“Vote Planned On Tax-Free Disability Savings Accounts”

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This November 20, 2014 DisabilityScoop.com article talks about legislation that would allow people who are disabled to have special savings accounts that could be used to pay for housing, medical expenses, or other necessities.  The accounts would not count against other benefits like Medicaid and Social Security according to the article this legislation has brewed in the federal government since 2006, but hasn’t really gotten any real traction until recently.  This is the first I’ve heard of this bit of legislation and am hoping to find out more about it over time.

“Jails Are the Biggest Asylums in the Nation Says Rep. Patrick Kennedy at Health Forum”

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This November 18, 2014 OpEdNews.com article talks about the ever-increasing number of people with mental illnesses who are ending up in jails or prisons due in large part to the lack of available mental health services available to them in the community.  As a result, many with mental illnesses who are often convicted of non-violent crimes end up trapped in a revolving door going in and out of jails sometimes even begging to be kept in jail because they get better treatment in jails then they do in the community.  If those who are being released from jail that have a mental illness, are lucky they will be able to find some place to live other than the streets, but this is often not the case.