Ohio Admin. Code 173-3-06.10 - Older Americans Act: legal assistance
(A)
"Legal assistance" means legal advice, counseling, or
representation by an attorney to consumers with economic or social needs, and
includes, to the extent feasible, counseling or other appropriate assistance by
a paralegal or law student under the direct supervision of an attorney; and
counseling or representation by a non-lawyer where permitted by law.
(1)
"Legal
assistance" includes advice, counseling, or representation on any of the
following topics:
(a)
Public benefits.
(b)
Advance
directives and designating surrogate decision makers who will effectuate
consumers' wishes if they become incapacitated.
(c)
Defense of
guardianship.
(d)
Available housing options, including low-income housing
programs that allow independence in homes and communities.
(e)
Foreclosure or
eviction proceedings that jeopardize the ability to stay independent in homes
and communities.
(f)
The full benefit of appropriate long-term care private
financing options.
(g)
Long-term financial solvency and economic
security.
(h)
Consumers' rights when transferring from long-term care
facilities to home and community-based services.
(i)
Elder abuse,
neglect, and exploitation.
(2)
"Legal
assistance" does not include any of the following activities or advice,
counseling, or representation on any of the following activities:
(a)
Fee-generating
cases, unless other adequate representation is unavailable.
(b)
Political
activities.
(c)
Lobbying.
(d)
Public
demonstration, picketing, boycott, strike, unless permitted by law in
connection with employment.
(e)
Encouraging or
coercing others to demonstrate, picket, boycott, or strike.
(f)
Criminal
defense.
(B)
Requirements for
every AAA-provider agreement for legal assistance paid, in whole or in part,
with Older Americans Act funds:
(1)
The AAA-provider agreement is subject to rule
173-3-06 of the Administrative
Code.
(2)
The provider is subject to the following standards for
coordination:
(a)
The requirement under
42 U.S.C.
3027(a)(11) and
45 C.F.R.
1321.93(f)(2)(xi)(D) to
coordinate with existing legal service corporation project grantees in the PSA
to concentrate the use of funds provided on individuals with greatest need.
Legal services corporation grantees in Ohio can be identified on
https://www.lsc.gov/grants/our-grantees/ohio-state-profile
.
(b)
The requirement under
42 U.S.C.
3027(a)(11) and
45 C.F.R.
1321.93(e)(2)(iv) to
coordinate with the private bar over legal assistance that the private bar may
provide on a pro bono or reduced-fee basis.
(c)
The requirement
under 42 U.S.C.
3027(a)(11) and
3058j to coordinate with ODA's
legal assistance developer.
(d)
The requirement
under 42 U.S.C.
3058(h)(8),
45 C.F.R.
1321.93(d)(4),
1324.13(h)(1)(i),
and 1324.15(g), and
rule 173-14-18 of the Administrative
Code to coordinate with ombudsman programs.
(e)
The requirement
under section 5101.63 of the Revised Code for
mandatory reporters of abuse, neglect, and exploitation.
(f)
The opportunity
to coordinate with adult protective services according to
45 C.F.R.
1324.406.
(g)
The opportunity
to coordinate with the Ohio state health insurance information
program
(3)
The provider is subject to the priorities for providing
legal assistance in 42
U.S.C.
3027(a)(11)(E).
(4)
A person may
qualify to provide legal assistance only if the person meets all the
qualifications in 45 C.F.R.
1321.93 and is authorized to practice law in
Ohio.
(5)
The legal assistance provider may ask about a
consumer's financial circumstances only as a part of the process of providing
legal advice, counseling, or representation, or to identify additional
resources and benefits for which the consumer may be eligible.
(6)
No provider may
use Older Americans Act funds to pay bar association dues or supreme court
registration fees.
(7)
The provider and AAA are subject to the reporting
requirements under 45 C.F.R.
1321.73(b). For the
provider, this includes the requirement to collect and report de-identified,
aggregated case-level data via the legal assistance reporting tool developed by
ACL under 42 U.S.C.
3012(a)(23), as provided by
the contracting AAA. For The the AAA, this includes the requirement to collect
data from contracted provider(s) and submit one comprehensive legal assistance
reporting tool to ODA by December thirty-first of each year.
(8)
Service
verification: The following are the mandatory reporting items for each episode
of legal assistance that a provider retains to comply with the requirements
under paragraph (B)(9) of rule
173-3-06 of the Administrative
Code:
(a)
Service date.
(b)
Type of legal
assistance provided (advice, counseling, or representation).
(c)
Units of legal
assistance provided.
(d)
Name of professional providing the legal
assistance.
(C)
Units: A unit of
legal assistance is one hour of provision of legal assistance, which a provider
reports in partial hours per day to two decimal places (e.g., "0.25 hours" or
"1.50 hours").
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