Public Benefits

In certain circumstances the Social Security Administration will fast-track a disability benefits application through a process known as Compassionate Allowances, usually because the applicant is suffering from a severe disability that may be life-threatening.

In an apparent violation of federal law, states are increasingly using nursing homes to house young and middle-age people with mental illnesses.

One of the programs on the cutting edge of community mental health is called "supportive housing," and it incorporates not only housing but social services and medical care as well.

Section 111 of the Medicare, Medicaid, and SCHIP Extension Act of 2007 (MMSEA) adds new mandatory reporting requirements for insurers to determine whether a claimant is a Medicare beneficiary and report claim information. Ignorance of the law in this area...

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that a public school district must pay for a special needs child's private school tuition even though the child had not received special education at the public school before transferring to the private one.

Workers who must pay for the care of a dependent relative, including a child with special needs, so that they can continue to work can get a significant tax benefit under a little-known provision of the Internal Revenue Code, the...

An alternative to individual special needs trusts are "pooled trusts," which pool the resources of many beneficiaries. Becoming part of one may have advantages, depending on the situation.

After a successful effort by the 14-year-old brother of a girl with intellectual disabilities to remove the word "retarded" from Maryland law, US Senator Barbara Mikulski has proposed a bill that would do the same thing in all federal programs.

Eunice Kennedy Shriver, who established the Special Olympics in 1968, passed away on August 11th.