Contents

• Introduction:  Limitations of the Internet & What You Can Expect to Find (click here)
• Evaluating Information for Quality and Authenticity (click here)
• Search Engines & Searching (click here)
• Primary Federal Materials / Official Sites (click here)
• Primary Federal Materials / Selected Non-Official Sites (click here)
• Minnesota Primary Materials / Officially Hosted Sites (click here)
• Organizations, associations, & non-profits (click here)
  
• Law Portals, Mega-, and Metasites (click here)
• Law Libraries, Legal Collections, and Law Librarians (click here)
• Legal Research Sites (click here)
• Topical Resources, Including Administrative Agency Materials (click here)
• Blawgs (click here)
  

Introduction:  

Limitations of the Internet & What You Can Expect to Find 

The Internet is still not yet ready to meet all of your legal research needs despite the many it can. Reviewing Law on the Net by James Evans, Michael Levy, a Boalt law librarian, says, "[T]he Internet is not ready for traditional legal research as many resources are not in the public domain, there is limited access to secondary sources, and specialized legal tools such as verification and updating services are not available. ...[A] user often lacks the traditional signifiers to designate validity, authenticity, and reliability of the information they are receiving. This is valid for all Internet resources but absolutely crucial for law-related information."

Another deficit apparent when comparing the Internet to electronic databases provided by commercial vendors and traditional print law libraries is that the Internet rarely (with some exceptions) provides much in the way of retrospective coverage, although this is beginning to change in some areas. A phenomenon of the 1990's, the Internet hosts many sites and databases, the majority of which lack the resources to promote such retrospective expansion for research and archival purposes. Therefore, much Internet information goes back not much earlier than the mid-90s. Nonetheless, the rapid expansion and increasing sophistication of the World Wide Web is providing the first realistic threat to the supremacy of Westlaw and Lexis. For the time being, however, Lexis and Westlaw remain the only arguable one-stop-shopping destinations for the electronic legal researcher.  However, let's not forget about VersusLaw and LoisLaw.

The Internet is nonetheless emerging as formidable competition for the commercial vendors of electronic legal information. Without listing and weighing advantages and disadvantages, suffice it to say that it behooves the legal researcher to develop familiarity with, and expertise in, Internet legal resources and research. Coverage of primary materials on the 'net is expanding rapidly, even retrospectively somewhat.  Increasingly, government is turning to electronic publication on the web, so many more official sources are available than was the case just a few years ago.  In addition, many non-profits, other associations, and educational institutions are publishing materials useful to the attorney in practice.

Evaluating Information for Quality and Authenticity

Distinguishing between primary and secondary materials, be aware of the source of primary materials you find on the web. For instance, many primary, federal materials are among the GPO and GPO ACCESS databases. Many of these same databases are considered official sources by the government, and are also considered part of the Federal Depository Library Program (FDLP). URLs ending in .gov are most often very reliable. In other instances, similar databases are available via the websites of various universities and other types of institutions with educational missions. If I can be certain that I've reached a reliable .edu site (like the Legal Information Institute of Cornell), my confidence about the reliability of that information rises.  And now, the same can be said about many .orgs, .coms, and so forth.  If you find the site of a reputable entity, you have the assurance they stand behind their information, much as traditional publishers of print information products do.

Secondary materials are also found at many .gov and .edu websites, as well as many other types of sites (.org, .com, .net, .mil, etc.). First, ascertain that a website is what it says it is. Then, ascertain the reputation and purpose of the host of the website. Even if these things cannot be easily ascertained, the information discovered on a website might prove so useful, that it would be worthwhile to use an external source to confirm its veracity, authority, and integrity.

http://www.virtualchase.com/quality
Tyburski, Genie (ed.), Evaluating the Quality of Information on the Internet available at http://www.virtualchase.com/quality/index.html (last revised September 28, 2007).

Learn to detect the information quality of a web site. Superior resources offer objectivity, timeliness, accuracy, and authority. More importantly, readers can verify information provided by trustworthy sources. This article in The Virtual Chase offers a checklist for discovering quality in Web-based information.  It discusses the attributes of quality in information, tells how to identify quality, and provides numerous examples of questionable Web-based information.

http://www.llrx.com/columns/quality.htm
Tyburski, Genie, Publishers Wanted, No Experience Necessary: Information Quality on the Web (June 24, 1997).

In this older but still useful article, Ms. Tyburski re-emphasizes the importance of considering the source of information before relying on information obtained from it. Superior web sites possess five characteristics: timeliness, expediency, accuracy, objectivity, and authenticity. To review, timeliness and expediency refer to the speed with which a source makes up-to-date information available. Accuracy pertains to the completeness, factual irrefutability, and verifiability of a source. Objectivity encompasses impartial unbiased interpretation or analysis. Authenticity deals with the authority and expertise of a source; it may include appearance.

Ascertain a site's objectivity by reading its purpose statement. This should be available on a reputable site's homepage, or via a hyperlink from the home page.  Next, discover how the site obtains and updates the information it provides. Good sites are likely to offer easy-to-find documentation. Third, some sites offer commentary on the law. If so, ascertain the credentials or reputation of the individual, organization, or company giving the review. Researchers should also look for an article's creation and revision dates. This information lends credence to a source. Finally, researchers should confirm that which they find. Verifying information substantiates its completeness or accuracy.

While hard copy sources may ultimately be the best for verification of information found on the Internet, Westlaw and Lexis are excellent substitutes for lawyers with access.

A couple of final criteria are simple to ascertain by asking yourself basic questions.  Does the site indicate when it was last updated?  Is it easy to find the privacy policy?  Is there a source to whom questions can be addressed? 

http://www.llrx.com/features/webeval.htm
Humphries, LaJean, How to Evaluate a Web Site (December 2, 2002).

Offers criteria for evaluation as well as links to many sites useful in evaluating the quality and reliability of a web site's information.

http://www.vuw.ac.nz/staff/alastair_smith/evaln/evaln.htm
Smith, Alastair, Evaluation of Information Sources (last modified October 19, 2006).

This document is a part of the Information Quality WWW Virtual Library -- The Internet Guide to Construction of Quality Online Resources. It contains links to criteria for evaluating information resources, particularly those on the Internet.

Search Engines & Searching 

"The Search"

The Internet search is really much the same as searching in many other types of research.  The difference is in the vast amount of information retrieved, and hence the need to evaluate the information retrieved as mentioned just above.  Aside from browser features and other bells and whistles which enhance the world wide web, and before fingers ever meet keyboard, the most important step is the intellectual one.  Think about what you're seeking and then formulate a search vocabulary and a query or two.  This is what is necessary whenever we walk into a library or when we log onto Westlaw or Lexis.  Only the medium is different, and it's very different at that.

The Internet is mostly an uncontrolled environment.  Standards and uniformity are lacking, and unlike commercial legal research services, there is no single authoritative directory.  That is not to discount the importance of portals like Findlaw, Yahoo, and ProjusticeMN.  However, things change rapidly. This is why the search is important, and luckily, there is usually a varierty of ways to search.

Searching for the Very Specific

If you have any unique references to what you're seeking, this will always make things easier, especially now that search engines are so good.  Try the unique reference (or two) first.  Some examples of unique or specific references are docket numbers, citations, titles, and names.

Thinking Bibliographically & Looking for Authority

Much of legal research is about seeking authority.  If searching for the specific was unyielding, and providing you know the appropriate authority, this actually makes searching somewhat easier than in many other cases.  If you're looking for primary material, and often even if you're seeking secondary material, think about who publishes it or who is the authority for the types of documents you seek.  This is much like using a library's catalog and thinking bibliographically.

Imagine you're looking at records from a library's card, or electronic, catalog.  The most important information is almost always going to be the author and/or the title; although publication place and date, as well as publisher name, can also be useful.  If the title doesn't retrieve the desired information, then the next step should be figuring out who is responsible for that information.  An individual?  Some other kind of entity?  If you can find a site for that entity, you could be that much closer to paydirt.  Having found such a site, ascertain whether it has a search function or a site map.  Even without these internal access points, you could use that URL in Google', or MSN Search's, advanced search page to search within that site only.  If you've searched the catalogs of a law library or two, note the subject headings for some of the titles you find in that library.  These are likely useful search terms when applied to a good search engine like Google or MSN Search.

Learn from Bad Searches

It may be that several searches are necessary before you have the right information.  Often an inaccurate query will reveal enough information for a better search to be performed subsequently.  You will often learn enough from missteps to understand more appropriately what you want.  This isn't that different from revising a Lexis or Westlaw query until you've "got it right."

Google

Check out the advanced search features.  These can make a huge difference in searching effectively.  In addition to being able to search various combinations of words and phrases, you can exclude words to further tighten a search.  Maybe one of the best limitations you can apply is the ability to search within particular domains, .e.g. .edu for education sites, .gov for government sites, .mil for military sites, .org for organizational (& often non-profits' sites), and so forth.  In fact, you're even allowed to search within particular, individual websites.  These are examples of increasingly powerful tools becoming available to Internet searchers. Other search engines like MSN Search offer similar power and utility.  Click on their advanced search features and explore for 5 minutes, followed by a quick look at any preferences which can be set.  Seemingly little things like these can significantly enhance effectiveness in searching.

Primary Federal Materials / Official Sites

• GPO Access <www.gpoaccess.gov> publishes official resources from the U.S. Government Printing Office.  The following sources can be accessed via GPO Access unless otherwise indicated.
  
• Legislative
• Congressional bills from 103rd Congress (1993-1994) forward.
• Congressional Record (CR) from v. 140 (1994) forward.
• Debates & discussion from the floor.
  
• Congressional Record Index from 1983 forward.
• Public (& Private) Laws (PL) from 104th Congress (1995-1996) forward.
• Laws after passage or enactment but before codification.
• Laws as found in official, hardcopy publication Statutes at Large.
• United States Code (USC) from 1994 forward.
• Codified laws without annotations.
• Executive / Administrative
• Code of Federal Regulations (official CFR legal edition) from 1996-1997 forward.
• Time lag can be same as for print edition.
  
• Code of Federal Regulations (e-CFR not official legal source -- editorial compilation).
• Continuously updated to within a few days.
• Not an official legal edition.
• Special rules and procedures apply to display of future amendments and effective dates.
• Federal Register (FR) from v. 59 (1994) forward, including executive orders.
• Presidential materials.
• Executive publications including links to:
• federal agency websites hosted by GPO Access.
• websites of federal depository libraries which (in partnership with GPO Access) provide extensive links to federal agency sites.
• Catalog of U.S. Government Publications (CGP) is a search and retrieval service that provides bibliographic records of U.S. Government information products. Use it to link to Federal agency online resources or identify materials distributed to Federal depository libraries. Coverage begins with January 1994 and new records are added daily.
• Links to executive branch resources, including those for administrative agency materials and decisions.  These links may not be comprehensive, as GPO hosts and publishes web materials for only some agencies.  See below for non-official sites that may pick up the slack.
  
• Judicial
• U.S. Supreme Court
• Decisions from 1937-75 and 1992-2000.  For decisions since 2000, see <http://www.supremecourtus.gov/>
• Trial & Appellate Courts
• To locate websites of, and decisions from, U.S. District Courts and U.S. Courts of Appeal, see the website of the Administrative Office of U.S. Courts <http://www.uscourts.gov/links.html>
• THOMAS <http://thomas.loc.gov/> is hosted by the Library of Congress, and it is a great site for congressional materials, legislative history, and bill tracking.  However, most retrospective material on THOMAS goes back not much further than the mid-1990s.
• GPO also hosts and published the Catalog of U.S. Government Publications.  It provides an index to print and electronic publications created by Federal agencies. When available, links are provided to the full-text of these publications. Additionally, the locate libraries feature enables users to find libraries by state or area code that can make print publications available for their use. Coverage begins with January 1994. New records are added daily.
• United States Code (USC) from the Office of Law Revision Council, House of Representatives.  2000 ed. forward.
  

Primary Federal Materials / Selected Non-Official Sites

• Cornell's Legal Information Institute was one of the first Internet sites to make available U.S. Supreme Court opinions for which it is still a good site.  In addition, it provides acccess to other federal materials including the U.S. Code, federal court opinions, federal court rules, and more.
• The University of Virginia Library provides access to administrative decisions by agency and by subject.
• The College of Law at Arizona State University provides similar access for finding federal agency decisions & orders.
• The Louisiana State University Libraries also provide access to a directory of federal agencies.

Minnesota Primary Materials / Officially Hosted Sites

• Legislative
• Minnesota State Legislature (click here).
  
• Current Minnesota Statutes (click here), session laws, and administrative regulations.
  
• Minnesota session laws from 1994 forward (compares to print publication Laws of Minnesota).
• Minnesota administrative regulations (compares to print publication Minnesota Rules).
• Rules information on this website is not intended to replace an official source. While every attempt has been made to ensure that the rules information on this website is accurate and timely, the information is presented "as is" and without warranties, either express or implied, including warranties regarding the content of this information.
• Executive / Administrative
• Minnesota administrative regulations (see immediately above).
• State of Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearings.
• The OAH conducts a variety of dispute resolution proceedings in matters involving state agencies, cities, counties, school districts and others.  It has two divisions:
• The APA section of OAH conducts contested cases and rulemaking proceedings, which are covered by the Administrative Procedure Act.
• Searchable OAH ALJ Report Database contains reports, recommendations, and orders from public cases in the APA Division of OAH.
  
• The Workers' Compensation section of OAH conducts hearings on benefit eligibility for injured workers.
• Judicial
• Minnesota State Court System (click here).
• Current Supreme Court opinions (click here).
• Current Court of Appeals opinions (click here).
  
• Minnesota State Appellate Courts Archive contains Supreme Court and Court of Appeals opinions from 1996 forward.
• Minnesota Court Rules (click here).
• Minnesota Court Rules regarding Child Support (click here).
  

Organizations, Associations, & Non-Profits  (separately linked page)

The associations and organizations on this page which relate to poverty law were retrieved from the Encyclopedia of Associations.  The list has not been updated recently.  Simple searches using the headings for the topical subdivisions of the list were used as search terms.  They were combined with the term <law> in most instances.  Follow this procedure to update the list.

• Westlaw:  Encyclopedia of Associations (database:  EOA)
• Lexis:  Encyclopedia of Associations (library;file:  BUSREF;ENASSC)

Law Portals, Mega-, and Metasites

As there is no single authority responsible for all of the information on the Internet, different entities and enterprises have attempted to bring some organization to various categories of information or knowledge.  This means that if searching for the specific wasn't fruitful and if the supposed authority didn't lead to a relevant site, there's yet another method by which to search the web.  This is usually similar to browsing a directory or a table of contents.  The information is arranged categorically, hierarchically, and hopefully somewhat logically.  Legal information is mostly arranged by authority and jurisdiction and lends itself well to these systems of organization.  For example, check out the the jurisdiction tables in the blue pages in the back of the Blue Book.

These are usually hybrid services with characteristics of hierarchical directories as well as some search functions. They have traditionally been good for the layperson, but such ease of use and functionality also bodes well for more professional legal researchers. These sites seem likely candidates for filling in some of the gaps in secondary sources on the web.

These sites have many things in common. They are good centralized locations for legal and government information. They generally provide subject access to legal information with many, many links to professional associations, directories, law schools, practice materials, primary materials, legal publishers, research information,      sometimes search engines & other search capabilities, and even more.

Legal Information Institute at Cornell (LII) (click here)

Hieros Gamos (click here)

FindLaw (click here)

WashLaw Web (click here)

Yahoo's Law Guide (click here)

ABA's LAWlink (click here)

Law Libraries, Legal Collections, and Law Librarians

Don't forget traditional law libraries.  Searching their catalogs is probably a familiar exercise for most of us.  Records for titles retrieved may include URLs for electronic equivalents of that source, which may or may not be free and/or in the public domain.  The retrieved records also yield useful search terms which can then be employed using the search engines mentioned above.  Titles, authors' names, and Library of Congress Subject Headings (LCSH) all can be useful search terminology.

Many, if not most, law libraries have websites.  They often contain research guides and pathfinders.  These resources provide specific instructions for researching in particular subjects and areas, but they also are likely to indicate what the important sources are in those subjects and areas.  Use a search engine's advanced search features to limit your search to the .edu domain.  Use terminology like "research" and/or "guide", maybe "law" and/or "legal", and finally a relevant topical term such as "Indian" and/or "child/children" and maybe "custody".  You get the idea.

Finally, don't forget the librarians, especially reference libarians.  Those of us dedicated to reference spend our lives doing, and thinking about, all of this stuff.  We usually know the "how to" of researching as well as specific results from having done so.  Helping alumni and others (depending on the type of law library) is part of our mission.  When we have the experience you need, we are glad to share.  And even when we don't, we can often employ our bibliographic wiles to your advantage.

FindLaw's links to law libraries. (click here)

Yahoo's links to law libraries. (click here)

Twin Cities Law Libraries:

University of Minnesota Law Library. (click here)

• E-mail a University of Minnesota Reference Librarian at law-ref@umn.edu (click here for form)
• UMLL links to poverty law sources (click here)William Mitchell College of Law Library. (click here)

Hamline University Law Library. (click here)

Hennepin County Law Library. (click here)

Minnesota State Law Library. (click here)

Minnesota Legislative Reference Library. (click here)

Directory of Minnesota County Law Libraries. (click here)

Minnesota Association of Law Libraries (MALL). (click here)

American Association of Law Libraries (AALL). (click here)

Special Libraries Association (SLA)  Legal Division. (click here)

Legal Research Sites

• LexisOne provides the last 5 years of state and federal cases for free as well as all U.S. Supreme Court decisions.  In addition is provides extensive links to web content through its Legal Web Site Directory.  It's part legal database, part portal, and it seems especially good for linking to legal periodicals on the "free" web.
• LoisLaw Loislawschool.com is an educational program for law schools and paralegal institutions that allows students (and their instructors) free access to Loislaw’s primary law library as well as to other select Loislaw online research libraries.  Requires an activation code from your law school/law library.
  
• Versuslaw  VersusLaw's basic legal research plan contains federal and state appellate case law opinions for $13.95/month.  Two other plans offer more for either $24.95 or for $39.95.
  

• LLRX.com is a unique, free Web journal dedicated to providing legal, library, IT/IS, marketing and administrative professionals with the most up-to-date information on a wide range of Internet research and technology-related issues, applications, resources and tools, since 1996.
• The Virtual Chase has assisted legal professionals conducting research on the Internet since Summer 1996. Originally a hobby, the site began as a means by which to disseminate articles and teaching aids to law librarians and other instructors of Internet research. Now owned by the law firm Ballard Spahr Andrews & Ingersoll, LLP, it offers articles, guides, teaching materials, an alert service and more on Internet research strategies and resources. The site is open to anyone free of charge, but we provide materials with experienced researchers, lawyers and other legal professionals in mind.

• Legal Scholarship Network (Social Science Research Network) encourages the early distribution of research results by publishing submitted abstracts and by soliciting abstracts of top quality research papers around the world.  The SSRN eLibrary consists of two parts: an Abstract Database containing abstracts on over 173,700 scholarly working papers and forthcoming papers and an Electronic Paper Collection currently containing over 138,500 downloadable full text documents in Adobe Acrobat pdf format.
  

Topical Resources, Including Administrative Agency Materials

• Consumer Law
• National
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) (click here).
  
• National Consumers League (click here)
• From the NCL homepage -- "NCL's mission is to identify, protect, represent, and advance the economic and social interests of consumers and workers. The National Consumers League is a private, nonprofit advocacy group representing consumers on marketplace and workplace issues."
• Consumer @ction (click here)
• From the Consumer @ction homepage -- "Consumer Action is a non-profit, membership-based organization that was founded in San Francisco in 1971. Since then, Consumer Action has continued to serve consumers nationwide by advancing consumer rights, referring consumers to complaint-handling agencies through our free hotline, publishing educational materials in Chinese, English, Korean, Spanish, Vietnamese and other languages, advocating for consumers in the media and before lawmakers, and comparing prices on credit cards, bank accounts, and long distance services."
• Extensive list of "Consumer Resources Links" including federal agencies and general resources sub-divided by topic.
• Minnesota
• Office of the Attorney General (click here & scroll down for various consumer divisions).
  
• Disability Law
• National
• Social Security Online; official website of the U.S. Social Security Administration (click here).
• Office of Disability and Income Security Policy (click here).  This page links to S.S. laws, regulations, rulings, program policy and procedure documents.
  
• S.S. Disability Rulings (click here).
• Cumulative index and finding lists for rulings (click here).
• Job Accommodation Network (click here).  The Job Accomodation Network is a service of the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP) of the U.S. Department of Labor.  JAN's mission is to facilitate the employment and retention of workers with disabilities by providing employers, employment providers, people with disabilities, their family members and other interested parties with information on job accommodation, self-employment, and small business opportunities and related projects.
• JAN's Hot Links and Documents Center (click here).
• U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (click here).
• Agencies within HHS (click here & scroll down for links for the following).
  
• Administration for Children and Families
• Administration on Aging
• Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
• Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
• Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services
• Food & Drug Administration
• Health Resources & Services Administration
• Indian Health Service
• National Institutes of Health
• Program Support Center
• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
• Federal Interagency Coordinating Council (click here).  Estblished in 1991 in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.  FICC facilitates coordination of federal resources to ensure that young children (birth to age 5) with, or at risk for, disabilities and their families get the early intervention and preschool services and support that they need. 
  
• U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) ADA homepage (click here).  Provides links to other federal agencies with ADA responsibilities and links to ADA publications, including those for non-profit service providers.
  
• Minnesota
• Department of Human Services (DHS) (click here).
• DHS Manuals (click here).  Includes manuals by topic for children, county & tribal workers, disabilities and healthcare.
• DHS Bulletins (click here). 
  
• DHS Continuing Care Disability Services Division (click here).  Includes foreign language links.
• Minnesota Workforce Center Vocational Rehabilitation Services (click here).  Includes links for the following areas:
• Vocational Rehabilitation (vocational counseling, planning, guidance, and placement).
  
• Extended Employment (ongoing employment support services).
  
• Independent Living (comprehensive services to people with severe disabilities to enhance their ability to live independently).
  
• Minnesota Work Incentives Connection (helps people with disabilities go back to work with clear, accurate information about the effects of work on their government disability and related benefits).
  
• Economic Assistance Programs
• National
• Administration for Children and Families (click here).
• Office of Family Assistance (click here) is one of many ACF program office websites.
• GovBenefits.gov (click here).
• Locate federal benefits from the list of Federal Benefit Program Contributors (click here).
• Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota (click here).  IRP’s general mission is to seek to create a better understanding of racialized poverty and its implications. Under new leadership, IRP will pay particular attention to regional social, fiscal and growth dynamics, how these impact racialized poverty, and are affected by regional policy.
• The Center for Law Social Policy (CLASP) is a national non-profit founded in 1968.  It conducts research, policy analysis, technical assistance and advocacy on issues related to economic security for low income families with children (click here).
• The National Center for Law and Economic Justice  works with and on behalf of low-income people to ensure that adequate income support -- public funding provided on the basis of need --  is available whenever and to the extent necessary to meet basic needs and foster healthy human and family development (click here).
• The Economic Success Clearinghouse connects you to resources about effective policies, programs and financing strategies that help low-income and working poor families (click here).
• Minnesota
• Department of Human Services (DHS) (click here).
• DHS Manuals (click here).  Includes manuals by topic for children, county & tribal workers, disabilities and healthcare.
• DHS Bulletins (click here). 
  
• DHS Continuing Care Disability Services Division (click here).  Includes foreign language links.
• Institute on Race and Poverty at the University of Minnesota (click here).  IRP’s general mission is to seek to create a better understanding of racialized poverty and its implications. Under new leadership, IRP will pay particular attention to regional social, fiscal and growth dynamics, how these impact racialized poverty, and are affected by regional policy.
• Data Privacy
• Minnesota
  
• Information Policy Analysis Division of the Minnesota Department of Administration (click here).
• Includes advisory opinions from 1993 forward (click here).
  
• Education Law
• National
• U.S. Department of Education (click here).
  
• Minnesota
• Minnesota Department of Education (click here).
  
• Elder Law
• National
• FirstGov for Seniors (click here).  Subdivides links for seniors as follows:
• Consumer protection
• Education, jobs, and volunteerism
• Federal and state agencies
• Health
• Laws and regulations
• Retirement and money
• Taxes
• Travel and leisure
• U.S. Administration on Aging (AoA) (click here).  This site is designed to provide a comprehensive overview of a wide variety of topics, programs and services related to aging.  The AoA provides home and community-based services to millions of older persons through the programs funded under the Older Americans Act.
• Minnesota
• Aging and Adult Services (click here) within the Minnesota Department of Human Services administers state and federal programs that provide protective services, supportive assistance, and alternative housing arrangements for older persons and vulnerable adults. The division also provides staffing assistance to the Minnesota Board on Aging (MBA) and Area Agencies on Aging in the administration of the federal Older Americans Act and state senior nutrition and volunteer programs.
• Minnesota Board on Aging (click here).
• Help paying for prescription drugs (click here).
  
• RxConnect provides information and assistance to make informed decisions regarding affordable prescription drugs (click here).
  
• Employment (Unemployment, workers' comp, and discrimination)
• National
• Minnesota
• Minnesota Unemployment Insurance (click here).
• Minnesota Unemployment Benefits Online Application (click here).
• Downloadable Unemployment Benefits Application from the Minnesota Department of Economic Security (click here).
• Instructions regarding downloadable application (click here).
• Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry, Workers Compensation Division (click here).  Includes guides, forms, laws, statutes, court decisions, regulations, etc.
  
• Family Law
• National
• Minnesota
• Farm Law
• National
• Minnesota
• The Farmers' Legal Action Group (click here) is a nonprofit law center dedicated to providing legal services to family farmers and their rural communities in order to help keep family farmers on the land.  Includes news and commentary.
  
• Health Law
• National
• Medicare -- the official U.S. government site for people with Medicare (click here).
• Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) (click here).
• CMS Online Manual System (click here).
• CMS laws, regulations, and rulings (click here).
• CMS State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) (click here).
• CMS HIPAA information (click here).
  
• Minnesota
• Minnesota Department of Health, Refugee Health Program (click here).  Works with local health departments and private health care providers to offer new refugee arrivals a comprehensive screening examination, including appropriate follow-up or referral.
• Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) Bulletins (click here).
  
• Housing Law
• National
• U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) (click here).  Includes state-by-state information.
• Fairhousinglaw.org and the Fair Housing National Multimedia Campaign (click here) seek to increase public awareness of the Fair Housing Act and its protections, encourage the reporting of fair housing discrimination to the appropriate agencies, and provide information and resources to help communities and institutions support individuals and families who exercise their fair housing rights.
• HUD User Policy Development and Research Information (click here) provides links to current written research and analytic tools produced by and for HUD’s Office of Policy Development & Research (PD&R). Use this online resource to access research reports about housing and community & economic development, datasets that can be used for original research, HUD income limits and fair market rents, and much more!
• Minnesota
• HUD in Minnesota (click here).
• Minnesota Housing Finance Agency (click here) addresses, and provides funding for, a variety of housing needs.
• The Housing Preservation Project (HPP), founded in 1999, is a nonprofit public interest advocacy and legal organization whose primary mission is to preserve and expand affordable housing for low income individuals and families (click here).
• Immigration
• National
• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) (click here) provides information to introduce you to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It also provides information about various administrative and management functions and responsibilities now within the DHS that were once in the former Immigration and Naturalization Service.
• USCIS forms (click here).
• USCIS laws, regulations, and guides (click here).
• U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) (click here) was created on January 9, 1983, through an internal Department of Justice (DOJ) reorganization which combined the Board of Immigration Appeals (BIA or Board) with the Immigration Judge function previously performed by the former Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) (now part of the Department of Homeland Security). Besides establishing EOIR as a separate agency within DOJ, this reorganization made the Immigration Courts independent of INS, the agency charged with enforcement of Federal immigration laws.
• Attorney General and Board of Immigration Appeals Precedent Decisions from 1996 forward (click here).
• U.S. Department of State Visas page (click here) is an official source of information about United States visa policy and procedure.
• Minnesota
• Immigration Court in Minnesota (click here).
• Minnesota Department of Health, Refugee Health Program (click here).  Works with local health departments and private health care providers to offer new refugee arrivals a comprehensive screening examination, including appropriate follow-up or referral.
• Indian Law
• National
• Minnesota
• Juvenile Law
• National
• Minnesota
• Language Access
• National
• LEP.gov (click here) seeks to build awareness of the need and methods to ensure that limited English proficient persons have meaningful access to important federal and federally assisted programs, and to ensure implementation of language access requirements under Title VI, the Title VI regulations, and Executive Order 13166 in a consistent and effective manner across agencies.
• Minnesota
• LEP information and links (click here).
• Minnesota Department of Health, Refugee Health Program (click here).  Works with local health departments and private health care providers to offer new refugee arrivals a comprehensive screening examination, including appropriate follow-up or referral.
• Minnesota Court Interpreter homepage (click here) includes interpreters of over 60 languages.
  
• Social Security / Supplemental Security Income
• National
• Social Security Program Rules Home Page (click here) includes laws, regulation, rulings, employee operating instructions, Federal Register announcements, and the Social Security Handbook.
  
• Social Security Online (click here).
• The Work Site (click here) and the Office of Employment Security Programs (OESP) provide a focus within the Social Security Administration on matters affecting the employment of Social Security beneficiaries with disabilities.
• Social Security forms (click here).
• Social Security rulings (click or here).  Includes index and finding lists.
  
• Social Security for Women (click here).
• Public Benefits Updates (click here) from the National Legal Training Project of the AARP.
  
• Minnesota
• Veterans & Military
• National
• The Board of Veterans' Appeals (click here).
• Department of Veterans Affairs, Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment Service (VR&E) (click here) to present information about the - employment and independent living services VR&E provides to service-connected disabled veterans - vocational counseling to service-members and veterans who have recently separated from active duty - and vocational counseling or special rehabilitation services to dependents of veterans who meet certain program eligibility requirements.
• Independent Living Program (ILP) (click here) is tailored to specific individual needs, and might incorporate such things as assistive technology, Independent Living skills training, and/or connection to community-based support services.
• The GI Bill website (click here) provides information and links regarding education benefits for veterans.
• Health Benefits and Services for veterans (click here).
• U.S. Department of Defense (click here).
• Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (click here).
• Articles & resources (click here).
• Judges' Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act (click here).
• The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act: A Judge's Checklist (click here).
• Military Legal Assistance Locator (click here).
  
• Servicemembers Legal Defense Network (SLDN) (click here) helps service members fight back against illegal investigations into their sexual orientation.
  
• Minnesota
• Minnesota Department of Veterans Affairs (click here).
  
• Taxes
• National
• Internal Revenue Service
• Tax Information for Individuals (click here).
• Internal Revenue Manual (click here).
• Internal Revenue Bulletins (click here) since 1995/1996.
• Actions on Decisions (click here) since 1997.
  
• Minnesota
• Minnesota Department of Revenue (click here).
• Quick start for legal and policy professionals (click here).
• Revenue Notices (click here).
  
• Civil Procedure (court & administrative hearings)
• National
• Federal Practice Manual for Legal Aid Attorneys (click here).
  
• Minnesota
• Minnesota Office of Administrative Hearing (click here).
• APA Section (click here).

Blawgs & RSS feeds

Blawgs (law blogs) are possible sources of valuable information on new, emerging, and evolving legal issues.  Depending on the authority and prestige of the blogger, the value can be great or not so great.  As legal experts and law professors have begun blogging, they have found a way to discuss, analyze, and comment on extremely new or rapidly developing legal issues.  The medium is perfect for practically instantaneous responses to new court opinions or other very recent legal news events.  If you can find a blawg by a respected legal authority on your topic, it may be the first place to find relevant legal analysis and commentary on the issues in which you're interested.  A selective list of law blogs follows:

RSS (Really Simple Syndication) makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually.  Similar to alerts on Lexis and/or Westlaw, once you set up an RSS feed for a site, you will be able to receive updates as soon as new content is added to the site.