James Cook, Deputy Director, Idaho Legal Aid Services

Idaho Legal Aid Services (ILAS) is grateful to have been received Model Approaches funding in partnership with the Idaho Commission on Aging (ICOA). The project goal was to create an integrated, statewide, legal services delivery system to target and more efficiently serve larger numbers of seniors. The project included an assessment of the legal needs of Idaho seniors, review of Idaho’s legal services delivery system, and development of a plan to effectively incorporate low-cost mechanisms to address the needs of the senior community. Selected mechanisms included: (1) the re-establishment of a statewide senior legal hotline (Hotline); (2) creation of the nation’s first web-based senior legal form library linked to document automation and assembly software; (3) an increase in the number of senior related content on the ILAS website and; (4) greater coordination of services by senior legal service providers. The project has been guided by an Advisory Committee (Committee) with stakeholders from the legal services delivery community and senior service organizations.

Hotline Lessons:
Lesson 1. Many common legal problems, including a variety of (1) consumer and debt collection; (2) landlord-tenant; (3) probate/advanced directives, and (4) Medicaid issues, can be fully resolved on the Hotline. For example, in debt collection issues most callers are judgment proof. Hotline staff advises callers about the collection process, defenses, exemptions, how to complete and submit an automated Claim of Exemption form, and their Fair Debt Collection Practices Act rights. Advice is followed up with a letter and pamphlets. Staff has had high success resolving this collection issue. It has been very satisfying to discover a large number of legal problems can be satisfactorily addressed through advice and brief services on the Hotline.  

Lesson 2. The majority of Hotline callers fall outside of LSC eligibility guidelines, but have incomes that are too low to be able to afford a private attorney.

Lesson 3. The Hotline model has been effective at reaching urban and rural seniors.

Lesson 4. The Hotline serves the great majority of seniors who need only advice, counsel or limited services enabling non-Hotline attorneys to focus on clients with complex legal problems.

Lesson 5. The Hotline is a highly valued resource to Idaho seniors with a 97.6% positive feedback on client satisfaction surveys. Additionally, call volumes increased during the grant and often exceeded what could be handled by the Hotline attorney. During the previous 36 months the Hotline served 5,138 clients; evidence of the hotline’s popularity and ability to help large numbers of Idaho residents.  

Legal Forms Library Lessons:
Lesson 1. Project staff has automated three powers of attorney, living will, Claim of Exemption and Guardian’s Annual Report. A Conservator’s Annual Report is being tested and a Miller Trust Agreement (for Medicaid eligibility) is being automated. Hotline staff directs callers to the automated forms and instructs them to call back after completion for follow-up advice.

Lesson 2. Automation of forms takes longer than anticipated. Each form is (1) selected by the Committee, (2) generated, (3) automated, (4) tested on ILAS staff and Committee members, (5) modified based on feedback, (6) posted for public use, (7) marketed to the general public and (8) demonstrated to project partners to generate referrals.

Lesson 3. Coordinate. The Committee elected to automate a conservator’s annual report because there are dissimilar forms and low reporting rates across Idaho. However, due to a lack of communication and coordination staff learned that a Supreme Court committee established a conservator’s annual report for statewide use after project staff had already generated and automated a form for the same purpose. Staff is now trying to reconcile the two forms which have generated greater effort than originally anticipated.

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