Shauna Brennan, the state advocacy rights attorney, briefed the Las Vegas Senior Citizens Advisory Board on Dec. 4 about the powers and programs her office will pursue under Nevada law and recently passed legislation.

Brennan told board members that her office is statutorily empowered to provide technical legal assistance to older adults (ages 60 and over) and people with disabilities, to file amicus briefs in cases on behalf of individuals, and to coordinate legal resource development. “I represent the individual,” Brennan said. “I do not represent the State of Nevada. I do not represent those offices.”

Brennan described several priorities: developing a state financial-management (rep-payee style) service, improving access to civil legal representation for people who cannot use virtual hearings, preventing abuse of powers of attorney, and addressing gaps that leave people homeless after hospitalization. On housing she warned bluntly, “There’s no guarantees,” adding her office’s goal is to prevent people from becoming unhoused because they went into the hospital.

She summarized AB 461, which tasks the Aging and Disability Services Division (ADSD) with implementing a long-term care plan and compiling a comprehensive resource database and best-practice survey of other states. Brennan said a report to the Legislature is due Feb. 1 and that a public landing page hosted through ADSD and a public-awareness pilot will follow; materials and workshops will be used for outreach. “At the time of launch, there will be a dedicated website or landing page through ADSD,” she said.

Brennan also noted existing referral partners such as Nevada 211 and Nevada Care Connection and said her office will coordinate dissemination through local boards and professional associations. She described a pilot program called FOCUS to help people apply for and qualify for appropriate housing, noting it is similar to Nevada Senior Services’ House to Home effort.

Board members asked about specifics: Vice Chair Nicole Graham asked when the database would launch; Brennan reiterated the Feb. 1 legislative reporting deadline and said the public-facing materials will be available after that date. On the question of who is responsible when patients are discharged with no place to go, Brennan recommended hospital social workers and community providers as primary contacts and said the office is convening stakeholders to identify triage and placement solutions.

Brennan said her statute permits her to intervene and to develop legal resources such as self-help kiosks and to offer oversight to ensure legal-service providers comply with federal and state grant requirements. She said some details—such as exact grant amounts and eligibility for technical-assistance grants—are not yet specified and will be announced when available.

The presentation closed with Brennan inviting board members to refer cases and offer contacts for partnership. The board’s next steps include monitoring the Feb. 1 report and sharing ADSD’s public resources with senior constituencies.