Part of the National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center webinar series sponsored by the Administration for Community Living.

Click here to view the recorded presentation at no charge.

CEUs are no longer available for this event

Legal services are an unmet need among people with Alzheimer’s disease and related dementia (ADRD) and their caregivers. Because of this, the Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities (DSAAPD) has broadened the scope of legal services offered in the state of Delaware to include a program tailored to meet these needs and provide fast-track access for the ADRD population. In particular, DSAAPD is offering legal services from dementia-competent elder law attorneys via a voucher system. This service will make available this population’s most frequently needed legal supports, such as estate planning, including living wills, powers of attorney and related documents, with an emphasis on ensuring that such documents are developed before individuals reach advanced stages of ADRD. Also, this ADRD-targeted service will provide legal supports to individuals with ADRD on issues such as defense against guardianship, Medicaid/Medicare and related concerns.

This web seminar will focus on how DSAAPD developed the legal services voucher program, as well as the legal training seminar for Delaware’s attorneys that took place before program roll-out. A new series of consumer guides, developed by the National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center, will also be reviewed; these guides cover advance-planning topics and are designed specifically for people with dementia.

Participants in this web seminar will be able to:

• Identify four levels in the spectrum of legal capacity;
• List major legal issues that come up in advanced planning and end-of-life decision-making options;
• Identify the purpose and importance of a legal services voucher program; and,
• Identify steps to develop a dementia specific legal training.

Presenters:

Julie P. Miller, Esq., is a planner with the Delaware Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities, where she develops policies and practices to support Delaware’s aging and disability communities, focusing on dementia, legal services, and the State Plan on Aging.

Patricia Justice, Esq., is an executive assistant and legal services developer at the Delaware Division of Services for Aging and Adults with Physical Disabilities.

Stephanie Hughes is a research analyst at Research Triangle International’s National Alzheimer’s and Dementia Resource Center.