Civil Rights and Individuals with Developmental Disabilities: 2023 Disability Law Series

The New York State Government Law Center and the Institute for Aging and Disability Law are hosting the 2023 Disability Law Series: Civil Rights and Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.

The five two-hour forums will explore:

• January 12, 1 p.m.: Overview of Civil Rights and People with Developmental Disabilities
• February 9, 1 p.m.: Consent in Health Care Decisions
• March 9, 1 p.m.: Consent of Adults in Adoption and Marriage Decisions
• March 30, 1 p.m.: Challenges in Guardianship for People with Developmental Disabilities and Strategies to Address Them
• April 13, 1 p.m.: Protecting the Civil Rights of People with Developmental Disabilities: Potential Statutory Reforms

Each forum is free, open to the public, and will take place via Zoom. CLE credits will be available for practicing attorneys. Pre-registration is required.

For more information, including registration, click here.

Summaries of aging and disability law released

The Government Law Center at Albany Law School has released the first four publications in its explainer series on Aging and Disability Law for state and local policy makers:

• “Healthcare Proxies: Appointing People with the Power to Make Healthcare Decisions for Others."

• “‘Act Now’ Healthcare Proxies."

• “Hospital Ethics Committees."

• “The New York State Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs."

The center's news release explains:

“These explainers provide accessible information about the legal protections for vulnerable older adults and individuals with disabilities, two groups making up a significant part of our communities. It’s something that touches us all, because it’s very likely someone we are close to falls into one of these groups....Throughout its history, the Government Law Center has focused on providing law and policy makers with options for reforming existing laws and designing new ones. Our Aging and Disability Law explainer series is our latest contribution to helping meet the needs of this growing and diverse population.”

For more on these publications and the Government Law Center, click here.

NY ABLE program helps persons with disabilities cover costs

Local residents may be eligible to sign up for a new savings plan, called the New York Achieving a Better Life Experience (NY ABLE) program, designed to help individuals with disabilities maintain their health, independence and quality of life.

The NY ABLE legislation was signed into law in December 2015. It allows New Yorkers with disabilities to save money in their own names without risking their Supplemental Security Income, Medicaid and certain other means-based benefits. NY ABLE accounts, also known as 529A accounts, can be opened with a minimum contribution of $25. Contributions can be made by eligible individuals, family members or friends, but are not tax-deductible. The annual contribution is capped at $14,000 and the maximum account balance is $100,000.

The annual contribution cap will be increased to $15,000 as of January 2018. Earnings and distributions are tax free provided the funds are used for qualified disability expenses. To be eligible, an individual must have a disability that was present before age 26. Participants must be eligible for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), be blind, have a significant disability documented by a physician, or have a disability that is included on the Social Security Administration's Compassionate Allowances Conditions list. New York residency is required and only one account per individual is permitted.

For more information on eligibility, or to set up an account, click here.

New York courts announce plan to enhance language access

New York State Court officials have announced a strategic plan to enhance access to justice for litigants and other parties with limited English proficiency or who are deaf or hard of hearing.

The plan comprises nearly seventy actions to be taken by the court system in eliminating barriers to justice for such court users, including:

• enhancing court interpreter recruitment, training and assessment; optimizing the use of interpreting resources;
• ensuring language access in other parts of the courthouse in addition to the courtroom;
• more effectively responding to the diverse needs of the deaf and hard-of-hearing community;
• raising public awareness about the services provided by the courts’ Office of Language Access; and
• ensuring language access in New York’s Town and Village Courts.

The full strategic plan is available here.

New York law expands court access for the hearing impaired.

The new law, which became effective Sept. 25, 2015, gives the courts authority, at the request of a person (party, witness, juror, or prospective juror) who is deaf or hard of hearing, to "provide an assistive listening device, a stenographer who can furnish communication access real-time translation or any other appropriate auxiliary aid or service."

For individuals with disabilities who need accommodations to assure accessibility to the courts, the New York State Court System's Accessibility page offers information about making accommodation requests and a list of Americans with Disabilities Act liaisons for each county. Information about the range of court interpretation services is available on the Court System's Language Access and Court Interpreters page.