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Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

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The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

NH Supreme Court Sends Strong Message for Children with Disabilities

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Thursday, August 18, 2016   

CONCORD, N.H. – The New Hampshire Supreme Court ruled on a budgeting issue this month that should mean more funds are available for New Hampshire children with disabilities.

Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) funding is a fundamental lifeline for needy families, says Ruth Heintz, managing attorney for the North County office of New Hampshire Legal Assistance.

She applauds the unanimous ruling by the State Supreme Court that the state cannot reduce TANF payments to families that also receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) funding through Social Security, for a child with a disability.

"Ultimately they said that it violated the supremacy clause of the United States Constitution, and that's because the federal Social Security Act earmarked those SSI benefits for the use and benefit of the child receiving them,” Heintz explains.

In writing the decision, the state's chief justice addressed the intention of Congress in funding the SSI program. He wrote that Congress intended to provide children with disabilities with the minimum amount necessary to satisfy their basic needs.

Heintz says the state ran afoul of the Constitution when it treated dedicated SSI funding as family income, generally available to all members of a family in need.

"When the state said, 'That money is going to be considered available to the whole assistance group, and we're going to cut your TANF benefits because you're getting this SSI money,' that undermines the ability to fulfill the full purpose of the federal law," she points out.

Carrie Hendrick filed the suit to challenge New Hampshire's practice of treating the SSI payments to children as family income when determining eligibility for the TANF program.

Two of Hendrick's six children qualify for SSI due to severe disabilities.







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