Florida SNAP Special Needs Newsletter

[Guest guest]

OCTOBER 2009

The Special Needs Advisory Partners and The Preventive Family Support Services was created and funded to provide free onsite parent training workshops to schools, support groups and organizations that help improve the quality of life for individuals with special needs. Our agency offers a wide variety of that are not diagnosis or age dependant. Our amazing legal advocacy team can help with guardianships, future planning, special needs trusts and work hand in hand with our financial division to help families position their disabled loved ones for benefits and entitlements such as SSI, SSD, and long tern health care needs. Our educational advocacy team can help families understand their childs rights under IDEA and gain access to the services they deserve. To learn about our workshops, grant programs

and how to recieve t raining for your school or agency, please contact our main office at

OCT-NOV

CALENDAR

Sat. Oct. 24th 11 am

SNAP Dads Group

Sunrise FL RSVP to

Rick@...

Thurs Oct. 29th

11 am. Sunrise FL

SNAP Workshop

"Oritntation to PFSS, Where There's A Will, There's A Way"

Grant Program

RSVP

Sat. October 31st

HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!

Mon. Nov, 9th

11 am, Sunrise Fl

ABC's of IEP's

RSVP

Sat Nov. 14th 11 am

SNAP Dads Group

Sunrise FL RSVP to

Rick@...

Sun. Nov 15th 2-5 PM

Half Day Training

-Guardianship

-Wills and Trusts

-Grant Orientation

-Q & A

RSVP parents only

No child care provided

Thurs. Nov 26th

Happy Thanksgiving

PFSS Grant

Program Update

Continuing in 2009-2010, families with special need children may be eligible for grant subsidized and greatly reduced end of life documents including, Last Will and Testament, Living Wills, Health Care Proxies and Minor and Testamentary Special Needs Trusts throught grants recieved by the Preventive Family Support Services, a not for profit division of The Special Needs Advisory Partners. For more information and to qualify please call us at

.

8201 s Road, Suite 1000, Plantation, FL 33324

Office: Fax:

www.FloridaSNAP.com E-mail: info@...

HAPPY HALLOWEEN

Did You Know?

Federal Government Guidelines

For most families the thought of needing a TRUST is only for Rockefellers and the very wealthy. What most of the families who come through our parent training courses learn, is that when dealing in the world of benefits and entitlements a mere $2,000 makes your loved one with special needs a “Rockefeller†in the eyes of the federal government.

Regardless of where you live and what your loved ones’ diagnosis is, if they are receiving benefits or entitlements or may become eligible for them at some point in the future, they could loose their status when any moneys or assets in their own name exceed $2,000. Consider these beneficiary designation pitfalls that may jeopardize your loved ones benefit eligibility and entitlements.

Beneficiaries and contingent beneficiaries on your personally owned or life insurance from work.

Your retirements accounts

Anything named to them using a “blanket†provision like “all grandchildren equally†or “all children, nieces and nephews equallyâ€

In your wills or the wills of well intentioned family members

If you are unsure of your beneficiary designations or if you use the $2,000 guideline limit and know your loved ones’ benefit eligibility is in jeopardy, please call us for a one on one consultation.

Remembers benefits and entitlements mean access to educational resources, respite care, adult day services when your child ages out of the school system and other services your money can’t buy.

Benefit eligibility is critical to protect so be sure and secure as many entitlements for your special needs loved ones as soon as possible.

Family Perspective

Are you a caregiver or parent of a child with special needs but not their BIOLOGICAL parent? For many families today, parents and caregivers come in all different shapes and sizes. Grandparents caring for grandchildren, loving step parents with genuine care and concern for kids that are not their own, and adult siblings caring for special needs brothers and sisters, no matter how you slice it the combination of caregivers in any given home with special needs loved ones' are numerous.

In the case of blended families created from second marriages or long term relationships, the role of parent or caregiver is something that happens naturally and not by court appointment. As we've been meeting more and more blended families we've found that protecting the non biological caregivers rights in the event their spouse or partner passes away or becomes disabled can be a daunting task.

With HIPPA laws and other informational privacy acts in place, families faced with the thought of loosing a child because of their non biological caregiver status are turning more then ever to legal advocacy agencies like SNAP for help.

Putting in place directives that name guardians, and other important people in roles to be carried out in the event you are disabled or have passed away is an important step for parents looking to secure their special needs loved ones quality of life. Directives like these can increase a families likelihood to remain in tact after an illness, premature death or accident. For each family we meet putting the pieces together may be a little different, but the goal is almost always the same, to keep the family together and our special needs children and adults safely in place at home, or in the responsible hands of folks that have their best interest in heart.

If you are interested in learning more about protecting your non biological parental status and your families future using legal directives, wills and other strategies call our office for an intake today.

If you want to share your non biological caregiver story with us, please e-mail us at info@.... Your story can help others.

Safe Halloween Tips

Consider Trick Or Treating at a local mall or shopping center. Store owners are usually stocked up for passers by and local shoppers. Going door to door may be dangerous depending on the area you live in and if it rains, an indoor mall is always a great place to be.

Consider applying reflective tape to costumes and candy bags for greater visability.

Remind children to only trick or treat at well lit homes and to NEVER go inside anyones house, garage or hallways.

Make sure the kids have a good lunch and dinner and give them a little goodie bag to take along on their trick or treating adventure, so they aren't tempted to eat candy before you've had a chance to inspect it.

Remind your children never to pet any animals they may encounter at a front door and if a pet is enclosed in a front yard or fence, consider skipping that house.

Always carry a spare candy bag incase the one you go out with breaks!

Make sure costumes are flame retardant and an appropriate length. Make sure your chils is appropriately dressed under their costume.

When going out in a group, pair children in groups and encourage them to be accountable to one another in their group. Identify members of the group by giving them similar colored candy bags or reflective stickers so you can visually account for each group remaining in tact.

Carry a whistle and alert your tricker or treaters to listen for your whistle. Explain that the whistle means you want their attention and they must stop and focus on your instructions while on the street.

The safest trick or treating is at home. Have a small get together for neighbors and friends and give each child a premade candy bag to take with them.

This message was sent from Florida SNAP to deniseslist@.... It was sent from: SNAP/PFSS, 8201 s Road, Suite 1000-56, Plantation, FL 33324 (954)476 5312 , Plantation, Fl 33324. You can modify/update your subscription via the link below.

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