Thousands of people with physical disabilities in Colorado who otherwise would qualify to live in the community at large are detained in nursing facilities at government expense, in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), according to a U.S. Department of Justice investigation. Th...
Question: Should a special needs trust (SNT) trustee be paid, and, if so, how much? Answer: It depends. The demands on a trustee can vary widely, depending on the size and complexity of the trust. Some family members serving in this role might simply oversee distributions and not need to charge ...
The White House has announced several measures to help people with disabilities navigate the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, following criticism that the government has ignored those with special needs during the crisis. That neglect was encapsulated, advocates for those with disabilities charge, when...
Just about everyone with Down syndrome (DS) will begin developing Alzheimer's starting at about age 40, making it the leading cause of death for the 200,000 or so people with DS in the U.S. But this dire prognosis is getting little attention. Many guardians and parents of people with DS are not f...
For tax year 2021, the IRS is expanding eligibility for the earned income tax credit (EITC), an important antipoverty measure that assists those with low-incomes. One key impact of these changes is that more people without children, many of whom are also people with disabilities, will qualify. Tr...
Vice might be nice, as the old saying goes, but can things like cigarettes, alcohol, and pornography be paid for out of a special needs trust (SNT)? The answer is . . . it depends. Obviously, if such activities are specifically ruled out in a third-party trust, then no cigar. If, for instance, th...
After being off-limits to most members of the public since March 2020, Social Security Administration (SSA) offices are set to reopen on March 30, 2022, barring an unexpected snag in negotiations with unions representing agency workers or a major change in the pandemic's course. “I am very pleas...
Advocates are expressing alarm over new laws being enacted in a number of states that they say will make it harder for people with disabilities to vote. Central to their concern is the reality that people with disabilities face challenges when it comes to voting in person at polling locations. As...
In a groundbreaking move that could have repercussions in certain other states, California is the first state to phase out the requirement that people impoverish themselves before becoming eligible for Medicaid. Medicaid is a public assistance program for the elderly and people with disabilities...
The maximum amount that can be contributed each year to an ABLE account for a person with disabilities rose $1,000 to $16,000 on January 1, 2022. The figure, which is tied to the inflation-adjusted value of the IRS's gift tax exclusion, had been stuck at $15,000 since 2018. Meanwhile, all but f...
While most government offices have reopened to the public, the Social Security Administration (SSA) is still barring in-person visits nearly two years after the Covid pandemic first swept across the U.S., resulting in a denial of service to some of the country's most vulnerable citizens. In late ...
The federal government says it encourages people receiving federal disability payments to find jobs—but sometimes ends up discouraging them from working at all, a study has found. People enrolled in Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) are allowed to earn a limited amount each month—a ceil...
If you have a child with disabilities, it is crucial to set money aside for the child's future. At the same time, you need to consider your child's access to public benefit programs such as Medicaid and Supplemental Security Income (SSI), as well as the state and federal tax implications. The two...
Too many trains are leaving the station without people with disabilities aboard. Nationwide, 28 percent of the country's rail transit stations are not accessible, and the problem is even more acute when it comes to century-plus-old subway systems in cities like New York, Boston, and Chicago. In N...
People facing a reduction, suspension, or other change to their Supplemental Security Income (SSI) now have more time to file an appeal, in a concession by the Social Security Administration (SSA) to delays and difficulties wrought by the COVID-19 crisis. The October 21 decision now allows 65 day...
The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has filed a lawsuit against Uber, accusing the rideshare service of discriminating against people with disabilities by imposing a surcharge on those who need more time to get into vehicles. Uber started charging a fee in 2016 to compensate drivers for wait tim...
People with disabilities face a double whammy when it comes to food insecurity: They are disproportionately more likely to experience problems getting enough nutrition, yet they confront the highest hurdles to obtaining federal nutritional assistance. Overall, 10.5 percent of U.S. households, rep...
One of the most important roles in a special needs plan is that of trustee, the person who administers a special needs trust (SNT). Of a trustee's many responsibilities, record-keeping is perhaps the most crucial. Because the trustee is managing accounts on behalf of someone else, every decision ...
The year was 1983: The U.S. invaded Granada. A gallon of gas cost 96 cents. Michael Jackson's “Thriller” video premiered. That year was also the last time that recipients of Social Security disability benefits saw a cost-of-living increase steeper than the one just announced for 2022. This year, ...
Plaintiffs in a class-action lawsuit against the Social Security Administration (SSA) might describe it as an open-and-shut case. When the SSA closed its field offices at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it remained open for the purposes of denying benefits. But, plaintiffs say, the agency was...
Unique tax benefits are available to families who have children with special needs. And thanks to recent changes in the tax code, there are opportunities to save substantial amounts of money at tax time. Thomas M. Brinker, Jr., a professor of accounting at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania, has ...
At a September 21 hearing on “Policy Options for Improving SSI,.” a Senate subcommittee heard sometimes searing testimony that the Supplemental Security Insurance (SSI) program is in desperate need of updating. “While the program used to be the most successful anti-poverty program for disabled pe...
Communication is one of the most important tools for containing the spread of COVID-19. As the highly transmissible Delta variant continues to spread, reliable information about the disease and how to protect oneself and one's community from infection are critically important. A particularly vuln...
Among the costs of caring for a dependent with special needs are the fees for professional advice. Some families are tempted to save on these costs by setting up a plan on their own. This can be attractive because so much information is available online, free of charge. Low-cost platforms and tem...
A federal appeals court has overturned a ban by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on the use of electric shock devices used to moderate the behavior of people with disabilities. The 2-1 decision this summer by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reopens the way for the Judge Roten...
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