PART III: EVALUATING LAWS, POLICIES AND PRACTICES

This Part brings together the elements from Parts I and II to create a practical guide for developing new laws, policies and practices or evaluating existing one. It is intended to assist in identifying existing or potential negative effects of current or planned laws, policies or practices on older adults. It sets out a series of questions that users of the Framework may ask themselves to assess the law, policy or practice in question. 

For ease of use, the questions are broken down into six sections:

1. Taking into older adults into account in considering the potential effects of laws and policies.
   
2. Learning about the law or policy which examines how we learn whether and how older adults are affected by a proposed or existing law or policy. 
   
3. Identifying the older adults who may be affected by the law or policy.
   
4. Evaluating how older adults are affected by the wording of the law or policy, including questions that consider whether the strategies selected for addressing the general purpose of the law or policy are consistent with the principles, and take into account the circumstances of older persons.
   
5. Understanding how older adults are affected by the manner in which the law or policy is implemented, which asks questions that will assist in evaluating whether in practice the law or policy is having the intended effect and is having a positive or negative effect on the lives of older adults.
   
6. Monitoring and evaluating the law or policy, once implemented. Monitoring and evaluation of laws and policies naturally connects to reviews of laws and policies, leading back to the first section and pointing to the need for regular reassessment of laws and policies. 

This Part provides guidance on applying the elements of the framework as outlined in Parts I and II to specific laws, policies and practices, through a series of questions for consideration. 

It is not the purpose of the questions to point to simple, definitive answers to all of the difficult issues that may arise in developing laws, policies and practices that may affect older adults. The law and the circumstances of older adults are complex and diverse. The nature of aging and our understanding of it are constantly evolving. Rather, the questions are intended to ensure that law and policy makers carefully:

• Consider and apply a consistent set of principles in developing laws and policies that may affect older adults;
• Ensure that potential sources of paternalism and ageism in laws and policies are identified and addressed;
• Take into account the key aspects of the experiences and needs of older adults; 

A particular question may be based on more than one principle or more than one aspect of the lives of older adults. 

Given the variety of laws affecting older adults, not all questions will apply to all laws, policies and practices.  

Many of the questions in this Part are based on good general practice and are not necessarily specific to the law as it affects older adults. All laws and policy development will benefit from good consultation mechanisms and most laws would be improved by the inclusion of appropriate monitoring and evaluation mechanisms. Older adults, like all citizens, will benefit from the use of good practices in these and other respects. In addition however, failure to engage in good practice may have particularly significant effects on those who are already disadvantaged, including disadvantaged or marginalized older adults. 

The questions are broken down into six sections, reflecting different aspects of laws, policies and practices. A table showing the sections and their relationships to each other is appended below. 

A.   Evaluating Law and Policy – Taking Older Adults Into Account 

At the outset of the law or policy process, law or policy-makers generally identify an issue to be addressed through the law or policy – that is, the general purpose of the law or policy.  

This is a crucial stage for law reform: disadvantaged or marginalized groups often have difficulty bringing visibility or priority to their issues, so that the law is not infrequently silent on issues that are central to their concerns. As well, the potential impact of a law on groups that are not its main targets may be easily overlooked at this stage, leading to issues for those groups when the law or policy is implemented.  

It is therefore important that, during this stage, consideration be given to whether or not older adults may be affected by the potential law. Whether a new law is being developed, or an existing law reviewed, law and policy-makers should ensure, through their processes and deliberations, that adequate attention has been given to whether older adults or some group of older adults may be affected, and if so, what those effects might be.