Economic Justice

The ABLE National Resource Center, in collaboration with National Disability Institute, The Arc, Autism Speaks, National Down Syndrome Society, and the College Plan Savings Network hosted a webinar on "Understanding ABLE."

The webinar covered ABLE Act core components, status of implementation at the federal and state level and will reserve time for questions and answers.

Speakers:

• Marty Ford, Senior Executive Officer of Public Policy, The Arc
• Stuart Spielman, Senior Policy Adviser and Counsel, Autism Speaks
• Sara Weir , President, National Down Syndrome Society
• Mary Anne Busse, Managing Director, Great Disclosure
• Michael Morris, Executive Director, National Disability Institute
• Kathleen McGrath, 529 College Savings Program Director, Pennsylvania Treasury Department

Disability Insurance is providing a much-needed safety net for 9 million Americans, but basic flaws in the program's structure mean that many never work again.

“It’s the greatest professional disappointment of my career,” Bruce Growick told me recently without a trace of doubt in his voice. The former president of the International Association of Rehabilitation Professionals was referring to the Ticket to Work program, a 1999 outgrowth of Social Security Disability Insurance that was intended to funnel the nation’s growing ranks of injured workers back into the workforce. In the 90s, Growick testified before the committees that would draft Ticket to Work and met with lawmakers to help shape it. Years before he became skeptical of its effectiveness, he was optimistic about what it might do for disabled individuals.

“Having a job is so much better than being paid to stay at home,” he says. In his testimony, Growick said, “The role of government should be to assist and encourage persons with disabilities towards employment.”

The Ticket to Work program recently launched a redesigned beneficiary website at www.choosework.net. The website is part of Social Security’s efforts to help people with disabilities who want to work find and keep a job to reduce or eliminate their need for cash benefits.

Choosework.net is the place to start to learn about the Ticket to Work program, which provides free employment support services to Social Security disability beneficiaries who want to work. The site has an improved layout and is easier to use. It also offers more information to support you or someone you know on the journey to financial independence. Visit the site to take advantage of these new features:

By expanding access to financial services, microfinance works to lift people out of poverty. Traditional banks generally can’t afford to serve the poor because of the associated maintenance costs. Small loans are inconsequential for banks, which also aren’t incentivized to design products for small savers. But for low-income people struggling in the developing world, a loan of $50 can be the means to start a business and climb out of poverty.

The isolated and disconnected nature of MFIs means that they’ve been able to focus on building trust in local networks, but it also means that they don’t always have ways to talk to each other. Connecting these dots is a huge opportunity.

While the microfinance movement is still formulating a coherent theory of change, and while the final impact of individual MFIs on communities vary, one thing is abundantly clear: MFIs have the potential to act as experimentation hubs around financial services for the poor, especially if we start linking those hubs so MFIs can share information and work together.

Organization is one of my greatest strengths, and in 2014 alone, I was able to successfully schedule approximately two doctors' appointments a week for five months (most after working hours) while working full-time, coordinating among medical imaging facilities and various specialists and organizing each appointment in a color-coded calendar. This organization and the coordination of my medical team led to the discovery of an infection, and although this was a difficult hurdle to overcome due to the treatments and pain, I upheld my duties at my job and never used my medical situation as an excuse to do less. My other skills include digesting complicated information, including possible treatment routes and unfamiliar medical conditions. Clear communication skills have been essential so that I can advocate for myself when I disagree with a proposed treatment route or procedure. I also have ample experience with multitasking by writing concise correspondence, conducting research and scheduling appointments while receiving IV treatments.

The McCrery-Pomeroy SSDI Solutions Initiative is a project dedicated to identifying practical policy changes to improve the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program. The SSDI Solutions Initiative has issued a call for papers to solicit ideas in a number of areas related to the program, culminating in a conference where authors will present their papers to discussants and attendees, followed by a publication that compiles the proposals and synthesizes the findings. With the SSDI trust fund only two years from insolvency, these solutions can help spur a debate on how to ensure the SSDI program best serves disabled workers, those who pay into the program, and the economy more broadly.

Federal and State governments and non-profits invest billions in workforce development and other services for people with disabilities, with too much of it going to failed programs instead of evidence-based best practices. For example, money often goes toward day-habilitation programs and sheltered workshops, which can be glorified babysitters for adults with disabilities - if those people make any money at all, it is usually at "sub-minimum" wages. Too few investments are made in proven job training and support and transition services that can enable people with disabilities to become employed in competitive jobs at competitive wages. This is penny-wise and pound-foolish.

Many families are now wondering when they can create their ABLE accounts.  The answer?; not so fast.  The Secretary of the Treasury must issue regulations or other guidance sometime between now and mid-June. Once the regulations have been approved, each state will then decide whether to offer an ABLE account, and if so, whether it will be state-run or managed by another entity, such as a financial services firm. A state could also opt to contract with another state and allow its residents to use an ABLE program from another state.

To learn more about the ABLE Act and the next steps, check out the following resources:

ABLE Act Info Sheet - created by The Arc
ABLE Act (expanded info) - created by The Arc
ABLE Account Planning video - created by the National Disability Institute