$1 Million ACL Grant to Create a New National Center on Law and Elder Rights

ACL’s Administration on Aging announced the release of $1,050,000 to the nationally-recognized senior advocacy organization Justice in Aging to create a new National Center on Law and Elder Rights (NCLER). The NCLER will support ACL’s ongoing efforts to protect the rights, financial security, and independence of older adults.

The Center will provide tools to help law and aging professionals serve older clients and consumers effectively and serve as an easy single point of entry to a comprehensive system of legal resource support. NCLER attorneys will apply their wide range of knowledge and expertise to enhance state and local legal service delivery efforts to enable elders most in need to assert and protect their essential rights.

“By supporting the dedicated professionals in the legal and aging services networks, the National Center on Law and Elder Rights helps make legal assistance available to seniors who need it,” said Acting Assistant Secretary for Aging Edwin Walker. “Helping older adults protect their rights and preserve their independence is at the core of our mission at the Administration for Community Living, and we look forward to working with Justice in Aging on this crucial initiative.”

The NCLER will provide tools and resources including a strategic combination of case consultation, legal training, and technical assistance in order to address a broad range of priority legal and systems development issues. The comprehensive resources developed by the NCLER will be made widely available to aging and disability, legal, and elder rights networks across the country, including legal assistance providers, Legal Assistance Developers, LTC Ombudsmen, Adult Protective Services, State Units on Aging, Area Agencies on Aging, and Aging and Disability Resource Centers, Senior Legal Helplines, and others involved in protecting the essential legal rights of older persons. 

The new NCLER offers an improved approach to enhancing the ability of legal and aging service providers and advocates to help older persons maintain their independence, live in their homes and communities, make their own decisions, and maintain their financial security.