The Coming Special Needs Care Crisis
Eli Toucey (left) has seizures and social issues that make it all but impossible to leave him with a random babysitter. What could really save Hillary Toucey’s life is a personal-care attendant to help with her 7-year-old son, Eli. Dark-haired, fair-skin
Disabled Military Protection Act Allows Military Families to include Special Needs Trusts within the Survivor Benefit Plan
Currently, under the Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP), a military retiree can set aside up to 55 percent of his monthly retirement pay to provide their family members with a monthly stipend, after he or she dies. However, these benefits are counted as income
Office of Special Education Program’s Discretionary Grants Public Database
The Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) at the U.S. Department of Education is dedicated to improving results for infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities ages birth through 21. To this end, OSEP provides leadership and financial support to assist states and local districts, including funding approximately 1,000 grants and contracts each year. If you'd like to know what grants and contracts OSEP has funded as part of its initiatives to improve results for children with disabilities, you've come to the right place! (If you're looking for OSEP's grants opportunities, we would direct you to OSEP itself, at: www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/osep/index.html)
Bill Introduced regarding special needs trust
H.R. 4329 -This bill or resolution was assigned to a congressional committee on March 29, 2012, which will consider it before possibly sending it on to the House or Senate as a whole. To amend title 10, United States Code, to provide for the payment of monthly annuities under the Survivor Benefit Plan to a supplemental or special needs trust established for the sole benefit of a disabled dependent child of a participant in the Survivor Benefit Plan.
Outsourcing to the Autistic Rather Than to India
Part of the reason autism has captivated Hollywood movie makers more than other development disabilities is that, for all the difficulties it brings those who have it, it also gives some of them the ability to perform uncanny feats of brainpower: effortl
National Council on Disability (NCD) Releases New Recommendations & Guidance on Managed Care for People with Disabilities
The National Council on Disability appreciates the need to reform health care and life-long services and supports delivered through Medicare and Medicaid programs to all citizens, including those with disabilities. The role of state agencies is the lynch
250 children living in nursing homes in Florida should get home care
Five year old Andi lives in a nursing home in Tampa because his family says the state won't pay for 24-hour care that would let him live with his two brothers and parents. A second lawsuit claims several thousand other children could end up in those facilities in Florida because of decisions by the state about their care.
Williams Syndrome Association
The WSA is the most comprehensive resource for people and families living with Williams syndrome as well as doctors, researchers and educators. The WSA provides resources, support and the latest medical information to help your child today and throughout his/her life. By joining, you’ll become part of the largest organization dedicated to improving the lives of people living with WS. No matter the age or stage of your family member with WS, you are not alone. The WSA offers support and will help you navigate the challenges from diagnosis through adulthood.
Laura Shumaker: Financial planning 101 for special needs families
Families with children who have special needs or disabilities face even bigger hurdles than most people when it comes to planning for their financial futures. We actually prefer to bury our heads in the sand (at least my husband and I do) but we shouldn’t.
Aid for Autistic Children Foundation
Aid for Autistic Children Foundation, Inc.™ mission: Reduce the financial burden on poverty stricken and disenfranchised families and caretakers coping with autism, through debt forgiveness, so attention and resources can be focused on creating a proper living and learning environment for their autistic loved one. How the Program Works After thorough evaluation of your completed application and assessment from our board and an independent consumer credit counseling service, the debt forgiveness will directly target the financial burden the family deems most obstructive in allowing them to focus solely on giving their autistic loved one the best tools and skills for
MetLife Center for Special Needs Planning
MetLife Center for Special Needs PlanningSM is dedicated to helping families secure both lifetime care and quality of life for their dependents with special needs. Our mission is to help families plan for the future of their dependents with special needs, including preserving government benefits and providing insurance and other financial solutions which can help provide lifetime quality care. The planning process begins with a complete review of your dependent's needs, future care plans, assessment of government benefit eligibility, and finally a review of your family's current financial and legal plans. Critical areas that must be addressed are: 1.Government benefit
Protected Tomorrows
Protected Tomorrows founder, Mary Anne Ehlert, CFP, had a successful career in financial planning when she decided to act on her lifelong desire to specialize in serving the families of the disabled. The source of her inspiration was very dear to her heart. Mary Anne herself had come from such a family. Her younger sister, Marcia, to whom she felt especially close, suffered severe mental handicaps due to cerebral palsy. And, although their parents were naturally determined that Marcia should get the best possible care, they had also for years been understandably confused how best to plan and provide for
Autism Support Network
The mission of Autism Support Network is conveyed in our tagline: connect, guide and unite. Our goal is to short-cut the uphill battle individuals and families undertake when faced with autism – whether that means the initial diagnosis, the day-to-day living and coping needed, relationship and therapeutic strategies and the latest information.
Benefits.gov
Benefits.gov (formerly GovBenefits.gov) was launched in an effort to provide citizens with easy, online access to government benefit and assistance programs. The program's mission is to reduce the expense and difficulty of interacting with the government while increasing citizen access to government benefit information. The site's core function is the eligibility prescreening questionnaire. Answers to the questionnaire are used to evaluate and compare with the eligibility criteria for more than 1,000 Federally-funded benefit and assistance programs. Each program description provides citizens with the next steps to apply for any benefit program of interest.
The Affordable Care Act
Senior advisor to the President Valerie Jarrett and Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius speak to parents, advocates and experts at an Autism Awareness Month Conference.
The Importance of Special Needs Trusts
One of the most important move parents of children with special needs can make is to set up a special-needs trust, also known as a supplemental-needs trust. This is crucial, financial planners say, because a child can be denied significant Medicaid and Social Security benefits if more than $2,000 of assets are in his or her name, excluding a residence, car and basic personal items. Proper planning is key for funding for special-needs trusts for children with special needs. Funding for the trusts typically comes mainly from the parents' life insurance. Money can also be placed in a special-needs trust
