Strengthening Legal Services for Older Adults

In June 2026, our researchers and subject matter experts completed a project for the Administration for Community Living (ACL) to explore the strengths and challenges of the Older Americans Act (OAA) Title III-B legal services network.

OAA Title III-B funds a nationwide network of legal services providers who prioritize serving older individuals with economic or social needs. This critical service helps adults aged 60 and older and their caregivers address a wide range of issues, including access to public benefits, housing access and eviction/foreclosure defense, utilities, guardianship representations, long-term care, and income security.

Our Approach

Our team conducted a mixed methods study including:

• Document review of state plans on aging
• Focus groups with individuals involved in the legal services network
• Secondary analysis of the OAA Performance System data

We synthesized and prepared findings for ACL in a comprehensive report including recommendations for improving coordination and collaboration between network contributors.

Reflections on the Study

Reflecting on the nine-month study, project director Jennifer Pooler shared, “We’re very happy to have had the opportunity to further ACL’s knowledge and support of the Title III-B legal services program. We heard from individuals engaged in the network about how important this service is to older adults, the challenges they face in administering the program, and the approaches they have found successful in overcoming some of those challenges. We’re especially grateful to everyone who agreed to talk with us, as well as our partners at Justice in Aging who helped guide our work and ensure our inquiries were meaningful and actionable. It’s always rewarding to work on a project that has the potential to improve how older adults facing hardship receive services.”