ahead: http://thechart.blogs.cnn.com/2012/01/02/spinal-tap-may-predict-alzheimers-years-ahead/?hpt=hp_t3

7. The Shame of Elder Abuse and the Silence of Washington: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-b-blancato/elder-abuse-washington_b_1175299.html

 8. The Unspoken Diagnosis - Old Age: http://newoldage.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/12/29/the-unspoken-diagnosis-old-age/

9. Senior Moment or Just Mulling a Response? http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/12/29/9806406-senior-moment-or-just-mulling-a-response

 10. Real ‘Benjamin Button’? Stem Cells Reverse Aging in Mice: http://vitals.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/03/9917514-real-benjamin-button-stem-cells-reverse-aging-in-mice

Ann Murphy

Professor

Gonzaga University School of Law

(509) 313-3735

[email protected]<mailto:[email protected]>

WEBSITE OF THE AALS SECTION ON AGING AND THE LAW:

http://aals.law.gonzaga.edu/

 

 

Case law data base for NAELA members...

NAELA has published a webpage of the 2011 Cases for members’ reference: http://www.naela.org/Public/Library/Publications/Publications_Main/eBulletin_Case_Archive_2011.aspx.  

Organized by issue, you can keyword search for the specific case by using the “Find” function in your browser (Control/F on the PC, Command/F on the Mac). Future case notes will also be archived.