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| Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #1254 |
| Florida Senior Legal Helpline |
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| Requester: |
Bay Area Legal Services, Inc. |
Organization: |
Bay Area Legal Services, Inc. |
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| Project Title: |
Florida Senior Legal Helpline |
Date Submitted |
1/2/2008 10:41:31 AM |
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| Sponsors: |
Joyner |
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| Statewide Interest: |
| Bay Area Legal Services, Inc., will manage the statewide toll-free Florida Senior Legal Helpline, to provide seniors, especially underserved elderly residents of Florida, with a convenient point of access to receive legal advice, services, information and referrals for extended representation. Referrals are made in partnership with existing Title III-B legal services providers throughout Florida who participated in developing a detailed referral matrix to ensure that referrals are made according to available local resources. The Call Center staff speak English and Spanish, and have access to a translation service for callers who speak other languages. Seniors are scheduled telephone callback appointments with legal advocates who are knowledgeable about civil elder law matters. An experienced managing attorney reviews the case to determine whether further assistance is necessary and where clients should be referred. |
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| Recipient: |
Bay Area Legal Services, Inc. |
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Contact: |
Richard C. Woltmann |
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829 W. Dr. Martin Luther King Blvd., #200 |
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Contact Phone: |
(813) 232-1222 |
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Tampa 33603 |
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Contact email: |
dwoltmann@bals.org |
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| Counties: |
{Statewide} |
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| Gov't Entity: |
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Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit): |
Yes |
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| Project Description: |
| The Florida Senior Legal Helpline is a free service for Florida residents aged 60 and older, through which seniors living anywhere in the state may receive legal assistance over the telephone by dialing a toll-free number. The Florida Senior Legal Helpline provides a convenient point of access for elderly Floridians who need legal advice, brief services, and referrals for more extensive legal representation in their local communities. Referrals are made in partnership with existing DOEA/AAA Title III-B legal services providers throughout Florida.
While services are available free of charge to all Florida residents aged 60 or older, the primary focus of the Senior Legal Helpline is to increase access to justice for low-income Seniors, those who have language barriers, and those who live in communities where other legal resources are limited. |
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| Is this a project related to a federal or state declared disaster? |
No |
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| Measurable Outcome Anticipated: |
| a) Provide advice, brief services and referrals to 2,000 Florida Seniors after screening a minimum of 4,000 callers the second year. These numbers will increase in subsequent years after the Senior Legal Helpline is an established statewide resource.
b) Maintain and revise referral protocols (i.e. - a referral matrix) with Title IIIB legal services providers in the state's 11
Planning and Service Areas and refer a minimum of 200 Seniors given legal advice through the Helpline to these Title IIIB legal services providers located in their home communities for further legal assistance.
c) Increase by 25% the number of elderly clients who believed they were appropriately served and referred through the legal services delivery system in Florida, including the ProBono network.
d) Increase by 15% the number of elderly in Florida who use self-help resources to take personal and independent action to advocate for themselves reducing the need for direct legal services. |
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| Amount requested from the State for this project this year: |
$250,000 |
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| Total cost of the project: |
$250,000 |
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| Request has been made to fund: |
Operations |
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| What type of match exists for this project? |
Local |
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Cash Amount |
$ |
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In-kind Amount |
$25,000 |
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| Was this project previously funded by the state? |
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Yes |
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Fiscal Year: |
2007-2008 |
Amount: |
$50,000 |
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| Is future-year funding likely to be requested? |
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Yes |
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Amount: |
$250,000 |
To Fund: |
Operations |
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| Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request? |
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No |
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| Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? |
Unknown |
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| Is there a documented need for this project? |
Yes |
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Documentation: |
2006 Statewide survey conducted by the AARP Foundation & the FL Department of Elderly Affairs |
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| Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)? |
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Yes |
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Hearing Body: |
On 12/07/2007 the project was heard by the Hillsborough County Legislative Delegation |
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| Is this a water project as described in Section 403.885, Laws of Florida? |
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No |
