FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Date: October 06 2021
Contact: Jon Ebelt, Public Information Officer, DPHHS, (406) 444-0936, (406) 461-3757, jebelt@mt.gov
Chuck Council, Communications Specialist, DPHHS, (406) 444-4391, (406) 461-8367, hcouncil@mt.gov
DPHHS Receives $300K Grant to Continue Legal Service Developer Program
Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS) Director Adam Meier announced today the agency has been awarded a $300,000 grant from the Montana Board of Crime Control to support the agency’s Legal Service Developer Program.
The program serves older adults aged 60 and older, enrolled Tribal members and adults with disabilities. The funding will allow DPHHS to continue to host legal document clinics across the state where legal professionals volunteer to assist participants in completing their estate planning documents, and assist older adults draft, review, notarize and copy each document.
The funding will be also used for in-person and remote contact with seniors, training professionals and members of the public on recognizing and addressing financial exploitation and resources, presentations to aging services organizations, and completing estate planning documents for seniors. The grant also provides training for guardians.
“This program provides a vital service to hundreds of Montanans every year,” Meier said. “The funding will support the important work of providing education on recognizing and addressing financial exploitation and assistance in completing all the important legal document paperwork. We appreciate the support from the Board of Crime Control.”
Meier said a major reason for senior exploitation in Montana is the lack of knowledge of estate planning documents like Powers of Attorney (POAs), guardianships, living wills and health directives. At the legal document clinics, legal professionals volunteer to assist participants in completing their estate planning documents, and assist older adults draft, review, notarize and copy each document.
The most common legal assistance requested in FY 2020 were state planning, probate, landlord/tenant, exploitation, guardianships, collections/garnishments, contract issues, Medicaid eligibility, property issues and long term care facility issues.
Katy Lovell of the DPHHS Legal Services Developer Program, said estate planning services are also available year round through phone clinics at no cost. In 2020, the program completed over 540 documents through in-person clinics and over the phone. Through September 2021, a total of 1,012 documents have been completed.
During the clinics, staff and volunteers not only educate seniors, but also financial, healthcare, and law enforcement professionals on what Powers of Attorney do and do not allow. The clinics present an important opportunity to reach seniors and communities and provide an access point to report and disclose financial exploitation, abuse and neglect.
“The need for estate planning services has not diminished; the threat of financial exploitation is magnified when seniors lack the proper documentation,” Lovell said. “Isolation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic significantly increased the risk for seniors of exploitation, as well as exacerbated the stress placed on paid and family care-givers. The financial stress felt by many Montanans created a perfect storm for exploitation.”
Lovell urges Montanans to take action now to ensure their legal documents are in order.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has brought attention to the real need for estate planning services, especially for seniors,” she said. “Having estate planning documents that communicate your wishes and designate someone to carry them out addresses a huge burden for families.”
DPHHS received over 1,921 reports of exploitation in 2020, up from 1,412 in 2019. Meier said in 2020 a record number 4,500 Montanans were victims of elder abuse, an increase of nearly 30% since 2018. The investigations into these cases involved adults aged 60 and older and adults with disabilities age 18-59.
Lovell said the program provides a significant source of contact with Montana’s seniors. At clinics, seniors are able to complete estate planning documents with volunteer legal professionals supervised by Aging Services staff and legal professionals.
“Estate planning documents protect seniors and can end exploitation by legally designating who has permission to manage a seniors’ finances,” she said. “On a larger scale, the clinics allow for seniors to disclose exploitation or other abuses, given that the clinics foster a comfortable and trustworthy environment to build relationships with our program.”
In 2021, clinics were held in Lewistown, Deer Lodge, Glendive, Miles City, Hamilton and Emigrant, as well as two remote clinics with volunteer legal staff. A total of 112 individuals were served.
After the clinics, some individuals requested additional services to help them address financial exploitation and other civil legal needs, Lovell noted. Clinics are currently being planned for 2022, including a mix of in-person and remote clinics.
For more information about the Legal Services Developer Program, go to legalservicesdeveloper (mt.gov)
To make a report to Adult Protective Services go to https://aps.mt.gov or call 1-844-277-9300.