How to Qualify for Help

CDEL offers its programming through a variety of programs. Each program has its own eligibility criteria and you can learn more here. In general, in order to receive services: 

1. Residence: Applicants must live in Chicago or Suburban Cook County, Illinois.

2. Age and/or Disability: Applicants must be at least 60 years of age or live with a permanent disability.

3. Income and Assets: Generally, CDEL prioritizes applicants who have limited assets and a total gross household income at or below 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).  In order to assess a candidate’s eligibility, we collect asset and income information for every person living in the household. 

 We also have grants that may have different measures of qualifications.  Applicants whose total gross household income exceeds 200% of the FPL may still qualify for services under different funding sources which may consider based on other factors or expenses (e.g., taxes, childcare costs, work-related transportation, or certain medical expenses) depending on the specific Community Program. We determine eligibility on a case-by-case basis.

4. Case Type: The applicant’s legal issue must be one of the case types we handle. See Types of Cases for more information.

5. Conflict of Interest: We must not have an ethical conflict of interest regarding your legal issue in order to assist.

6. Available Resources: As a non-profit organization, we have limited resources. Please understand that we do our very best to accept qualifying applicants, but we have limited resources and cannot guarantee representation. If we cannot help you, we will do our best to refer you to another organization that may be able to help.

Note: We offer assistance in Adult Guardianship matters for higher earning households in which fees are charged on a sliding scale based on income. Participants in the Early Resolution Program are accepted regardless of income. Please see Qualifying for Community Programs for more information.

CDEL Complaint Form: The Center for Disability & Elder Law (CDEL) aims to treat all people who apply for services and all clients fairly. CDEL’s policy gives applicants and clients an opportunity to express a problem or complaint related to its services. Please use this complaint procedure if you feel you have been treated unfairly, unprofessionally or feel that your rights have been violated. Please see CDEL’s Complaint Policy for more information.