Economic Justice

Following the signing of the ABLE Act into law, National Disability Institute (NDI) established the ABLE Resource Center, a group of like-minded organizations committed to promoting a consistent voice in the development of federal regulations and helping states establish ABLE account programs. On Friday, February 6th, NDI and 15 other national disability organizations met in Washington, DC to discuss the current status of federal and state implementation efforts.

The diverse group of partner organizations includes The Arc, World Institute on Disability, Autism Self-Advocacy Network, the American Association of Persons with Disabilities (AAPD), the National Organization on Disability (NOD), the National Down Syndrome Society, the National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disability Services (NASDDDS) and the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). All pledged to work together to educate government officials, individuals with disabilities and their families about the possibilities and benefits of opening an ABLE account.

Going forward, NDI will continue to coordinate ABLE Resource Center activities. In the coming weeks and months, the group will focus on improving outreach, providing comment on related state legislative proposals and assisting the Treasury Department and IRS develop future ABLE regulations.

The ABLE Resource Center’s next meeting will be on Friday, March 6, 2015. Disability organizations interested in joining the ABLE Resource Center should contact Chris Rodriguez, Senior Policy Advisor, NDI at Crodriguez@ndi-inc.org for more information.

Is this our Chris Rodriguez, recently at MPAS?