(The pdf for the issue in which this article appears is available for download: Vol. 37, Issue 3.)

New this year on the agenda for the National Aging and Law Conference (NALC) is a track labeled “Core Essentials.” This track was developed to accommodate a special request from the new Elder Justice AmeriCorps program. In the fall of 2015, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its intent to fund the Elder Justice AmeriCorps program and place up to 60 AmeriCorps attorneys in legal aid offices around the country over a two-year period.¹ The goal of the program is to “provide legal assistance and support services to victims of elder abuse, neglect and exploitation.”² The program will be administered by a national host organization, the name of which is expected to be made public soon.

As most of the attorneys participating in Elder Justice AmeriCorps will be new law school graduates or attorneys new to the field of law and aging, DOJ representatives reached out to Commission staff to discuss leveraging NALC as a training venue for these attorneys. To design the Core Essentials track, the DOJ and ABA called on the expertise of experienced advocates from across the country in a series of emails and phone calls. This outreach allowed for the identification of topics for which elder law attorneys should have a foundation, including: Medicare; Medicaid; income basics; elder abuse, neglect, and exploitation; understanding capacity; legal ethics of working with clients across the spectrum of capacity; and more.

Many of the Core Essentials panels cover topics that are always on the agenda at NALC—others, including some fundamentals courses, were created specifically for this effort. The NALC agenda this year has been expanded from four to five concurrent breakout sessions to accommodate the Core Essentials without displacing other content. Many of the Core Essentials will appeal to participants of all experience levels.

Core Essentials is an opportunity to expose attorneys new to the field to issues at the heart of working with older adults with the greatest economic and social needs, and for experienced advocates to refresh their knowledge of these important topics.

We invite you to join us this year at NALC for an exciting agenda of both Core Essentials and advanced issues in law and aging.

¹ Justice Department and the Corporation for National and Community Service Expand Their Partnership to Provide Legal Aid to Victims of Elder Abuse and Financial Exploitation. DOJ website: https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justice-department-and-corporation-national-and-community-service-expand-their-partnership.

² Id.

2016 National Aging and Law Conference

• October 27-28
  
• Hilton Alexandria Old Town • Alexandria, VA

Register today!

• Registration is open!
• View the Conference Agenda

Become a sponsor:

• Download the 2016 Sponsor Brochure to learn more.

Panel highlights:

• Understanding Transitions from the Health Insurance Marketplace to Medicare
  
• Justice for All: Legal and Policy Updates for Diverse Elders
  
• Medicaid Fair Hearing Appeals, Judicial Review and Advocacy Options
  
• The ABCs of Medicare Parts A, B, C . . . and D
  (one of three basics programs)
  
• Supported Decision Making for Persons with Changes in Memory and Cognition
  
• Knowing the Right Questions to Ask is Half the Ethics Answer
  (one of three ethics programs)
  
• Recent Developments in Understanding and Combating Senior Financial Exploitation
  
• Information Please! Coordinating Meaningful Federal and Statewide Legal Services Reporting
  
• Plugging Holes in Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services 
  

Conference attendees will enjoy:

• Low registration rates and a two-day agenda to minimize travel time and costs
  
• An expanded agenda with 4 plenary sessions and 30 workshops
  
• A focus on core substantive legal issues affecting older Americans with the greatest economic and social needs
  
• Programming on legal service development and delivery
  
• High-quality written materials
  

The 2016 Conference hotel boasts:

• Easy access to the King Street Metro station, the Alexandria Amtrak station, and Reagan National Airport
  
• Restaurants and shopping within walking distance ■