National Disability Institute Inc

Federal programs: able drrp: financial engagement as a gateway to community participation: a multi-level intervention study - funder: national institute on disability, independent living, and rehabilitation research (nidilrr); administration for community living (acl); u.s. Department of health and human services (hhs)(nidilrr). Overview: able drrp is a multi-level intervention study that will: a) serve 250 young adults, age 18-24, who are in receipt of virginia vocational rehabilitation services, receive ssi or ssdi, and are living in one of three targeted communities - through a control group (125 participants) and an intervention group (125 participants). B) provide each participating young adult in the intervention group with the following intervention activities: i. Targeted futures planning, ii. Financial education, iii. Able account opening and management assistance, iv. $100 in able account, and v. Financial coaching. C) survey each participating young adult in the intervention group to understand the impact of the intervention on their level of community participation and living. D) survey each participating young adult in the control group to understand their level of community participation and living. E) analyze findings to prepare knowledge translation materials for use by the field. This will be the first data of its kind data to better understand influences on the use of able accounts and their impact on the community participation outcomes of young adults with disabilities.alternative finance program/at loan program - funder: administration on community living, u.s. Department of health and human services (hhs). Overview: the at loan program is an alternative finance program, funded by the department of education, to facilitate the financing of loans to meet the assistive technology needs of people with disabilities. The program requires partnerships with banks who agree to loan funds in new york and new jersey backed by our federal grant dollars. Loan applicants are vetted by an advisory council and the bank and receive ongoing support to meet their financial obligations.inclusive ventures: 21st century strategies for entrepreneurs with disabilities - funder: u.s. Department of education, rehabilitation services administration (rsa)(dif). Overview: this is a new a five-year initiative that aims to expand inclusive entrepreneurship opportunities by providing technical assistance and training to state vocational rehabilitation agencies, vocational rehabilitation counselors, disability employment service providers, and entrepreneurial support organizations. The ultimate goal is to improve supports for people with disabilities who are pursuing self-employment as a form of competitive integrated employment. Key objectives include expand inclusive entrepreneurship opportunities for people with disabilities, improve the supports available to those with disabilities who want to start or grow a business, and ensure self-employment is a viable and supported path to competitive integrated employment.community navigator pilot program (cnpp). In november 2021, the u.s. Small business administration (sba) funded national disability institute to implement a community navigator pilot program (cnpp). This two-year program has brought together over 40 government agencies, financial institutions, community nonprofit organizations and sba-funded resource centers in the greater washington, d.c. Area, including virginia and maryland. These agencies made a commitment to work together to provide resources and improve responsive, customer-sensitive services for entrepreneurs and small business owners with disabilities. The project received a 6-month extension to continue providing services through may 2024.community navigator: the goal of the program is to support both entrepreneurs with disabilities and the ecosystem that supports them. We do this on the entrepreneur side by individualized business development counseling, assisting with accessing capital, providing multiple training opportunities and access to any of our 11 subcontractors which include cdfis, business accelerator programs, disability specific and accessibility services to name a few. For the ecosystem we provide support and technical assistance to business development organizations on disability awareness and sensitivity, access information and accommodation guidance. We are working hard to impact systems change through supporting individuals to reach the services and supports they need with the necessary access and accommodation required, provide business development ta for disability stakeholders who are not well versed on how to support entrepreneurship and ta for the business development organizations who are not informed on the nuances and unique needs of entrepreneurs with disabilities.

Financial empowerment programs: disability inclusive financial counseling (difc) funder: wells fargo. Overview: the goal of this multi-year initiative is to promote financial equity for individuals with disabilities by training financial counselors to deliver more inclusive services by increasing their understanding of disability benefits and the unique financial challenges people with disabilities may face. The initiative also offers training and technical assistance to help organizations ensure their policies, processes and service delivery are disability inclusive. A key component of this initiative is to track financial outcomes achieved by clients with disabilities served by trained counselors.financial equity capacity building - funder: jp morgan chase. Overview: the goal of this multi-year initiative has been to build the capability of local organizations to address the financial inequity of people who live at the intersection of disability, race/ethnicity and poverty in 3 cities: detroit, houston, and pittsburgh. Ndi has carried out this work by implementing convenings and launching local coalitions integrated by disability and financial empowerment organizations. Ndi will continue to provide training and technical assistance to these coalitions to build their capacity for local ownership of this work.financial resilience center - funder: experian. The goal if this initiative is to use a trusted online information hub, the financial resilience center (frc), to increase support of people with disabilities and chronic health conditions in building their financial resilience to navigate through difficult times. The site offers answers to frequently asked questions related to employment and unemployment; public benefits; money management; housing, food and healthcare; scams; and more.

Employment programs:lead center - funder: department of labor, office of disability employment policy through a subcontract with social policy research associates. Overview: this grant continues the work of the national center on leadership for the employment and economic advancement of people with disabilities (lead). The lead center is a workforce innovation and opportunity act (wioa) policy development center. The services provided under this grant will support odep to continue and build upon the work of the previous lead wioa policy development contract, called the lead center, to work across the full range of workforce systems to develop policies and provide technical expertise that increases competitive integrated employment (cie) services, opportunities, and outcomes for individuals with disabilities. The lead center will focus its work across three priorities related to wioa: advancing economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities, creating career pathways to cie as defined in wioa, and improving data reporting on disability through wioa programs.

Other :american dream employment network - funder: social security administration. Overview: aden is a national administrative employment network providing face- to-face employment services to ticket holders through a network of providers across the country called aden members. Aden provides supports to state and local workforce investment boards (wibs), community rehabilitation providers and other qualified and interested community partners across the country, by offering administrative solutions and ongoing training and technical assistance to its members.pathways to careers - funder: virginia department on aging and rehabilitation services (dars) (ndi is a subcontractor to concepts communications). Overview: the virginia office on aging and rehabilitative services has a federal grant which focuses on the inclusion of underserved populations in career pathway activity. Dars has engaged ndi for the purpose of supporting 'community academies' in project 'pilot' offices. Virginia has already invested heavily in irt training statewide with all service professionals but wishes to invest in strengthening the alignment with agencies and organizations connected with the underserved populations identified in each project community. These community academies are events that bring together the stakeholder organizations and connect the professionals through the development of a greater cross system understanding of the expertise, resources and services available in each. The expected outcome is an increased capacity for the professionals of each organization to share customers, resources and information to achieve greater career success for the underserved population of focus. This leads to a stronger use of the irt strategy in support of the career pathways strategies and objectives outlined in the overall project. This project also will work with dars to integrate 'resilience' strategies in their "workwise" curriculum for participants in the career pathway activity.

Research programs:other economic empowerment, employment and research activities - funder: various. Throughout each calendar year, ndi completes activities that meet our mission but are not large enough to be classified as a project. These activities are typically completed over a short period of time and fulfill a specific set of tasks, deliverables or scope of work.

Developmental disabilities councilsfinancial wellness initiative - funder: illinois council on developmental disabilities. Overview: ndi-led training of disability service providers who will in turn train individuals with disabilities and their families on financial wellness strategies. Core strategies include training on improved utilization of public benefits, favorable tax provisions, social security work incentives and matched savings plans and financial education and coaching techniques.