Seattle Disability Law

A PUBLICATION OF THE LAW OFFICES OF LARRY A. JONES
JANUARY 2007

SUPPORTED EMPLOYMENT PAYS!

One of the bright spots for persons with disabilities in recent years has been expanded work opportunities. Large employers like Safeway and King County, and innumerable small businesses like Agua Verde restaurant, have learned that people with developmental disabilities make excellent workers.

It may require extra time to set up and expert help matching the right worker to the right job, but, supported employment can be a blessing to both the employer and the employee. Experience has shown that workers with disabilities are especially loyal to their employers. Often they build up knowledge of operations that makes them valuable founts of wisdom to new hires.

Workers using supported employment are earning good wages, too. In fact, the average monthly wage of a worker with developmental disabilities in supported employment in King County is now approaching $1,100 per month, according to Ray Jensen, who directs King County’s Developmental Disabilities program. This is better than the wages in most parts of the country and is far more than older “sheltered workshops” ever paid.

If you are a King county resident and want help in finding supported employment, call Holly Woo at (206) 296-5214. She will help at no charge. If you do not live in King county, call your local Arc or this office for help.

At the King County Parent Coalition Legislative night in November, Joanne O’Neil interviewed Adam Meltzer, who spoke with pride of his four years working at Agua Verde restaurant.

SENIORS WITH DISABILITIES

When people become disabled for the first time during their retirement years, they often need supportive services to help them. If they can afford it, they can pay for in-home care assistants or for supported living situations. Soon, however, many people run out of money and need assistance from the government to pay for their care.

Major Medicaid changes last year

Medicaid is the joint federal-state program that pays for aides to assist a senior who needs help with daily living tasks. In order to qualify, a couple in Washington who need such services for the first time will have to spend all their money except about $42,000 (or $2,000 for a single person) before the government will help. A person’s principal residence is an exempt asset up to the value of $500,000.

Many seniors have worked hard and want to pass on some savings to their heirs. But congressional changes this past year made it much harder to give money to children or grandchildren. In 2005, for example, seniors with disabilities could give away $6,000 a month to their heirs while privately paying for their care and not be penalized by having to wait for eligibility when they reached the maximum asset amount for Medicaid. In 2006 that changed. Now a senior can only give away $198 per month – including gifts to charities, religious organizations, etc. – without incurring a penalty period.

Assessing care needs and locating care

Larry Jones chairs the board of directors of Total Living Choices (TLC), a free Internet-based system for senior care that has been providing advice since 1999. At www.totallivingchoices.com you can use the Care Interpreter to understand what kinds of service alternatives are right for a particular individual. You can also use the facility locator to find the right type of nursing care or other type of assisted living facility anywhere in the country. For example, you can find a nursing facility that has Mandarin-speaking staff or serves kosher food. TLC has the largest database of such services in the country.

VOTING BILL BACKFIRES

Recently a new law was passed in Washington that a person under a guardianship does not automatically lose the right to vote. RCW 11.88.010(5). Instead, that person retains the right to vote unless the Court specifically finds that the person lacks the capacity to vote.

It was a great idea in theory, but it has led to far more persons losing their right to vote both for our clients and other Washingtonians with disabilities.

In this office we always included a statement in the court order that the person did not lose the right to vote – even before the law was changed. It was very rare for the court to take away the right to vote, when we wanted it retained. It happened only a handful of times in a dozen years.

But now the new law requires the Court to specifically evaluate everyone to see if he or she should lose the right to vote (and give notice to the county Auditor of all persons losing the right to vote). Now the courts are quite frequently taking away the right to vote of persons with developmental disabilities – and Auditors are creating a list of such persons.

It is certainly true that the legislature should be concerned about fraudulent voting. But that bill was not the right solution. The parents of persons with developmental disabilities do not sign up their sons and daughters so they can vote twice by mail. The real threat of voting fraud on behalf of persons too disabled to be able to vote is among long-married senior couples who each signed up for mail-in balloting in the past. Sometimes the well spouse decides to continue to “help” the spouse who is no longer able to vote to do so in the way that he or she “always voted in the past and would want to continue now.” This situation has nothing to do with our developmentally disabled citizens who are now being deprived of this valuable right.

CREATING A SUCCESSFUL GUARDIANSHIP REPORT

Whether you report annually or triennially, the reporting process can be stressful. As guardian, there are some things that you can do that will help you when it comes time to report.

Organization is the first step in a stress-free report. This means separating and organizing bank statements, receipts, pay stubs, etc. We recommend a separate file folder for each of the following: bank statements, income statements (SSA, SSI, etc.), receipts for large or unusual purchases, expenses, and pay stubs. This will ensure that the accounting is accurate and that you have sufficient back up documentation for the courts to review.

Remember that the court requires bank statements. You will be required to submit bank statements for the first and last months of your reporting period. (Hint: these numbers should also be your opening and closing balance on your report). This provides proof of your accounting to the court.

One section that can be confusing is the “adjustment” section. This is not a place for you to “fudge” the report if the numbers don’t balance. This section is only to record appreciation or depreciation in the value of stock or real estate.

It is also important for your report to be completed on time. Late reports may result in court fines and sometimes even revocation of the guardianship. We send you a notice 90 days prior to the report due date. Completing and returning the report in a timely matter will ensure that we can review the report and correct any problems with plenty of time left to file it with the court on time. And please remember to sign your report.

On the non-financial side, an outline of what is going on in the ward’s life and what you and other professionals are doing for him or her will suffice. Be sure to report any substantial changes in the ward’s medical, mental or functional condition.

Always remember if completing the report is too stressful, you can always call us for help!

GET PAID FOR BEING A GUARDIAN

If you are the guardian for a person who lives in an adult family home, a traditional group home, or a nursing home, you are eligible to be paid up to $175 per month for your efforts by the State of Washington. You must give notice to DDD-DSHS and get court approval before you are allowed to charge this fee.

This fee is currently not available if the ward (the person under a guardianship) lives in their own home, in their family’s home, or what is called “tenant support” or “supported living.”

If DSHS allows the fee, it subtracts what you charge for your services as guardian from the ward’s Social Security check each month before DSHS calculates how much that person will be “charged” for living in that place.

DSHS will make up the difference in costs. Therefore, the client will have just as much money to spend and the residential service provider will receive just as much money as before.

Contact DDD or our office if you are not being paid and would like to be. It is taxable income to you.

SENIORS LESS DISABLED

Chronic disability among older Americans has dropped dramatically, and the rate of decline has accelerated during the past two decades, according to a study of 20,000 seniors by the National Institutes of Health. The prevalence of chronic disability among senior citizens fell from 26.5 percent in 1982 to 19 percent in 2004/2005. The greatest improvements were seen among the most severely impaired seniors.

The proportion of people without disabilities increased the most in the oldest age group, rising by 32.6 percent among those 85 years and older. The percentage of Medicare enrollees age 65 and older who lived in long-term care institutions such as nursing homes dropped dramatically from 7.5 percent to 4.0 percent.

TWO DDD PROGRAMS

The Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) is the state agency that deals with persons who have such disabilities. The people with the disabilities are called clients.

Medicaid Personal Care

Some DDD clients are still not receiving funding for the assistance with daily living that they need. For example, nearly all parents who have adult sons and daughters who are DDD clients can be paid for the assistance they are providing – like help with meals, dressing, bathing, etc. To be paid for providing personal care, call your local DDD office and ask for the client to be assessed.

Mini-assessments

Some individuals who have been found eligible by DDD but who receive no paid services from DDD are being assessed by DDD case managers. The case managers are using an assessment tool called the Mini Assessment. We recommend that all families call and request this assessment so that the needs of your family member with developmental disabilities are documented with DDD.

Some telephone numbers for DDD are as follows: King County, 206-568-5700; north of King County, 425-339-4833; and Pierce County 800-248-0949. If you live in another area, call the central DDD office in Olympia at 360-725-3413.