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Bazelon Center: Federal Benefits for People With Serious Mental Illness Who Have Been Incarcerated

  • Organization: Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law
  • Date Created: Tuesday, January 31, 2006
  • Submitted: Tuesday, January 31, 2006
  • Attachment(s): LINK

Fact Sheets About:

Veterans Benefits
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Food Stamps

This set of fact sheets supplements the Bazelon Center's booklet, Finding the Key to successful transition from jail to community for people with serious mental illness. Finding the Key focuses on access to federal disability benefits and health care coverage through Medicaid and Medicare. While disability benefits and health care are the primary benefit programs for people with mental illnesses who have been incarcerated, many individuals may also (or alternatively) be eligible for Veterans Benefits, TANF or Food Stamps. Accordingly, these fact sheets provide information on those programs, how they affect individuals who are incarcerated and what flexibility is available to states and localities in setting policy or establishing procedures that would ensure appropriate access to them upon an inmate's release.

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