Care Management for Your Child With Special Needs 

In This Issue:

1. Care Management for Your Child With Special Needs

2. About the Firm

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Care Management for Your Child With Special Needs

When establishing a special needs trust (SNT) for your child, it's important to consider how much care the child may need in the future and who will oversee any arrangements related to that care. In many cases, either a family member or the SNT trustee can assume responsibility for care management. But when care needs are significant or family members cannot be available, parents may wish to include instructions in the SNT documentation for the trustee to retain a professional care manager. This can help ensure that care decisions will be handled professionally and consistently throughout the beneficiary's life while allowing the trustee to focus on other responsibilities.

What Is a Care Manager?

A care manager is a professional with the expertise necessary to develop, implement and monitor a plan for all aspects of an individual's care. Often trained in nursing or social work, care managers are available primarily through private care management companies, many of which also deliver services to the elderly. Generally, a care manager will be knowledgeable about everything from health care and rehabilitation options to residential alternatives. Care managers also should be familiar with the alternatives for funding an individual's care -- both private resources and public benefits.

What Does a Care Manager Do?

• A care manager coordinates, monitors and advocates for services to help ensure that an individual with special needs can maintain the greatest possible degree of independence, safety and comfort at the most reasonable cost. Working closely with family members as well as financial advisors, attorneys, health care providers, the SNT trustee and others involved in the individual's care, the care manager may:
• Assess the individual's needs based on visits to the home and one-on-one interviews.
• Develop, or help the family develop, a care plan covering living arrangements, medical and therapeutic needs, social preferences, educational opportunities and other relevant issues.
• Implement the care plan. This may include coordinating physical therapy, medical care, social services and equipment needs; improving the home's safety and comfort through repairs or modifications; and hiring home health aides or training family caregivers.
• Work with the SNT trustee to ensure that private and public resources are used appropriately, helping to preserve trust assets and avoid improper distributions that could jeopardize the beneficiary's eligibility for benefits.
• Address emergency or crisis situations.
• Consider housing alternatives and oversee placement, handling such details as admissions paperwork and moving arrangements.
• Monitor care in the home or at residential facilities and recommend changes as necessary.
  

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About the Firm

Evan H. Farr, CELA, CEA, has been in private practice in Fairfax since 1987, is a Charter Member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners, and is the only attorney in Virginia who is both a Certified Elder Law Attorney and a Certified Estate Advisor.* Since 2007, Evan has been named by Virginia Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top attorneys in Virginia, and in 2008 Evan was named by Washington, DC Super Lawyers Magazine as one of the top attorneys in DC. The Super Lawyers designation is bestowed upon the top 5% of lawyers in each state as chosen by their peers and through the independent research of Law & Politics.

The Farr Law Firm helps protect individuals with special needs and their families. For those with a disabled family member, proper estate planning often dictates the use of a Third-Party Special Needs Trust. For a disabled person who inherits money, a First-Party Special Needs Trust is typically required. We also help personal injury claimants and attorneys in connection with settlements received by a disabled child or adult.

*Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation and Certified as an Estate Advisor by the National Association of Financial & Estate Planning. Virginia has no procedure for approving certifying organizations.

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