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Purpose
The purpose of this Center is to build the capacity of Federal and State public agencies and private entities to support people with disabilities in achieving self-employment, business ownership, or telecommuting as employment outcomes. Two specific objectives will guide the Center's activities.
1) Increase the supply of trained personnel available to public and private agencies.
2) Maintain and improve the skill, knowledge, and quality of rehabilitation personnel.
Remote work has finally made me - a legally-blind person - feel like I can thrive at my job. I'm sad it took this long.
As someone in the blind and low-vision community, the expansion of remote work has been an economic game-changer. Normally, people with visual impairments face major hurdles in the workforce, from overcoming hiring discrimination to securing reliable transportation - less than half of US adults with visual impairments were in the labor force in 2019.
ABLE Decision Guide Series
ABLE Decision Guide Series is designed as an aid to decision-making as it relates to establishing and using an ABLE account. Please select a decision guide below to get started.
ABLE Accounts & Self-Employment
ABLE National Resource Center compiled the ABLE Accounts and Self-Employment document.
The ABLE Service Provider Toolkit
The ABLE National Resource Center (ABLE NRC) makes it easy for service providers, case managers, and advocates to inform customers, colleagues, and peers of ABLE accounts as protected savings and investment option that does not impact federal benefits. Family, friends, pooled and special needs trusts may contribute to a person’s ABLE account without direct deposits counting as income. ABLE savings up to $100,000 is not counted towards resources for those who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Any amount of ABLE savings is not a countable resource for FAFSA, HUD, Medicaid, Medicare, or SNAP. ABLE funds may be spent on qualified disability expenses, helping the ABLE account owner to pay for items such as food, housing, and other additional and often significant expenses that are often associated with having a disability.
Why hiring people with disabilities is better for business
FAST Company VIDEO: The Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1990, but people with disabilities still often face barriers of entry to meaningful employment due to discrimination. Rebecca Cokley, the first U.S. Disability Rights Program Officer for the Ford Foundation, and Dr. Victor Pineda, founder of World Enabled, spoke with Chris Denson about what challenges and discriminatory practices people with disabilities still face.