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Vol. 37, Issue 6 (July - August 2016)

  August 2016

SPOTLIGHT

Elder

Key Changes of the Older Americans Act Reauthorization Act of 2016

On April 19, 2016, President Obama signed the Older Americans Act (OAA) Reauthorization Act of 2016 into law to further improve access and quality of comprehensive services to older adults in our country. Originally, the Older Americans Act of 1965 was enacted by Congress during the Johnson Administration, with the goal of providing a diverse range of services for older Americans with the greatest social or economic need. Here are a few of the key changes to the OAA in the 2016 reauthorization, which will be effective from FY 2017 to FY 2019.

Elder

Edward D. Spurgeon: Key Innovator in Law and Aging

Edward D. “Ned” Spurgeon’s is the recipient of this year's American Bar Association Senior Lawyers Division's John H. Pickering Achievement Award, which honors the life and accomplishments of John H. Pickering, an outstanding lawyer who was involved in various pro bono activities and law-related societal issues affecting older people. Ned Spurgeon's unparalleled efforts in addressing the law-related needs of older persons crossed numerous domains: legal education, scholarly research, the delivery of legal services, innovative programming, and policy development.

Elder

Commission on Law & Aging Research: A Tour of State Advance Directive Registries

Health-care advance directive registries have been authorized by statute in a dozen states since Louisiana became the first state to establish a registry in 1991. The intended purpose of registries is to enable secure storage and quick access to one’s advance directive by health care providers or by anyone given access to the registry by the maker of the advance directive. The summary in this article provides thumbnail descriptions of state advance directive registries, as of July 2016, based solely on a review of state law and state registry web pages.

ABOUT BIFOCAL

BIFOCAL, the Commission on Law and Aging's bi-monthly journal, provides timely, valuable legal resources pertaining to older persons, generated through the joint efforts of public and private bar groups and the aging network.

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