Millions in Disability Housing Aid on Way

Nearly $98 million in rental assistance is headed to states to help thousands of people with disabilities live in the community.

The federal money is expected to fund 3,530 housing units in 13 states for people who require long-term services and supports to live independently, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development said this week. Housing agencies within the states are now working with Medicaid and Health and Human Services officials to identify very low-income individuals with disabilities who are in need of the rental assistance.

Federal officials say they expect many people receiving the new funds to be transitioning out of institutions.

“Our nation is strongest when all our citizens are able to fully participate and contribute,” said Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius. “This unique collaboration of federal and state agencies will enable thousands of Americans with disabilities to lead productive, meaningful lives in their communities.”

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Disability Scoop: Millions in Disability Housing Aid on Way

Former Okla. DHS worker charged with wire fraud

 

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — A former Oklahoma Department of Human Services worker faces federal wire fraud charges after allegedly bilking a Bethany nursing home resident out of more than $27,000 in disability payments.

 

Katharine A. Daugherty, a former DHS adult protective services specialist, has agreed to a plea deal with federal prosecutors in which she will plead guilty to the charges and make restitution payments, her attorney Irven Box said.

 

“She has accepted responsibility for what she did and acknowledged that what she did was wrong,” Box said.

 

Daugherty is expected to enter a guilty plea at a hearing Wednesday in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Oklahoma. She will also forfeit her state pension as part of the guilty plea.

 

According to the charges, Daugherty had guardianship over a man identified only as “L.J.A.” in court documents. The man was a former Federal Aviation Administration employee who received monthly disability payments from the U.S. Department for Labor for an on-the-job injury sustained in 1976.

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Former Okla. DHS worker charged with wire fraud

See Also:
Former Oklahoma DHS Worker Charged With Mail Fraud

Former Oklahoma DHS Worker Charged With Mail Fraud

A DHS worker kept hidden from the federal government that a disabled adult had died so she could get his monthly benefits checks and use the funds “for her personal benefit,” prosecutors allege.

Katharine A. Daugherty, 57, of Bethany, is charged in Oklahoma City federal court with wire fraud.

Because of the scheme, the U.S. Labor Department was cheated out of more than $27,000, prosecutors allege.

Daugherty retired from the Oklahoma Department of Human Services in August 2011 after learning she was under investigation. She was an adult protective services specialist IV.

Her attorney, Irven Box, said she has accepted responsibility for her actions and intends to plead guilty to the felony charge. A hearing is set for Wednesday.

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Former Oklahoma DHS worker charged with wire fraud