Photo of State Senator Will Schroder, Ashley Meier Barlow, Parent Allison Ball, KY State Treasurer Amanda Stahl, Advocate

Spring Seminar: “ABLE Accounts and other Financial Planning Tools: The Importance of Developing a Financial Identity”

Millions of persons with disabilities and their families are often relegated to a life of poverty as a result of not being allowed to build even the most modest levels of resources. Persons receiving supports through Social Security, Medicaid and other publicly-funded programs are often disqualified from those supports if they have more than $2,000 worth of countable resources or assets.  –Carolyn Wheeler

Join us in person or online for our Spring Seminar series on Friday, March 3, 2017 from 1:00 – 3:00p ET to learn more about “ABLE Accounts and other Financial Planning Tools: The Importance of Developing a Financial Identity .” Learn more from experts Caroline Wheeler, Dave Matheis, and a panel of experts. The seminar will be held at the Human Development Institute Training Room on the UK Coldstream Research Campus. A link to the live video stream of the seminar will be sent to registrants.

Click here to register for the seminar. For help registering, contact walt.bower@uky.edu.

Presenters:

  • Carolyn Wheeler has over thirty years of experience working with families and persons with disabilities. Since 1999, she has worked as a Project Director with the Human Development Institute (HDI) where she has trained numerous individuals in the Personal Futures Planning Process.
  • Dave Matheis has over thirty-five years of experience working with families and persons with disabilities. Since 2004, he has been the Program Planning and Development Branch Manager for the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.
  • Samara Heavrin, STABLE Kentucky Coordinator, OJ Oleka, Chief of Staff for the Office of Kentucky State Treasurer Allison Ball, and Karen Perch, Ph.D., J.D., Executive Director, Life Plan of Kentucky, Inc. will serve on the panel for the question and answer session.

ABLE accounts allow eligible individuals with disabilities to save up to $14,000 a year in an ABLE account without jeopardizing their eligibility for federally-funded means tested benefits, such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Medicaid. This seminar will provide information on both ABLE accounts, with a particular emphasis on Kentucky’s ABLE program, as well as Life Plan of Kentucky, Inc., Kentucky’s pooled special needs trust program.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Participants will learn the value of financial education and asset development specific to persons with disabilities and their families.
  2. Participants will be able to identify at least three asset development strategies for persons with disabilities.
  3. Participants will be able to identify at least three organizations or programs in Kentucky that can assist persons with disabilities with financial education and asset development.

CEU’s are approved in Rehabilitation Counseling in conjunction with the Kentucky Office of Vocational Rehabilitation.