• SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM (SNAP), HUD AND OTHER BENEFITS: In most cases, people who are eligible for SSI may be eligible for SNAP, provided they can demonstrate that they purchase and consume their food as a separate household. In many cases SSI applicants can concurrently apply for SNAP through the Social Security Administration. In this case, the fact that the person pays to live in the family home and is, therefore, a household of one—and is frequently taken to meant that s/he purchases food separately. HUD benefits such as rent subsidy or access to low-income housing units may be available in some states, although most areas have long, or even closed waiting lists. SNAP benefits typically provide only nominal addition to the person's household income, but HUD assistance, where available, can significantly reduce housing costs.

SERVICES PLANNING

Benefits planning, as discussed above, can help the person with a disability and her/his family tap into all public income streams available to fund services. Effective Special Needs planning also requires the person with a disability and her/his family to understand and master the system used in the state of residence. Most states have agencies designated as gateways or point-of-entry. Most states also have more than one state department that overseas service application, service delivery and service funding.

I am going to use my home state of Illinois as an example. Illinois has multiple Medicaid Disability Waivers, including a children's home-based waiver, a children's residential waiver, an adult homebased waiver, an adult residential waiver (broken down into several subcategories) for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, a waiver for person with disabilities generally defined (but typically meaning people with physical disabilities), a waiver for people with brain injury and a waiver for people under 21 who are medically fragile and/or technology dependent. Waivers and services for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are ultimately managed by the Illinois Department of Human Services, Division of Developmental Disabilities. Waivers and services for people with physical disabilities are ultimately managed by the Department of Human Services Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The gateway agencies for all developmental disabilities services are called Independent Service Coordination agencies. These manage a database called the Prioritization of Urgency of Need for Services (PUNS).

No matter my state of residence, as the family member of a person with a disability, I need to know under which waiver(s) my family member can be eligible for funding, through which gateway

agency I can apply for this funding, whether there is a waiting list, and how I get my family member enrolled. I also have to understand clearly both the financial and non-financial eligibility criteria for accessing waiver services.

For example, in Illinois, to access services funded by any of the developmental disability waivers, the applicant needs to have evidence that prior to age 18 s/he had a measured IQ below 70 or a “related condition” that significantly limited the person in two out of six activities of living and self-care. This means that I should make sure that my family member has an updated psychological test dated prior to her/his eighteenth birthday, even if the school’s threeyear cycle would delay that assessment until her/his age 18 and six months. I need to understand that I should enroll my family member in the PUNS database, that I should update the entries every year, and that no later than the date that my family member has aged out of high school transition, I should make sure that her/his PUNS status is “seeking services” rather than “planning for services.”

For young people who will need both funding from government benefits and services managed through the adult service delivery system, the primary documented evidence they will have to substantiate for their eligibility will be their Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and related documents. This means that these documents must clearly explain the person's need for support. Many IEPs focus only on the positive in an effort to build the student's and the family's self-esteem. While this is a laudable goal and truly important, this approach must be balanced by realism. If the student gets As and Bs in her/his classes, respects authority, and gets along well with peers and instructors, it is fine to say this. But the IEP should also state that the student requires extra time, a certain number of prompts, a specialized environment, adapted curriculum, the support of paraprofessionals, personalized coping strategies, assistive technologies, therapies, or any other type of support to obtain those As and Bs. The document should also state clearly how much of the time the student is in general education and how much in special education.

Without the inclusion of this definite and concreted evidence, it may be difficult for the family to justify their young adult's very real need for services, post-transition.

COMPREHENSIVE FINANCIAL PLANNING

People with disabilities may require significant supports and services in order to live their most independent and fulfilling lives. Few people with disabilities want to live in congregate set