law and disability newsletter

[Guest guest]

FYI - TO ALL INTERESTED PARTIES --TERRY,LDANJ

The Law and Disability e-Newsletter

The Law and Disability e-Newsletter is brought to you as a service by

Hinkle, Fingles & Prior, Attorneys at Law

Volume 5, Number 1, January 2008

Firm Secures Legal Victories for Adult Services and Health Care Coverage of

Nursing Services

Settlements on Adult Services Costs Paid to Families; Services Continued

Attorneys at Hinkle, Fingles & Prior recently helped a family recoup the

cost of a residential program for their adult son with severe disabilities.

The boy had been placed by his school district at the private program. When

he aged out of school, the family requested that DDD fund the placement, but

DDD refused so the family sought legal help. The young man remained at the

private program at the family's expense through the course of the dispute.

The settlement reimbursed the family a 6-figure sum and required DDD to

continue to fund the placement.

The firm was also successful in efforts to secure DDD funding for

appropriate services for a woman with multiple disabilities who had been

placed by her family in an out-of-state program. DDD offered her services in

a local program, which were not appropriate. As a result of efforts by the

firm's attorneys, DDD agreed to fund the young woman's program retroactive

to the date of her initial placement, and begin planning to develop

community-based services to serve the woman closer to her home.

Private Duty Nursing Services Allow Injured Girl to Live at Home

Hinkle, Fingles & Prior successfully handled an appeal for insurance

coverage on behalf of a 6 year-old New Jersey girl who sustained a brain

injury and paralysis as a result of a motor vehicle accident. Since 2003,

the girl lived at a pediatric hospital, but when her parents tried to bring

her home to live with the family, the insurance company refused to cover the

private duty nursing services the girl needed. The family tried to appeal

twice without success. With legal assistance from Hinkle, Fingles & Prior,

the insurance company was ordered to provide 24-hour private duty nursing

coverage.

" Stay Put " Clock Starts when Parties Stop Working Together

by Ira M. Fingles, Esq. and Hillary D. Freeman, Esq.

On occasion, a school district may propose to change a student's IEP against

the parents' wishes. If the parents disagree with the districts'

recommendations, they can delay the change by filing for Mediation or a Due

Process hearing. New Jersey regulations provide that if a party files within

15 days of receiving the final IEP (or in Pennsylvania by rejecting the

NOREP), the student must be remain, or " stay put " in his current program and

placement. Any change in the child's program, including even a reduction in

therapy, constitutes a change in placement.

New Jersey's regulations also state that the 15-day timeline does not begin

if the parties are continuing to work together after the IEP meeting to

develop an appropriate program for the child. Many districts ignore this

requirement in the law, however, and attempt to change the program once the

15-day time period expires.

Hinkle, Fingles & Prior recently handled a case that involved the

applicability of this issue. A classified student was making meaningful

progress in an out of district school that specialized in teaching students

with learning disabilities, but the district wished to change the placement.

The parties appeared to be working together to find an appropriate

alternative placement after the IEP meeting. Once the parents realized that

this was no longer the case, they filed for Mediation and Due Process but

the District changed the program anyway. The hearing officer ruled that

since the parties were continuing to work together after the IEP meeting,

the 15-day rule did not apply and the student must be returned to the " out

of district " placement until the rest of the dispute was resolved. The

District appealed this decision to a federal court on an emergency basis,

and was told again that the student must remain in the out-of-district

placement because the parties' efforts to find another placement prevented

the 15-day clock from starting.

Hinkle, Fingles & Prior Welcomes New Attorneys

Hinkle, Fingles & Prior is very pleased to welcome two new attorneys to the

firm, Hillary D. Freeman and Amy E. Duff.

As the sister of a man with autism, Hillary Freeman is deeply committed to

her work representing people with disabilities and their families.

With experience before administrative agencies and Superior Court in special

education issues, Section 504, and guardianship and adult services, Hillary

effectively combines her personal experience with her legal training to help

families advocate for services and supports.

She is a member of the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the

International Dyslexia Association, and COSAC. She earned her law degree

from Widener University School of Law, and is licensed to practice in both

Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

Amy Duff has concentrated her entire legal career on disability law. Her

legal work is informed by her experiences as a mother of two children, both

of whom received special education services. Before joining Hinkle, Fingles

& Prior, she served in the New Jersey Attorney General's Office, handling

cases dealing with access to disability services, guardianship and special

education. She clerked also for State Supreme Court Justice Verniero.

Committed to parent advocacy and participation, Amy served on the

Hillsborough Board of Education and as Vice-President of the Central

Regional Early Intervention Collaborative. Amy holds a Masters Degree in

Public Health from The s Hopkins' Bloomberg School of Public Health and

a law degree from Rutgers School of Law - Newark, and is a member of the New

Jersey Bar.

Hillary D. Freeman

Amy E. Duff

Advocacy Tip: Have You Updated Your Estate Plan Recently?

Now is a good time to review your estate plan. Here are some reasons why

changes might be necessary:

1. Have your assets increased? Federal and state estate taxes can be reduced

or eliminated with careful planning and the use of credit shelter trusts,

life insurance trusts and other similar instruments.

2. Do beneficiary designations follow your intentions? Are they tax

efficient? Is your IRA positioned for the maximum stretch possible to defer

taxation?

3. Are the people designated to carry out your estate plan (e.g., executor,

trustee, guardian, attorney in fact) still the people you want to use? Are

they too old or ill or maybe it is time to give your children this

responsibility? Perhaps you need a corporate trustee?

4. Do your documents conform to current law?

5. Are you taking full advantage of government programs/ services for people

with disabilities?

6. Have you planned for your own possible incapacitation?

Workshop and

Speaker Services

Hinkle, Fingles & Prior attorneys are available to speak to your

organization or constituents on a wide variety of relevant disability

topics. Check the schedule on our website to find an event near you. Dozens

of topics are available:

Topics include:

.. Adult Services

.. Special Education/IEP Prep

.. Guardianship and Estate Planning

.. Health Care Insurance & Medicaid

.. Adult Siblings as Decision-makers

.. Transition Planning

.. Protecting Inheritances and Awards

There is no charge for speaking services. Contact the law offices now to

schedule an event for your group or organization.

Articles Available

on our Website

Hinkle, Fingles & Prior posts articles that can be reprinted in your

organization's newsletter or website.

Click here for a list of available texts.

New Publications on Transition and Health Care Available

Hinkle, Fingles & Prior has collaborated with ASAH and Special Olympics New

Jersey on new publications describing parents' rights and responsibilities

regarding educational transition services and health care insurance.

Planning the Transition from School to Adult Life

Collaborating with ASAH, a not-for-profit organization of private schools

and agencies in New Jersey, Herb Hinkle and Ira Fingles joined Dorothy Van

Horn, Executive Director/Superintendent of Brookfield Schools, in authoring

this important new guide to transition services for students with

disabilities. Produced for parents and guardians who ask, " What will happen

after graduation? " , the guide presents information on federally-required

transition planning for students with disabilities, and provides sections on

how and when planning should begin, who should participate, strategies and

sample activities that make sense, and how to develop and implement a plan

that works.

Understanding Your Health Care Insurance and Appeal Rights

In collaboration with Special Olympics New Jersey, A. Powers

and S. Prior have authored a new guide for parents of children with

intellectual disabilities. The guide is designed to help parents understand

the health coverage they have, understand their appeal rights, learn about

other programs through which their child could obtain coverage, and minimize

financial responsibility.

With offices in New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Attorneys of Hinkle,

Fingles & Prior have years of experience providing

expert counsel and legal services to families of people with disabilities

and seniors. The firm's attorneys have argued many of

the precedent setting cases affecting people with disabilities in New Jersey

and Pennsylvania.

Click here for Attorney Biographies

all material © 2008 Hinkle, Fingles & Prior, Attorneys at Law

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