The

he Fiscal 1978 Labor-HEW Appropriations Act (H.R. 7555) earmarks over $800 million for programs for older Americans.

Funding included in the appropriations bill for the Older Americans Act totals $508.75 million, which is $85.3 million above the Administration's budget request. These appropriations include $153 million for area planning and social services, $15 million for model projects, $19 million for State agency administration, $17 million for training, and $8.5 million for research and development. A total of $3.8 million is provided for multidisciplinary gerontology centers, and under Title V, $40 million is earmarked for senior centers. The Title VII Nutrition Program will receive $250 million.

Funds designated for the National Clearinghouse on Aging amount to $2 million. The Federal Council on the Aging will receive $450,000.

A total of $190.4 million will be available to the Senior Community

Service Employment project from July 1, 1978 to June 30, 1979. This funding will support 47,500 jobs for low-income persons 55 or older, with 38,000 jobs allocated to national contractors and 9,500 to the States.

Under the Title X Job Opportunities Program, $14.5 million of CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) Title I discretionary funds will be used to continue 4,800 jobs for older workers from September 1, 1977 to June 30, 1978. Approximately 2,600 of these positions will be funded from July 1, 1978 to June 30, 1979 under the Title IX Senior Community Service Employment program. The remaining 2,200 jobs will continue under CETA Title I discretionary funds from July 1, 1978 to September 30, 1978.

Other appropriations include $37 million for the National Institute on Aging, which is slated to get 23 new positions.

Foster Grandparents, RSVP, and Senior Companions - all ACTION

programs - will be awarded $34.9 million, $20.1 million, and $7 million, respectively.

Several programs within the Community Services Administration will receive funds for their continued operation. Under the pending legislation the Senior Opportunities and Services program is appropriated $10 million; emergency energy conservation services, $65 million; and the community food and nutrition project, $30 million.

Several other programs geared to the elderly will receive substantial funding for the fiscal year. Funds to enforce the Age Discrimination in Employment Act will get $2.9 million, with 91 positions earmarked for enforcement activities. A total of $6 million will be awarded to home health demonstrations, and community schools will be appropriated $3.5 million.

The National Institute of Mental Health is appropriated $116.9 million for research and $86.6 million for training.

Boston's Elderly Get 50 Percent Rebate on Home Improvements

Boston Mayor Kevin H. White has created the Housing Improvement Program for Older Bostonians (HIP).

The program, Mayor White said, could ultimately mean the difference between "a strong, stable neighborhood and the deterioration of property values and morale."

The program will provide cash rebates of 50 percent on housing improvements made by homeowners 65 and over who live in and have held title to their property for at least one year. Money for the rebate comes from Federal Community Block Grant funds. The improvements can cost as much as $15,000 for a six family dwelling with a possible rebate of up to $7,500. The net taxable income of the homeowner can be as high as $16,000 per year. No work can be done under the rebate program until it has been approved by a HIP rehabilitation specialist.

Mayor White said that the tremendous acceptance of the 20 percent rebate program, which began in July, 1975, encouraged him to extend the 50 percent rebate to the elderly. "More than 12,000 of this city's homeowners have taken advantage of the 20 percent cash rebate opportunity," said Mayor White. "No where else in the country has 20 percent of a city's housing stock been brought up to code in so short a time."

Mayor White explained, "Although the program provides for painting and other exterior repairs which brighten up a neighborhood, I encourage all who are eligible to also

use this program to improve their electrical, plumbing, and heating units." The Mayor also encouraged elderly homeowners to improve the insulation in their homes, including storm windows. "That way the savings you derive from the program will be increased through a reduction in your heating bills," he added.

All work undertaken through the rebate program must be in accordance with the State building, sanitary, and fire codes. Exterior painting and siding will be determined on a caseby-case basis.

Sidney Friedman

Elected President of

Nat. Assn. Of Jewish Homes for Aged

Sidney Friedman, Executive Director of the Jewish Home for the Aged in San Francisco, Calif., was elected President of the National Association of Jewish Homes for Aged at the group's annual meeting recently held in Washington, D.C.

Howard Bram of Cleveland, Ohio was chosen as President-elect. Other officers include Ted Rosen, Albany, N.Y., Maurice May, Boston, Mass., and Gerald Cohn, Columbus, Ohio elected as Vice Presidents; William Goldsmith, New Orleans, La., Secretary; and Mitchell Waife, New York, Treasurer. Dr. Herbert Shore, Dallas, Texas, continues as Executive Vice President. Mr. Friedman succeeds Bernard Liebowitz of Philadelphia, Pa., who will serve as Immediate Past President.

NAJHA, founded in 1960, serves as coordinator for the 105 non-profit,

philanthropic, voluntary, charitable, and community based facilities for the aged, which include homes and housing for more than 30,000.

The Executive Offices of the Association are at 2525 Centerville Rd., Dallas, Texas 75228.

Cyril Brickfield
New Director of
AARP-NRTA

Cyril F. Brickfield, 58, has been named executive director of the National Retired Teachers Association and the American Association of Retired Persons, the nation's largest organizations of older persons.

Mr. Brickfield, who replaces Harriet Miller, had been serving as legal counsel for NRTA and AARP and has been affiliated with the two Associations for the past 10 years.

From 1967-70 Mr. Brickfield served as executive director of NRTA-AARP and later was responsible for the Associations' legislative representation programs. When he resigned from that role in 1975 to reenter private law practice, he maintained close contact with NRTAAARP as legal counsel.

Before joining the NRTA-AARP administrative staff, Mr. Brickfield spent five years with the Veterans Administration. Starting as general counsel for the VA, he later served as chief benefits director and finally as deputy administrator of veterans affairs, the agency's second highest office.

Between 1951-61, he served as counsel for the Committee of the Judiciary of the U.S. House of Representatives.

For most older people, the law is

at least a two-edged sword, as sharp on one side as it is on the other.

On the one hand, the law, in the form of enactments by the Congress, brings to older people an array of benefits which supplement whatever private retirement income they may have, and many do not have any. These benefits may include social security, Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, Medicaid, social services, and subsidized housing.

On the other hand, the same laws which provide these benefits are often unduly complicated and produce a host of equally complicated rules and regulations that must be interpreted before they can be understood or applied.

The end result is that many retirees find themselves entangled in a web of confusing, intricate, and rapidly changing rules and regulations. They must establish eligibility, determine whether they are getting the proper payment (a particular problem for those who continue to work part-time), and perhaps defend themselves against recoupment or termination of their benefits because of computer or human error.

Older workers in private industry may wonder whether their pension plans will be adequate and those who

Dee Pridgen*

are already retired wonder whether they are getting their fair share.

Many wage earners who are able and willing to continue working may be compelled to retire because of company policy or government regulations.

Most older persons are entitled to receive Medicare, but find that the coverage is inadequate due to high deductible and coinsurance rates. Thus, many must supplement their Medicare benefits with Medicaid, a State-administered program based on need. Again, a maze of rules and regulations are applicable.

Elderly persons with limited funds may suffer from feelings of loneliness and isolation and fall prey to unscrupulous "con" games or fraudulent merchandising schemes. Others may need assistance to secure guardians or to challenge unwanted guardianship or commitment procedures.

Older tenants are often forced to make room for new condominiums, and may face unfair rent increases or unsafe conditions in their buildings. Residents of public housing must also deal with extensive rules and regulations which govern their living conditions.

Finally, most older people face the problem of arranging for disposal of their property.

If this appears to be a bewildering and formidable collection of problems, it is only illustrative of the reason older people need legal assistance in getting some solutions.

And that is just what they may not get, for a variety of reasons, including these:

• lack of income to pay lawyers' fees • lack of awareness of their legal rights or of the availability of legal services

fear of lawyers and the prices they believe lawyers charge

⚫ inadequate transportation facilities to legal services offices.

Progress Being Made

But despite the problems and despite the fact that much more needs to be done, progress is being made on several fronts.

Congress passed the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in 1974 to help improve the pension situation. ERISA gives workers a "vested" right to collect benefits after a certain number of years (usually ten) of employment in

• Ms. Pridgen is a Staff Attorney for Legal Research and Services for the Elderly, sponsored by the National Council of Senior Citizens, Washington, D.C.

a company with a pension plan, and sets up an insurance system to protect workers whose pension fund goes bankrupt. (This law is extremely complex, however, and does not cover all situations in which injustices occur.)

A bill just passed in the U.S. House of Representatives would abolish mandatory retirement in the Federal government and raise the age of retirement to 70 in private industry. Some State legislatures are also considering new laws to allow freedom of choice in retirement.

For the few who can no longer care for themselves, Federal and State standards of care and recently enacted patients' rights laws for nursing homes assume a great deal of importance.

The situation with regard to providing legal help to older people is being approached from several directions, but there are some fairly simple actions that could be initiated or expanded.

The elderly poor are generally eligible for free legal services through local legal aid offices. Legal Services Corporation projects designed to serve the elderly are not, however, able to meet the total need, since less than 300,000 of the Nation's 24 million older persons receive services annually through publicly financed programs. Many retired persons have fixed incomes which are just high enough to make them ineligible for programs funded by the Legal Services Corporation yet not sufficient to secure a lawyer at current market

rates.

Private lawyers could and should become more involved in helping older people with moderate incomes. Law firms and individual lawyers could provide low-cost, efficient service by developing a large clientele of

older persons with similar problems in such areas as consumer law, sale and purchase of real estate, and wills and estate planning.

Another approach is to establish special lawyer referral services for the elderly through State and local bar associations. An example of such a program now in operation is the San Diego Senior Center Lawyer Referral Program. The Center compiles files on participating attorneys containing their education and experience, fee schedules, and client evaluations. A member of the Center's staff conducts the initial client interview. If a legal problem requiring further representation exists, the files of three attorneys competent to handle the problem are given to the client who can choose among them. Additional attorney files are provided on request.

In New Orleans, the local councils on aging operate the Orleans and St. Tammany Parish lawyer referral program. This program has a panel of attorneys who provide legal services to older persons with fees determined on a sliding scale, based on the client's income.

In addition to lawyer referral, lowcost prepaid legal services plans are being developed to meet the needs of older persons. The Older Philadelphians Legal Services Plan provides unlimited telephone advice and consultation, access to preventive law programs, and reduced fee services from a panel of attorneys. The dues for members of the plan are $3. Similar projects are being developed by Legal Research and Services for the Elderly, the legal program of the National Council of Senior Citizens.

Legislative Advocacy

Wider availability of legal services

alone will not solve the legal problems of the elderly. They also need to be represented in the legislative and regulatory process to preserve and expand their rights in a variety of contexts. Consumer groups representing older people should be involved, for example, in proceedings before regulatory agencies, as they were before the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) when it held hearings concerning regulation of the hearing aid industry.

Without vigorous advocacy by FTC these consumer groups, the would have heard only one side of the controversy, that of the industry which can afford to pay for lawyers, expert witnesses, and documentary evidence. Under present law, the Federal government will compensate public interest groups so that, at least in FTC proceedings, it will receive a presentation of opposing viewpoints. This concept could be expanded to other Federal agencies so that older persons, as well as other segments of the public, would have a chance to influence the Federal regulatory process which affects us all.

Conclusion

Much needs to be done to expand legal services for individuals, especially those with moderate incomes who do not qualify for legal aid but who cannot afford to pay the current price for a lawyer. Legislative advocacy on behalf of older persons is needed in order to make changes in laws and regulations which affect senior citizens as a group. Finally, education about legal rights and legal issues will help older persons to protect themselves and to be their own advocates in asserting rights which have been won in the legislative forum.