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ISSUE VOL.2, NO.3, JULY '05.........Click
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| Vol.
2, No. 3 July 2005 |
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Federal
and State laws affecting the lives of children and adults
with disabilities, and seniors, are complex and always changing.
Special legal services are needed in order to protect rights
and insure that access to services and programs are maximized.
Hinkle & Fingles can help. |
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Termination
of Life Sustaining Treatment
by
Herbert D. Hinkle, Esq. and Valerie A. Powers Smith, Esq.
Q:
What does the law say about the removal of life sustaining
treatment?
A:
The law regarding removal of feeding tubes is well established
nationally. The first in this country was decided in 1985,
when, in the case of Claire Conroy, the New Jersey Supreme
Court ruled that a competent person can refuse any form
of care or treatment, including a feeding tube. (Mr. Hinkle
litigated Conroy.) If the person is no longer competent,
then the wishes of the patient control or, alternatively,
the decision of a person designated by the patient controls.
The United States reached a similar conclusion in the 1987
case of Nancy Cruzan as did the Pennsylvania Supreme Court
in the 1996 case of Joseph Fiori.
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more
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Facilitating Involvement of Family and Friends with Special Needs
Trusts
by
S. Paul Prior, Esq.
Visit
several residential programs in your state which serve people with
disabilities. Choose one of the best and choose one of the worst.
What will be different about the two programs beyond the quality
of each? Both programs will serve people with similar clinical profiles.
The
difference then? Clients in the better program will have interested
family members or friends visiting them regularly. Clients in the
other program will seldom, if ever, have visitors.
How
does this relate to a special needs trust (“SNT”)? A
SNT is a legal instrument designed to hold assets set aside for
the benefit of a person with a significant disability. If properly
drafted, it will preserve eligibility for key programs like Supplemental
Security Income and Medicaid and it will shield assets from government
recoupment laws which apply to many services rendered.
Too
often, in drafting and implementing SNTs, the emphasis is on directly
supplementing the services available to the disabled beneficiary.
While this is important, it can miss the mark. It is extremely important
to use trust assets to ensure the involvement of family and friends.
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more
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Changes
Involving SSI
Important
changes went into effect in March 2005, affecting eligibility for
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) that are likely to make it easier
to qualify for full benefits.
To
be eligible for SSI, applicants must meet an income and resource
test. “Clothing” has been eliminated from the definition
of income. This means that payments for clothing or in-kind gifts
of clothing will no longer be counted as income.
What is the practical effect of this change? SSI recipients living
at home with parents frequently have their benefits reduced by 1/3
(from roughly $600 per month to $400 per month) because of in-kind
contributions by parents of food, clothing and shelter. Now that
clothing is no longer considered as “income,” more people
should qualify for full benefits.
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more
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IDEA
2004 Brings Changes to Special Education
by
Valerie A. Powers Smith, Esq. and Ira Fingles, Esq.
On
December 3, 2004, President Bush signed the Individuals With Disabilities
Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEIA 2004). This represents the first
major overhaul in eight years of the Individuals With Disabilities
Education Act (IDEA), the primary law governing the education of
students with disabilities. Most of the law’s provisions went
into effect July 1. Below is a summary of some of the more significant
changes included in the new law and their implications for students
with disabilities:
IDEA
2004 aligns itself with the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), requiring
teachers, paraprofessionals and other school staff to be highly
qualified for the positions they hold. Also consistent with NCLB,
special education and related services must now be based on peer-reviewed
research to the extent possible. This could impact a wide variety
of students. For example, a student with autism may require Applied
Behavioral Analysis (ABA) therapy, or a student with dyslexia may
require Orton-Gillingham instruction. Because these interventions
are scientifically validated, the new law may make it easier to
secure such services.
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more
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