Tamara J. Amsbaughⁱ
University of Iowa Health Care's Center for Disabilities & Development,
Employment Policy Group

Smart Start is a research and demonstration project to evaluate ways to help youth with disabilities to maximize economic self-sufficiency as they transition from school to work or higher education. The project is one of seven demonstration projects in six states funded by the Social Security Administration. The University of Iowa's Center for Disabilities and Development, through its Employment Policy Group, manages Smart Start. The project participants are students with disabilities ages 14-25 residing in two model sites in Iowa. (see December 2005 EQUITY)

Smart Start's model blends resources using the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) transition planning and services, supported by Workforce Investment Act, Medicaid, and Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act. The project is premised on the notion of allocating public funds as investments in the young person's life, instead of merely reimbursing for services.

Smart Start uses a market-driven approach to service delivery, made possible by pooling funding resources, giving young people with disabilities and their families' choice and control over the services and supports they are already eligible to receive. As they complete their education, they are empowered to choose which supports are needed and to determine the frequency and duration of those services. More importantly, funding will be available without the customary bureaucratic constraints. "Youth with disabilities and their families want flexibility and a sense of control over how, by whom, and when assistance is provided to them," said Jack Hillyard, the director of the Employment Policy Group and principle investigator for the project.

Young people with disabilities and their families develop "human capital" by virtue of self-direction and success in educational achievement. Developing their own vision for the future and managing its achievement increases self confidence, motivation, and sense of personal responsibility. Educational achievement is the catalyst for generating income and career advancement.

Smart Start has adopted the principles of self determination developed by Tom Nerney and the Center for Self Determination. Smart Start incorporates the three essential tools of self-determination: 1) Individual Budgets, 2) Personal Agents, and 3) Financial Management services.

Developing a highly personalized Individual Budget integrated within a student- and family-directed Individual Education Program (IEP) is the first step. The young person and family get together with freely chosen supportive people of to develop a vision for their future. This becomes the basis for an implementation plan and budget for achieving the goals. This "vision" and budget are then incorporated into the IEP to reflect their transition plans. The IEP becomes the basis for targeting public funds to achieve their unique vision. Smart Start enables project participants to purchase transition and employment-related services with a cash allowance, based upon the IEP. By allocating public funds directly to students and families (instead of to agencies), the project enables people to hire whomever they want to provide services. The cash allowance does more than help students with disabilities pay for needed services; it empowers them as true consumers!

Youth and their families are encouraged to select and hire a Personal Agent to provide impartial advice and decision support. The Personal Agent's primary responsibility is to help the student and family secure transition-related supports and services at the best price. Without usurping the primacy of consumer decision-making, the Personal Agent's duties are to assist youth and families to:

1. Decide which providers best meet their needs,
   
2. Interview potential service providers,
   
3. Understand the terms of contracts, services and payments,
   
4. Conduct quality control and solve any problems which they may have with a provider, and
   
5. Set up meetings and contacting people.

Smart Start has developed a unique relationship with local credits unions to provide Financial Management services. Based on the individually crafted budget, public funds are directly allocated to the student and family and deposited into a "directed checking account" in the credit union. The credit unions then distribute payments for services as authorized by the young person and their family. Financial management services include the administration of payroll taxes, record keeping, and IRS filings. A key advantage of this strategy is the ability to tracking funds to the point of service delivery.

Asset building is an emerging concept for many youth with disabilities and their families. In the traditional system, great effort goes into maintaining eligibility for public benefits by restricting income and assets, reinforcing the bias to poverty ingrained in our current system. Financial assets, security and the capability to acquire them are the very core of self-sufficiency.

Smart Start provides several basic tools for achieving financial security. The credit unions, in cooperation with the schools, will provide personal financial literacy training for students with disabilities and their families. This training provides the basis for current and future financial decision making. The use of credit unions for the financial management service and financial literacy training provides a direct link to mainstream financial services. Youth with disabilities will have access to consumer lending services and savings and investment vehicles otherwise inaccessible to many persons with disabilities. The project is also working toward the utilization of asset building strategies such as Individual Development Accounts (IDA) and similar incentives to save for future goals.

In summary, maximum self-sufficiency is achieved through completion of high school, participation in post secondary education, and saving for the future. The result is rewarding lives for the youth participants. The tools of self determination, along with asset building strategies, provide the basis for satisfying outcomes in employment and economic self-sufficiency. Smart Start is committed to reducing the over-reliance on publicly funded benefits and gaining a better return on investment for the funds expended. While each Smart Start intervention is positive in its own right, integrating them into a single, complementary approach gives promise to achieving sustainable systems change for years to come!

i Tamara J. Amsbaugh is the Asset Policy Analyst for the University of Iowa Health Care's Center for Disabilities and Development, Employment Policies Group. After a career in human resources from the Insurance Industry, she is now working on asset building and financial literacy projects for EPG.