Engaging the Disability Community in Financial Education & Asset Building

1. Engaging the Disability Community in Financial Education & Asset Building Jamie Robinson Program Associate Law, Health Policy & Disability Center University of Iowa Affiliate of the National Disability Institute (NDI) (203)389-2842, jamie-robinson@uiowa.edu

2. National Disability Institute (NDI) A national research and development organization that promotes income preservation and asset development for person with disabilities nationwide. Mission: To build healthy financial futures for Americans with disabilities. Partners with multiple federal, state and local organizations, such as the National Cooperative Bank, the World Institute on Disability, the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions, the Office on Disability, the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and the Department of Labor.

3. Why the significant need for financial education in the disability community? • Enduring poverty and chronic underemployment for persons with disabilities mandates new strategies for building economic empowerment options for over 20 million families who have at least one member with a disability (US Census 2000). • In 2002, 51.2 million people (18.1% of the population) had some level of disability and 32.5 million (11.5% of the population) had a severe disability (US Census 2002). • More than one-third (34%) of people with disabilities live on a household income of less than $15,000 per year, compared to 12% of people without disabilities (Harris, 1994, 1998). • Among the population aged 25 to 64 with a severe disability, 28% have incomes below the poverty level compared to 8.3% for persons in this age group without a disability (SIPP).

4. What are the challenges that people with disabilities (PWD) face? • 39% PWD say that the lack of financial resources is the most serious problem they face (NOD/Harris Survey 2000) • Only 32% of individuals with severe disabilities between the ages of 18 to 64 worked full time or part time compared to 81% of people without disabilities--a difference of 49 percent (2000 Harris Poll NOD) • Even when PWD are employed, they earn significantly less than their non-disabled peers, roughly 72% to the dollar (NCD Report 1996) • On a National level, 1.8 million SSI recipients with disabilities between the ages of 18-64 have no banking relationship; 50.7% of SSI recipients do not have direct deposit of their monthly SSI checks (SSA 2002)

5. The Challenges (Continued)…. • Less than 10% of PWD own their own homes, compared with 70% of Americans without disabilities (White House 2001) • One out of five adults with disabilities has not graduated from high school, compared to less than one of ten adults without disabilities (White House 2002) • 83% of PWD never claimed available tax credits and/or deductions related to work (See resources on Asset Information) • Asset limits of SSI ($2,000) can entrench recipients in poverty (See resources on Asset Information) • 54% of PWD had no checking account, 69% had no savings account, and 75% do not have loans with financial institutions (See resources on Asset Information)

6. Asset Poverty in America • 33% of all American households have zero or negative net assets • 54% of Hispanic households have a similar status • 60% of African-American households have no net assets • For PWD, estimates are as high as 80% (See resources on Asset Information)

7. PWD Need the Freedom, Skills & Ability to Accumulate Assets • Financial education in the disability community to learn about managing credit and savings to advance self-sufficiency. • Greater access to financial institutions, tax counseling (EITC), and other asset-building tools and resources, such as Individual Development Accounts (IDA). • Education about disability issues within the financial and asset development community.

8. People with Disabilities Building Assets • Assets, like homeownership and micro-enterprise, create connections to our communities and provide stability to our lives. • For the disability community, the opportunities offered by asset building programs have yet to be fully realized. • More and more individuals with disabilities are choosing entrepreneurship as the strongest viable solution for employment. Starting a business may not be a life-long dream; rather, it becomes an increasingly attractive proposition in an effort to escape the dismal quality of life provided by public benefits. • For many people with disabilities, the thought of owning their own home or starting their own business may seem like an unattainable dream. Yet, that is exactly the potential that asset building programs offer our community - a realistic method for turning dreams into reality. (WID 2005)

9. Engaging the Disability Community • Gather state and local information on disability agencies and programs: • Vocational Rehabilitation • Independent Living Centers • Benefits Planning, Assistance & Outreach Specialists • Department of Mental Health • One-Stop Career Centers/Disability Program Navigators • State’s Governor’s Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities • State’s Association for Persons in Supported Employment (APSE):

10. How to Find Your State/Local Disability Agencies • Vocational Rehabilitation Office: • http://www.jan.wvu.edu/SBSES/VOCREHAB.HTM • Independent Living Centers: • http://www.virtualcil.net/cils/ • Benefits Planning, Assistance & Outreach Specialists (BPAO): • http://www.ssa.gov/work/ServiceProviders/BPAODirectory.html • Department of Mental Health: • http://www.mentalhealth.samhsa.gov/databases/ • One-Stop Career Centers - 17 States have Disability Program Navigators within the One-Stops: • http://www.servicelocator.org/ • http://disability.law.uiowa.edu/dpn/grant/index.html (Scroll down to DPN & WIG Navigator Contacts Chart) • State’s Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities: • http://www.jan.wvu.edu/cgi-win/TypeQuery.exe?370 • State’s Association for Persons in Supported Employment APSE: • http://www.apse.org/chapters/chapters.html

11. Engaging the Disability Community • Discuss Ways to Collaborate with the Disability Community • Partner with your local BPAO Specialist (who is generally well-connected and trusted throughout the disability community) to provide financial education to individuals with disabilities. • Offer workshops in the One-Stop Career Centers, Independent Living Centers, and Vocational Rehabilitation Offices on financial education, tax credits, and asset-building tools. • Provide marketing materials to disability organizations which clearly explain the financial education services you can offer.

12. Keep in Mind! While many disability organizations and agencies may offer budgeting assistance to PWD, many may still be unfamiliar with the EITC, IDAs, and other asset-building resources. Partnering with your local BPAO Specialist or other disability agencies to provide financial education to PWD will help the disability community to gain trust in the information you are offering.

13. Tips on Providing Access &Reasonable Accommodations • Access means that conditions exist so that a wide range of PWD can access a building, a program, or an activity. • Accommodations are a part of access. They are specific services, equipment, or changes in policy, procedures or the built environment that allow a PWD to participate in activities. • Types of accommodations: • Removing physical barriers in your place of business • Modifying policies or procedures • Obtaining or modifying equipment or devices • Providing services, such as qualified readers, sign language interpreters, or real-time captioning • Adjusting training activities, materials or examinations

14. When Do You Provide Accommodations? • You will need to provide accommodations for public events or meetings that you sponsor. In these cases, you should ensure that you provide participants an opportunity and a means to request accommodations. • You will need to provide accommodations when you have a request from an individual with a disability. • Keep in mind that you are legally required to provide an effective accommodation, unless you can prove that doing so is an undue burden.

15. Accommodations: Technical Assistance Resources • The Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) 1-800-949-4232 (V/TTY), www.adata.org • The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) 1-800-526-7234 (V/TTY), www.jan.wvu.edu • Independent Living Centers (ILCs) www.ilru.org

16. Resources on Disability Statistics • Disability & American Families Census 2000 Special Reports Released July 2005 www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/censr-23.pdf • U.S. Census Bureau Americans with Disabilities 2002 Issues May 2006 www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p70-107.pdf • National Organization on Disability (NOD) 2004 Harris Poll Released June 2004 http://www.nod.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=31& • Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) http://www.bls.census.gov/sipp/ • World Institute on Disability (WID) 2005 http://www.wid.org/publications/?page=equity&sub=200510&topic=fa

17. Resources on Asset Information • Ball, P., Morris, M., Hartnett, J. & Blanck P. (2005). Breaking the Cycle of Poverty: Asset Accumulation By People with Disabilities. Disability Studies Quarterly. • Mendelsohn, S. (2005). Role of the Tax Code in Asset Development for People with Disabilities. Disability Studies Quarterly. • Schmeling, J., Schartz, H. A., Morris M. & Blanck, P. (2005). Tax Credits and Asset Accumulation: Findings from the 2004 N.O.D./Harris Survey of Americans with Disabilities. Disability Studies Quarterly.