Advocacy and Assistance

Results: 18

• Advocacy (9)
  FP-0500

  Advocacy

  FP-0500
  
  Programs that intercede on behalf of individuals and/or groups to ensure that they receive the benefits and services for which they are eligible and that organizations within the established service delivery system meet the collective needs of the community; that attempt to marshal public support for a particular issue or cause; or that seek to influence legislation, local ordinances or administrative rulings in order to benefit specific interest groups or achieve specific social, political or environmental goals.
• Aging and Disability Resource Centers (1)
  LH-0350

  Aging and Disability Resource Centers

  LH-0350
  
  Programs that create a single, coordinated system of information and access for older adults and people with disabilities who are seeking long term support to minimize confusion, enhance individual choice, and support informed decision-making. ADRC centers serve as a single point of entry to public long term support programs and services. They offer information and counseling regarding available long term support options; assist individuals in determining their eligibility for public long term support programs and benefits including level of care determinations for Medicaid nursing facility and home and community-based service waiver programs; provide short-term case management to stabilize long term supports for individuals and their families in times of immediate need; help people plan for their future long term support needs; and provide information about and referral to other programs and benefits (such as health promotion and disease prevention, transportation services, housing and income support programs) that help people remain in the community.
• Area Agencies on Aging (1)
  TD-1100.6500-050

  Area Agencies on Aging

  TD-1100.6500-050
  
  Substate organizations authorized under the Older Americans Act of 1965 to develop a comprehensive, coordinated system of community-based services for older adults within their planning and service area. State Units on Aging designate, provide federal and state funding, and monitor operations of AAAs. Eight states and the District of Columbia do not have AAAs and, therefore, serve the roles of both state and area agency. AAA's responsibilities include planning; development of local funding resources; and contracting with local service provider organizations to provide authorized services which include information and referral/assistance, outreach, case/care management, escort, transportation, homemaker/chore, personal care, home repair and rehabilitation, home delivered meals, congregate meals, adult day care, elder abuse prevention, nursing home ombudsman, legal assistance, employment and training, health promotion and disease prevention and senior centers as well as services that support caregivers including respite care, counseling and education programs. AAAs may provide a number of other services in situations where local service provider options are limited.
• Benefits Assistance (4)
  FT-1000

  Benefits Assistance

  FT-1000
  
  Programs that provide assistance for people who are having difficulty understanding and/or obtaining grants, payments, services or other benefits for which they are eligible. The programs may help people understand the eligibility criteria for benefits, the benefits provided by the program, the payment process and the rights of beneficiaries; provide consultation and advice; help them complete benefits application forms; negotiate on their behalf with benefits administration staff; and/or represent them in administrative processes or judicial litigation. Included are benefits counseling organizations that offer a range of advocacy services and legal aid programs that offer more formalized legal assistance.
• Case/Care Management (7)
  PH-1000

  Case/Care Management

  PH-1000
  
  Programs that develop plans for the evaluation, treatment and/or care of individuals who, because of age, illness, disability or other difficulties, need assistance in planning and arranging for services; which assess the individual's needs; coordinate the delivery of needed services; ensure that services are obtained in accordance with the case plan; and follow up and monitor progress to ensure that services are having a beneficial impact on the individual. Case management is a collaborative process characterized by communication, advocacy and resource management to promote high quality, cost-effective interventions and outcomes.
• Community Action Agencies (2)
  TD-1100.1400

  Community Action Agencies

  TD-1100.1400
  
  Private, nonprofit human service and advocacy organizations established under the Economic Opportunity Act of 1964 that provide emergency assistance to people in crisis; address the causes of poverty through programs that fight unemployment, inadequate housing, poor nutrition and lack of educational opportunity; and provide training in advocacy skills. Community Action Agencies (CAAs), also known as Community Action Programs (CAPs), operate a variety of core services in the communities they serve. Included are GED and ESL education, job training programs, Head Start and day care, weatherization and energy assistance programs, health services, services for older adults (e.g., Foster Grandparents and RSVP), emergency food assistance and homelessness prevention programs. They are also involved in affordable housing creation and renovation and small business assistance.
• Community Action/Social Advocacy Groups (1)
  TD-1600

  Community Action/Social Advocacy Groups

  TD-1600
  
  Organizations whose members have joined together on a voluntary basis to promote a particular cause or work for the realization of a specific social or political goal.
• Consumer Education (1)
  DD-1800

  Consumer Education

  DD-1800
  
  Programs that utilize a wide variety of informational materials and techniques to increase the public's awareness of their rights and responsibilities as consumers of goods and services. The services may include information concerning federal and state consumer protection laws and regulatory agencies; advice regarding comparison shopping, use of consumer reports and buying guides, and other practices that help consumers make informed decisions and avoid problems before they occur; and education regarding the steps that need to be taken to resolve problems with unfair credit practices, defective products, shoddy repairs or workmanship or incompetent services.
• Crime Victim Support (1)
  FN-1900

  Crime Victim Support

  FN-1900
  
  Programs whose objective is to help victims of crimes and their families recover from the trauma of their experience, get medical assistance when required, make their way through the legal system, have an opportunity to provide input to parole or clemency hearings, take appropriate steps, where relevant, to avoid becoming re-victimized, access the benefits to which they are entitled and rebuild their lives.
• Government Complaints/Government Ombudsman Offices (3)
  DD-1500.4150

  Government Complaints/Government Ombudsman Offices

  DD-1500.4150
  
  Programs such as governmental, departmental or nonprofit ombudsman offices that provide assistance for people who want to register complaints about or have other issues which relate to the activities, actions or lack of action by public officials or civil service employees in local, county, state or federal government offices or the agencies they regulate and/or fund. Also included are programs that handle complaints about the availability and quality of services provided by any of these levels of government. The program provides an objective, neutral and independent review of complaints; offers reasonable remedies when complaints are substantiated; and uses information from the complaints and the investigations they trigger to identify and resolve problems within the agency or department and improve services.
• Legislative Advocacy (5)
  FP-0500.4500

  Legislative Advocacy

  FP-0500.4500
  
  Programs that attempt to influence the introduction or review of pending bills, ordinances or administrative rulings with the objective of having an impact on the passage or defeat of such legislation or its content.
• Outreach Programs (2)
  TJ-6500.6300

  Outreach Programs

  TJ-6500.6300
  
  Organizations that make an effort to increase the availability and utilization of community services by specific target populations by providing direct services for targeted individuals in their homes or other convenient locations or by making special efforts to ensure that a particular group is aware of available services and encouraged to participate. Included are programs that do outreach regarding their own services as well as those which encourage a target population to use a wide variety of services.
• Protection and Advocacy for Individuals With Disabilities (5)
  FT-1000.6600

  Protection and Advocacy for Individuals With Disabilities

  FT-1000.6600
  
  Programs that provide assistance for individuals with disabilities who are having difficulty understanding and/or obtaining the full benefits and services to which they are entitled by law. Included are federally mandated programs that are part of the formal protection and advocacy system which includes Protection and Advocacy for Persons with Developmental Disabilities (PADD), Protection and Advocacy for Individuals with Mental Illness (PAIMI), Protection and Advocacy for Individual Rights (PAIR) and the Client Assistance Program (CAP); and independent organizations that provide the same types of services. Protection and advocacy programs provide legal representation and other advocacy services, under federal and state laws, for all people with disabilities and endeavor to ensure full access to inclusive educational programs, financial entitlements, health care, accessible housing and productive employment opportunities. The programs maintain a presence in facilities that care for people with disabilities where they monitor, investigate and attempt to remedy adverse conditions. CAP agencies (many of which are housed within protection and advocacy offices) provide information and assistance for individuals seeking or receiving vocational rehabilitation services under the Rehabilitation Act, including assistance in pursuing administrative, legal and other appropriate remedies.
• Senior Advocacy Groups (1)
  TD-1600.3100-800

  Senior Advocacy Groups

  TD-1600.3100-800
  
  Organizations that support the passage and enforcement of laws and other social measures that protect and promote the rights and interests of older adults.
• Street Outreach Programs (3)
  PH-8000

  Street Outreach Programs

  PH-8000
  
  Programs that are staffed by outreach workers who spend time with people who live on the street, build relationships with them, identify and address their immediate needs (e.g., crisis intervention, food, clean clothing, hygiene kits, blankets, someone to listen) and provide information about and linkage to longer-term forms of support such as shelter, counseling, drug and alcohol detoxification and rehabilitation, care/case management and, where applicable, family reunification services. Street outreach programs may be staffed by volunteers or peers who were formerly homeless; and may target special populations such as homeless youth at risk for sexual abuse or exploitation, veterans, or people with specific medical or mental health conditions, or be available to the larger homeless population.
• Veteran Burial Benefits (3)
  NS-1000.9000

  Veteran Burial Benefits

  NS-1000.9000
  
  A program of the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs that provides a variety of burial benefits for eligible deceased veterans of peacetime or wartime service who have been discharged under conditions other than dishonorable and, in the case of some benefits, for their dependents. Included are burial in a national cemetery (opening and closing the grave, headstones and markers and perpetual care); headstones and markers for graves of veterans that are located anywhere in the world as well as niche markers for urns; headstones or markers for memorial plots in situations where the veteran's remains are not available for burial; Presidential Memorial Certificates; and burial flags which drape the veteran's coffin and are given to the next of kin or close associate following the funeral. Burial and funeral allowances are also available to certain veterans under specified conditions.
• Veteran Education Benefits (4)
  HL-8000.1800-900

  Veteran Education Benefits

  HL-8000.1800-900
  
  Programs administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs or other organizations that provide educational financial assistance for veterans and service personnel and their eligible dependents. Veterans and service personnel who served on active duty between January 31, 1955 and January 1, 1977 for specified periods of time are eligible for a variety of education benefits under the GI Bill including a stipend for tuition assistance at approved educational institutions. Veterans and service personnel who entered active duty after January 1, 1977 may participate in a voluntary contributory plan in which the individual's savings for a future education are administered and augmented by the government. Partial educational assistance is also available to the survivors of deceased or disabled veterans whose death or permanent and total disability was service-connected; and to the spouses and children of servicemen and women who have been listed for more than 90 days as missing in action, captured in the line of duty or forcibly detained by a foreign power.
• Women's Advocacy Groups (2)
  TD-1600.3100-950

  Women's Advocacy Groups

  TD-1600.3100-950
  
  Organizations that support the passage and enforcement of laws and other social measures that protect and promote the rights and interests of women.