This
section of the Equal Justice Network presents the work and initiatives of the Technical
Support for Legal Hotlines sponsored by the AARP Foundation. The Project
provides technical assistance, support, information and consultation to managers of legal
hotlines and organizations interested in developing legal hotlines. For detailed
information about the Project's publications and activities, click here,
or check any of the topics listed below.
AUGUST
2001 ABA
DRAFT STANDARDS
In August 2001 the ABA House of Delegated adopted the
Standards for the
Operation of
A Telephone Hotline Providing Legal Advice and Information proposed
by the ABA Standing Committee on the Delivery of Legal Services. Click
here to download the standards (PDF Format). For more information visit
the ABA Legal Services web site.
HOTLINE
OUTCOMES ASSESSMENT STUDY
The Project for the Future of
Equal Justice has engaged the Center for Policy Research, Denver, to initiate
a study of the effectiveness of centralized telephone legal advice, brief
service, and referral systems (“Hotlines”) in the delivery of civil legal
assistance. The Center for Policy Research is a non-profit research firm that
specializes in planning, developing, and testing projects to improve the
effectiveness and efficiency of the justice system.
Phase I
The study will be
conducted in two phases. Phase I, completed in March 2000, uses existing data
to compare “before” and “after” caseload statistics in programs that
have adopted Hotline systems, to determine the effect of the Hotline system on
the number of clients served and the levels of brief and extended services.
To
see a summary of the Phase I conclusions, click
here.
To
download the entire Phase I report (50+ pages) in .pdf format, click
here.
Click
here to get Acrobat Reader free from the Adobe website.
Phase
II
Phase
II will evaluate the effectiveness of Hotline systems in obtaining favorable
outcomes for clients, and address other questions relating to Hotline
effectiveness identified in Phase I. Phase II will be based primarily on new
data. A pre-test of Phase II was conducted in the spring and early summer
of 2000
This latest report in
the Hotline Outcomes Assessment Study makes recommendations for a full-scale
study of client outcomes, as well as some intriguing preliminary findings.
For a summary of the Pre-test
Report, click here.
To download the full text of
the Pre-test Report in pdf format, click here.
The
Study is being guided by an Advisory Committee of Hotline experts and other
interested parties. For additional information, contact Project consultant
Robert Echols.
Planning
your AoA Hotline Proposal_ Use
this guide to help you with your grant
proposal for 2000.
Read and comment on an ABA
Proposed Rule 6.5 regarding conflicts of interests for non-profit legal
hotlines, advice only clinics and pro se counseling programs.
AARP LSN Frequently Asked
Questions and Self Help pamphlets are available for many
states. AARP plans to have these desk reference materials for all fifty
states. To see if your state's materials are available for download, go
to the Legal Hotline Technical Assistance Library at www.povertylaw.org.
Legal
Hotlines Defined
Software
Interact
State-by-State Hotline Directory
Newsletters:
A "legal hotline" is a client service system which provides legal advice and
information by telephone at the time the client contacts the program. The legal hotline
provides answers to clients' legal questions, analysis of client's legal problems and
advice on solving those problems, so that the case can be resolved with the phone
consultation or soon thereafter. Hotlines may perform brief services when those are likely
to solve the problem, and make referrals if further legal assistance is necessary. Some
legal hotlines stand alone, while others serve as a centralized telephone intake mechanism
for a full-service program or multiple programs. Centralized telephone services which are
limited to intake screening or information and referrals are not covered by the term
"legal hotline."
Software:
- Check out comprehensive reviews of four case management
programs in the summer, 1998 edition of the Legal Hotline Quarterly. To check it out, download
the issue in PDF format. If you are unfamiliar with
PDF, click here to
learn about PDF and download the free software that enables you to use it.
- Software reviews: Click
here to find out what legal hotline peers are saying about the software they're using,
or contribute your own comments.
Interact: Need
technical assistance_ Have questions or opinions about hotlines that you'd like to
share_ Click here to visit our
online discussion area, where you can have your say, or just listen in.
Hotline Directory: The Legal Hotline Technical Assistance Project, a project of the AARP Foundation's Legal Advocacy Group, has produced
a state by state directory of legal hotline programs. Click here to obtain the directory in Adobe "PDF" format
or click here to use the new,online, searchable
directory!
Newsletters:
Legal Hotline Quarterly: The AARP Legal
Hotline Technical Assistance Project publishes a quarterly newsletter available to all.
The newsletter features in-depth articles about senior hotlines, hotline news, statistics,
and other matters of interest to hotline managers.
Summer, 2001: The
Summer 2001 Legal Hotline Quarterly is now
available online! This issue explores different systems for accessing case
management software over the Internet.
Spring, 2001:
The Spring 2001
Legal Hotline Quarterly contains articles on the Maryland Legal
Aid Bureau hotlines and Maryland Legal Assistance Network, How Hotlines
Can Support Aging and Legal Services Networks, Email Intake, and Phone
System Acquisition Options.
Quarterly Index: Click
here for an index to Legal Hotline
Quarterly articles 1996-2000.
Winter, 2000:
The Winter 2000
Legal Hotline Quarterly features results from several client outcome
surveys.
Fall, 2000:
This issue contains a description of the Detroit
Legal Aid and Defender Civil Division Intake Legal Hotline, an editorial on
the ABA Standards for Legal Hotlines, and an article by Wayne Moore "A
New Concept in Delivery-the Brief Service Unit".
Four new case management software
programs reviewed in the summer, 1998 issue of the Legal Hotline Quarterly.
To check it out, download the issue in PDF format.
To receive the Quarterly by mail, send an e-mail to
Shoshanna Ehrlich at .
Legal Hotline Bulletin:
The AARP Legal Hotline Technical Assistance Project publishes a monthly bulletin providing
updates on current legal topics with a focus on issues important to legal hotline staff.
The Bulletin is available to other legal hotlines providing free help and will be useful
as an updating tool.
Click
here to read the August 2001 edition of the Legal Bulletin
Click
here to read the July 2001 edition of the Legal Bulletin
Click
here to read the June 2001 edition of the Legal Bulletin
Click
here to read the May 2001 edition of the Legal Bulletin
Click
here to read the April 2001 edition of the Legal Bulletin
Click
here to read the March 2001 edition of the Legal Bulletin
Click here to read
the February, 2001 edition of the Legal Bulletin.
Click here to read
the January, 2001 edition of the Legal Bulletin.
Legal Hotline
Bulletin Table of Contents - January to July, 2000
Legal Hotline
Bulleting Table of Cases - January to July, 2000
Click
here to read the December 2000 edition of the Legal Bulletin
Click
here to read the November 2000 edition of the Legal Bulletin
Click
here to read the October 2000 edition of the Legal Bulletin
Click
here to read the September 2000 edition of the Legal Bulletin
Legal Hotline Technical Assistance
Library: The
National Center on Poverty
Law at the Technical Assistance Library
has an online legal hotline technical assistance library available
at its website. Funded by a grant from the United
States Administration on Aging to the American
Association of Retired Persons, this online resource provides past editions of the
Legal Hotline Quarterly and a variety of papers and publications of use to anyone
interested in hotlines. Click
here to visit the Library.
Senior Legal Hotlines Annual Report:
The AARP Legal Hotline Technical Assistance
Project collects yearly productivity statistics from the senior legal
hotlines. In Fiscal Year 2000 there were 21 senior legal hotlines in 19
states, Puerto Rico and the Distinct of Columbia. The reports include
statistics on the numbers of cases handled by each program, the productivity
of their telephone advocates, the costs for delivering the service, and the
percentage of calls from particular case types. The 1999 Report also includes
the types of services rendered and frequency of referrals from various
sources. The reports also includes significant events that occurred at
specific programs during the year. Download the report here:
2000 Senior Legal Hotline
Annual Report
1999 Senior
Legal Hotline Annual Report
Senior
Statewide Legal Hotline Client Outcomes Survey
Results of the
Senior Statewide Legal Hotline Client Outcomes Survey,
2000.
