Biography
Valerie Bogart has directed the Evelyn Frank Legal Resources Program (EFLRP) since 2002. Launched by Selfhelp Community Services, EFLRP moved to the New York Legal Assistance Group, under Valerie’s leadership, in 2013. EFLRP represents low-income seniors with Medicaid and Medicare advocacy, trains and consults with professionals on navigating the complex world of Medicaid and long-term care, engages in policy advocacy to improve access to services, and co-maintains the website NYHealthAccess.org as a joint project with The Legal Aid Society and Empire Justice Center.
Earlier, Valerie was a staff attorney for the Legal Aid Society Brooklyn Office for the Aging, Legal Services for the Elderly (Manhattan), and the Legal Aid Society (Minneapolis), where she was a Reginald Heber Smith Fellow. She was co-counsel on law reform litigation that protects rights of Medicaid home care recipients, including DeLuca v. Hammons, 927 F. Supp. 132 (S.D.N.Y. 1996)(lifting 28-hour-per-week limit for new applicants); Granato v. Bane, 74 F.3d 406 (2d Cir. 1996)(requiring reinstatement of Medicaid home care services after a temporary hospital stay); Varshavsky v. Bane, 608 N.Y.S.2d 184 (1st Dep't 1994)(requiring reinstatement of State “homebound hearing” program); Sanon v. Wing et al., 2000 N.Y. Misc. LEXIS 139 (Sup. Ct. N. Y. Co.)(enjoined state “fiscal assessment” law pending analysis of whether the denial of Medicaid home care services if nursing home care was less expensive violates the Americans with Disabilities Act); and Brown v. Giuliani, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 8889 (S.D.N.Y. 2000)(suit by 282 former residents of the Neponsit nursing home challenging the abrupt evacuation and closing of the home by its operator, the NYC Health & Hospitals Corporation).
A graduate of the New York University School of Law, she lectures extensively for bar and social services organizations, has taught adjunct courses at CUNY and Fordham Law schools, and has received numerous awards for her advocacy. She is Vice-Chair of the Legislation Committee and previously Co-Chair of the Medicaid Committee of the New York State Bar Association Elder Law Section.