Financial Engagement as a Gateway to Community Participation

This project examines the promise of ABLE accounts in increasing community participation for young adults with disabilities, including intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD), receiving vocational rehabilitation services. The ABLE Act of 2014 allows an estimated seven million individuals with significant disabilities to establish tax advantaged saving accounts exempt from means-tested requirements for federal public benefits (SSI, Medicaid, and SNAP), and prohibits reduction of public resources when an account is established. Individuals who contribute to ABLE accounts are able to build financial independence and set goals for the future. This research represents the first empirical longitudinal study of the impact of ABLE implementation. The project goal was to enhance understanding of the benefits of financial health trainings to improve outcomes. A non-randomized controlled trial study examines the impact of (1) an ABLE account and (2) the joint impact of an ABLE account and the Good Life CAFE (Community Access and Financial Empowerment) training/financial coaching program on community participation. Objectives include evaluation of self-directed engagement in ABLE accounts, evaluation of facilitated engagement in ABLE accounts, and a comprehensive training program that assists in planning for the future and managing finances to reach goals. Outcomes include community participation and its related and antecedent outcomes: self-determination, financial capability, life satisfaction, and quality of life. Deliverables include evidence regarding interventions that improve economic self-sufficiency and community participation, and knowledge translation strategies to replicate interventions nationwide. <br>The project had three parts: an intervention with data collection, a survey of ABLE account owners (ABLEnow Survey), and a Survey of customers of Virginia's Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services entitled Survey Exploring my Life and Future (SELF). The three parts were all designed to study the relationships between financial capability, financial behaviors, financial self-efficacy, decision making, life satisfaction, and community participation/engagement among individuals with disabilities. <br><b><br></b><b>Intervention:</b> The intervention involved a 12-week intervention aimed at improving financial self-efficacy, employment outcomes, and community participation among young adults (ages 18-24) with disabilities who were receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and enrolled in the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) with an active Individual Plan for Employment (IPE). Participants completed a financial health assessment; participated in Charting the LifeCourse planning to set community participation, employment and/or life goals (LifeCourse Nexus, 2024); and received individualized financial coaching that was personalized based on the individual’s interests, experiences, abilities and exposure to select concepts. In addition to capitalizing on each individual’s interests and motivation, people were encouraged to involve familial and paid supports, as well as cultivating new supports within their communities. When possible, Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors were updated on a person’s progress and goals, so that relevant topics could be woven into service provision, thereby strengthening the services that support their goals. Participants also received direct assistance with opening an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account, which was initially funded with $50. ABLE allows account owners, whose disability began before age 26, to build financial resources to pay for qualified disability expenses without risking eligibility for means tested public benefits such as Social Security and Medicaid. Participants could earn additional deposits into their ABLE accounts by engaging in study activities.<br><br><b>ABLEnow Survey: </b>In collaboration with the ABLEnow program, the ABLE program in Virginia, we recruited ABLEnow account owners over the age of 18 by including an invitation to participate and a link to the survey in two consecutive ABLEnow monthly newsletters, which are emailed to about 14,000 account owners each month. To encourage participation, respondents were offered a $20 gift card incentive. A total of 253 individuals began the survey. After excluding incomplete responses, our final sample consisted of 208 cases.<br><br><b>Survey Exploring My Life and Future (SELF) Survey:</b> An invitation to participate with a survey link was distributed via email to about 17,000 customers of the Virginia Department for Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS), which serves as the state's Vocational Rehabilitation agency. As with the ABLEnow survey, participants were offered a $20 gift card. A total of 995 respondents began the survey. After removing cases with incomplete data, the final analytic sample included 644 participants<br><br><br>