The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the state of Florida recently. In its suit, the Justice Department alleges that Florida is in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in its administration of its service…
Individuals with developmental disabilities and disability advocates achieved a significant victory recently when a Virginia judge rejected a guardianship request from the parents of a 29-year-old woman with Down syndrome. Jenny Hatch’s mother and stepfather filed a guardianship proceeding in…
Estate planning is often viewed as a "one-and-done" task—a matter of simply signing a Will and putting it in a drawer. However, a truly effective plan requires careful coordination and ongoing maintenance. Even with a signed Will, simple oversights in…
There is no clear path to health care decision making for people with developmental disabilities. Although the current laws attempt to create a framework for health care decision making, each situation comes with a different set of facts, so the…
Anyone who has ever been married will tell you that there’s an adjustment period once the excitement and exhaustion of the wedding wears off. For many, this adjustment period is necessary to grow as a married couple. Unfortunately for Paul…
The Supplemental Security Income program, like other needs-based programs, has certain limitations on the type of services and resources that can be given to recipients. For instance, if cash is given directly to an SSI recipient, then his or her…
Acts of kindness and courage can have a lasting impact, especially when they demonstrate the importance of treating every person with dignity. One such example comes from Houston, where waiter Michael Garcia earned widespread praise for standing up for a…
An investigation into Florida's service system for children with disabilities found that the state failed to meet its obligations under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) by unnecessarily institutionalizing hundreds of children with disabilities in nursing facilities…
As the Social Security Administration (SSA) continues to scrutinize distributions from special needs trusts, its interpretation of what is allowable and what is not is evolving. During a NAELA National Aging and Law Institute session held at the end of…
States across our country with schools that dedicate themselves to educating children with various special needs are continuously looking to technology for better ways to communicate with and educate their students, and it looks as though technology is coming through…