>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Thank you for joining us today. This is National Disability Institute. Today's presentation is Wondering What Your Rights Are Around Assistive Technology. And my name is Laurie Schaller. I'm a manager here of Financial Empowerment and I work in NDI's Assistive Technology Loan Program. 
National Disability Institute envisions a society in which people who have a disability have the same opportunities to achieve financial stability and independence as people who do not have a disability. And our mission is to collaborate and innovate to build a better financial future for people who have a disability and their family members as well. 
So we received funding for this program back in 2014 from the U.S. Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration. And we have partnered with Spring Bank who issues and services pre‑qualified assistive technology loans up to $45,000 helping residents of New Jersey and New York purchase the assistive technology that they need. 
So our role is we accept the loan applications. We pre‑qualify loan applicants, and we help provide guidance about completing the loan applications. And we buy down the interest rate so that everyone who receives the loan through the program receives interest at 4% interest. So we pay the bank the difference for the annual adjusted interest rate this calendar year. 
And lending terms are very favorable. For example, a credit score is not needed. The NDI AT program verifies loan applicants have enough money to afford their monthly expenses, address outstanding credit, and afford the AT loan as well. And that's why our program has a 99% repayment rate to date. 
Our services include these presentations being offered on financial education, and we provide guidance on spending plan development helping families put together a budget. We provide referrals to financial counseling and other programs that can help people get the assistive technology they need. And today really we're going to be concentrating on those other programs that can offer grants or other types of funding to help people purchase assistive technology. 
So on our website, we have two guides. I know that an updated guide will be posted tomorrow. We provide assistive technology resources listing grants, other lending programs, and other service providers who can help people select the best and most cost effective assistive technology to meet their needs. 
I want to make sure that everyone is aware across the states of New York and New Jersey and really every state across the United States, there are AT Demonstration Programs listed where you can try out or borrow assistive technology sometimes indefinitely. And there are AT Assessment Services that can help people decide what AT will best meet their needs, abilities ‑‑ given their abilities and their activity levels. And for example, where they would be using that particular device. 
Whether that's in their home, maybe in a nursing home, maybe in a work site, or an education setting. So we welcome you to take a look at our AT Resource Guides. And like I said tomorrow, April 19th updated guides will be posted there. 
So we want to thank our expert who is presenting today. Helen Hellmuth. She's a senior advocate from Disability Rights of New York. And she'll be talking about the different programs that Disability Rights Offices across the United States have to help people obtain the assistive technology that they need. So thank you, everyone, for joining us. And I welcome Helen.

>> HELEN HELLMUTH: Thanks so much, Laurie, for that kind introduction. My name is Helen Hellmuth. I am a senior advocate at Disability Rights New York. DRNY is New York state's protection and advocacy organization which means we were designated by the governor to provide free legal and advocacy services to people with disabilities. And every state in the U.S. has a protection and advocacy office just like DRNY that provides those same services to individuals with disabilities. 
I work under three programs. The Assistive Technology Program, the Voting Access Program, and the Individual Rights Program. This is a brief... A brief overview of what we will be talking about today. 
So all DME or durable medical equipment is assistive technology, but not all assistive technology is durable medical equipment. And sometimes it's unclear if a piece of equipment is assistive technology or DME, which I'll give an example in a bit. So AT is an item that's used to increase, maintain, or improve the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities. For example, pencil grip, magnifier, headphones. 
Whereas durable medical equipment is a piece of equipment that can withstand repeated use, is primarily and customarily used to serve a medical purpose, is generally not useful to a person in the absence of an illness or injury and is appropriate for use in the home. 
And an example of a piece of equipment that might be AT, might be DME is a wheelchair. It improves the functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities and it can withstand repeated use, can be used in the home. So just important to remember that. It's tough to find clear, concise rules on whether something is AT or DME. There is wiggle room. 
And unfortunately like many things, there is no straightforward process for how to obtain AT. It is completely dependent on the circumstance and environment where the technology is needed. And due to that, there are different processes for submitting the request. Depending on the type of insurance you have and the type of AT you're looking to obtain, there's different processes for submitting the request. 
And an important self‑advocacy tip to remember is to always first identify the purpose of the technology and what environment you most need it for. With that information, you'll have a better understanding of where to start. And of course it's important to know what type of insurance you have and if you're enrolled in a home and community‑based waiver such as the nursing home transition and diversion waiver or the traumatic brain injury waiver. Those are New York state specific. 
I'll give a brief disclaimer. I am located in New York state. So my familiarity is mostly we the state of New York. I understand that this presentation is open to everyone. There may be people from New Jersey and other states. So just be mindful to check your own state's rules when I'm talking about New York state specific. 
Now, there are many ways to fund assistive technology. And the primary environment for which you need the assistive technology will influence who is responsible for paying for that technology. For example, if you mostly need the technology in the home environment like a wheelchair or other mobility device, grab bars in your shower, your insurance company may pay for it or in some instances the landlord may pay for it. 
Same thing with home modifications like walk‑in showers or stair lifts primarily used in the home. And those would be funded by either the waiver program or in some instances a landlord. In school settings, depending on the disability need, the school may be responsible to pay for the device. For employers, your employer may be responsible to provide certain types of assistive technology needed to do the job that you were hired to do. This is on a case‑by‑case basis independent on the work environment. 
And then there's also options for private funding. So if a device is not medically necessary or is not covered by your insurance, you may need to use private funds to pay for certain types of equipment. For example, insurance does not typically pay for home modifications like installing a ramp. And if you own your home and are not enrolled on a waiver but you need a ramp installed at your house, then you may need to use private funding which we'll talk more about on the next slide. 
Now, Laurie already touched on NDI's Assistive Technology Loan Program, so I won't go into that. New York State also has an equipment loan fund where they offer loans ranging from $500 to $4,000 with a repayment period of two to eight years at 4% interest. You can also open an ABLE account. I believe that there ‑‑ this will be touched on at the end of the presentation, but just a very brief overview. 
Every state is allowed to create a tax advantaged savings program for eligible people with disabilities to pay for qualified disability expenses like AT. Each state has different rules on this and there are a lot of nuanced rules regarding ABLE accounts, so be sure to check with your state. 
And then also grants. Every state has grants available through nonprofits or other agencies that you can apply for to fund AT. The grants may be based on the type of disability you have or the type of equipment that you're trying to obtain. For example, some adaptive sports organizations may offer grants to obtain certain adaptive sporting equipment or a group dedicated to serving individuals with muscular dystrophy may have grants only individuals with MD may apply for. 
Now, how to request AT. I'm going to do an overview of how to request AT in three different settings. In the home, in school, and with your employer. Now, we're going to start with the home. Always the first step in trying to request personal AT is to go through your insurance. Whether your insurance be Medicaid, Medicare, managed long‑term care, private, provided by your employer. 
You want to meet with your primary care doctor and explain that you're interested in obtaining assistive technology. And depending on the type of assistive technology you need, you may have to have an evaluation completed or trial the equipment before it is improved by your insurance. 
Now, if your insurance does not pay for this AT you need in the home and you're enrolled in a waiver program, you can request AT through that waiver. In New York State, we have multiple waiver programs and the purpose of them is to provide services to help individuals with disabilities continue to live in the community rather than needing to move to a nursing home or other care facility. 
And what's nice about these waivers is waivers cover the cost of AT not covered by insurance like home modifications and vehicle modifications. So if you need a ramp installed at your home, insurance won't cover that, but the waiver might. So you would request that through the waiver if you're enrolled. 
And then lastly, landlord building owners or property managers. If you are a renter, depending on the type of housing you live in and where you live, the landlord may be responsible to provide certain assistive technology to allow you equal access to your apartment and common areas of your apartment building. 
For example, providing visual smoke detectors for a tenant who is Deaf. However, this is all dependent on where you live and the specific type of housing you live in. In some instances, the landlord is only required to allow you to make the modifications to the space, but the tenant is responsible for paying for those modifications. You'll hear me say over and over again throughout the presentation: Obtaining AT is an individualized process every single time. 
There is no straightforward way to request it. It is completely circumstantial. Now for school. If you need assistive technology and the primary environment in which you need the technology is in school, there are different ways that you will request it depending on the type of student you are.. 
So if you are a child who is in high school or younger and you have an individualized education plan or IEP, these are for students with disabilities who are eligible for special education services under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act or the IDEA. And the IEP looks at the academic and social goals for that school year. 
During the IEP writing process, the team will discuss what assistive technology may be necessary to help the student achieve their IEP goals or otherwise participate in school activities and receive a free appropriate public education. If assistive technology is identified as a tool that's needed to help the student achieve their goals, then the school's responsible for providing that assistive technology to the student. 
Now, if a student has an IEP but they don't have assistive technology and they feel they need it, they can request an IEP meeting at any time and in that meeting mention that they believe they need AT and begin the process that way. An example of AT that a student may need is a speech generating device so the student can interact with their teachers and peers in school.
There's also 504 plans. And those are covered under the Rehabilitation Act. And these are for students with disabilities who may not qualify for special education services but need accommodation to participate in school activities. For example, a student who uses a wheelchair, they may need a wheelchair ramp installed at the school. Or they may need a specialized desk as a 504 accommodation in order to participate in school. 
And there's colleges and universities. You graduate high school and you move onto the next step. Universities are required to provide accommodations under section 504 and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Colleges must also provide auxiliary aids and services to ensure that students have equal opportunity to benefit from the school program. For example, audio recorders, braille materials, JAWS software, voice recognition, and CART. You should speak with your university's disability services coordinator to discuss AT needs as they relate to college. 
And then lastly, ACCES‑VR which stands for adult career continuing education services vocational rehab. And I'm very thankful they have an acronym for that because it is very long. ACCES‑VR can pay for AT when it supports a person's employment goal. And ACCES‑VR can help a person pay for college if that degree helps that individual obtain meaningful employment.. 
And because of that, ACCES‑VR has the ability to fund assistive technology in college for that student to help them reach that ultimate employment goal. For example, if the student needs an adaptive keyboard or computer mouse or braille embosser and if you are enrolled in ACCES‑VR services and you are in college and you're looking for assistive technology, the first step is to contact your VR counselor to get more information from them. 
Now for work for your employment. Employers under the ADA are required to provide reasonable accommodations to employees to allow them to perform essential functions of their job. This includes assistive technology. For example, I recently had a case where my client needed a leaning stool to use while performing job duties which the company was required to purchase for her. 
And an employer with 15 or more employees is usually required to provide reasonable accommodations. The employer may request medical documentation to confirm that the requested AT directly relates to the disability if the disability is not obvious. And as I mentioned before, ACCES‑VR, the purpose is to help the individual obtain and maintain meaningful employment. So they're able to help pay for assessments for assistive technology or purchase assistive technology if it helps obtain or maintain employment for that individual. 
And this may include job coaching technology or adapting office equipment. And please forgive me, I see the slide. It says ACESS‑VR. It should say ACCES‑VR. Sadly the world we live in is not perfect. It would be fantastic if when you requested assistive technology, it was approved, there were no issues, and you got to go about your life with the supports that you need. 
However, that's not the reality we live in and sometimes the assistive technology is denied or the agency challenges your right to that technology. And so there are steps to take to appeal these decisions if you're told that you are not able to receive the assistive technology that you requested. 
For home. Every insurance plan is different, but any insurance will have at least an internal appeals process that you must exhaust before pursuing any further appeal. Some insurance companies will have multiple levels of this internal appeal that you must exhaust before pursuing an external appeal. And during this appeals process, they may ask you for updated medical documentation to further support your need for assistive technology. 
If you receive Medicaid, you have the right to file a fair hearing with the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance once you've exhausted your insurance policy's grievance and appeals process. And this fair hearing is held in front of an administrative law judge. And you get to go and present your case about why you feel that you were wrongly denied. And you do not need to be an attorney to represent yourself at this hearing. I'm an advocate and I represent individuals in these hearings all the time. An advocate is capable of providing representation or you are able to represent yourself. 
It's nice because the administrative law judge is able to review the facts with an impartial eye and it's not an insurance company reviewing their own decision. Now, if you requested assistive technology for your home through your landlord and the landlord is not providing you with the assistive technology, you can submit a complaint with the New York State Fair Housing Complaint process. And if you're located in New York City, you're afforded extra protections. 
For instance, landlords must pay to make modifications in New York City. So if you're located in New York City and are requesting some sort of home modification from your landlord and they refuse, you may file a New York City Commission on Human Rights Complaint. If you're located in the city, you want to do the city's complaint process rather than the state's at least first, because like I mentioned you have extra protections in New York City. 
Now for schools. The first step to request ‑‑ the first step is to request a meeting with either your child's CSE chairperson or coordinator or the 504 coordinator depending on if you requested AT through the IEP or a 504 plan. And in the meantime, you should also review your school district's appeals policy. Every school district is different. 
It's best practice to try to resolve the appeal directly with the CSE chairperson or 504 coordinator by submitting additional evidence to support why you need the assistive technology. And you can also request a re‑evaluation of the assistive technology. 
If unsuccessful, you can request professional mediation, submit a formal appeal for 504 denials, or file for a due process complaint for an IEP denial. And these should be the options of last resort and all other manes of resolutions should be explored beforehand. 
ACCES‑VR. As we mentioned previously, you can explore ACCES‑VR as a way to fund AT in the school. So if you went that route and ACCES‑VR went, no, we're not going to fund the AT and you're not able to come to an agreement after meeting with your VR counselor, you can formally request a review of the decision in writing. And again, you may be required to provide additional documentation. If ACCES‑VR upholds their decision, you can submit an appeal letter or request formal mediation. As a last resort, you may file a grievance.

>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Helen, could we stop for a moment just to ask a couple questions? 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: Of course. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: So someone who's planning to go onto a college, how ‑‑ where in the process of applying with a college would a person request an accommodation? 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: Great question. As soon as possible. If they applied to the school and they were admitted, next step is to reach out to the Disability Services Office and let them know, hey, I am a newly enrolled student with a disability. These are the accommodations that I'll need and get that process started. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Thank you. And then we've got a question that came in. What can you do if the Division of Disability Services thinks that AT is a luxury or for entertainment rather than for equal access to programs and services? 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: Now, can you repeat just the agency they were asking about? If the New York... 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: They say the Division of Disability Services. 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: Okay. I'll take that just to mean of any of these agencies say this AT is a luxury and not a right, getting additional and robust medical documentation from your providers that explains in detail the purpose. This AT is serving you and your disability, how it perhaps ameliorates the symptoms of your disability or how you're able to have equal access to any sort of environment or function because of this AT. 
That's all you can do at the front. And then go through the appeals process. And if ultimately the AT that you're requesting is found not to be medically necessary or needed to participate in whatever environment you're trying to get it in, exploring these alternative funding options would be the way to go. Like the NDI program, State program, ABLE accounts, things like that. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: This is great. Yeah, we find that people are often frustrated by the process of applying for different grants and funding. And we hear all the time that it could take six months to two years before a request may be recognized and approved in writing. You know, now that more people are going on to continuing education, college, apprenticeship programs, and working in competitive employment, people really need these decisions to be more timely. 
So a lot of people simply end up being frustrated and apply for loans or other line of credit to be able to purchase what they need directly. We have another question. I'm not sure what OAL means, but in New York OAL. Can you bring up the ADA Section 504 denials? In New Jersey I am being told the OAL can't do this except for school cases. 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: I'm not familiar with OAL. But if that person wants to either message Laurie or message me in the chat, I can look into that and circle back to you. But I'm not sure offhand. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Okay. They've put in Office for Administrative Law. 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: Yeah... 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Office for Administrative Law. Can you bring up ADA/Section 504 and what to do if things are being denied? 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: I think this might be a New Jersey specific. I'm not familiar with OAL in New York State. So again, happy to look into it or connect them with someone from Disability Rights New Jersey to help answer that question, but I don't have an answer right now. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Okay. And I'll put the link in the chat for everyone to Disability Rights in New Jersey. Thank you, Helen. Please proceed. That's great.

>> HELEN HELLMUTH: And so the last thing on the slide is to check your university's disability accommodation appeals policy. If you try to request AT through that office and you were denied. 
Now for work. Some employers may have an internal appeal procedure if you requested AT and it was denied. If that was the case, you would need to exhaust that before filing an appeal. And it's important to remember before filing an appeal, it's always best to try to resolve the issue amicably with the appropriate person at your work. Document everything, everything, everything. In writing, in emails. Just so you have a paper trail of the steps that you took to try to resolve this issue between you and your employer on your own before taking it to any of these appeal processes. That being the New York State Division of Human Rights complaint. Or if you're in New York City, the New York City Commission on Human Rights complaint. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Helen, we have another question that came in. Do you have any ideas on how to help people who don't have a doctor who need to get this medical documentation to be able to access assistive technology? 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: If you don't have a doctor, my first recommendation would be to go to your insurance provider and typically they have a list of all in‑network doctors who you can start getting acclimated with. I know the process of finding a doctor can be frustrating, because a lot of times they're not accepting new patients. And so if you need help ‑‑ if you're a person with a disability specifically and you need support in trying to identify a doctor that's within network, you can see if your insurance offers case management services. And you can have a case manager assigned to help you through that process and help get you established with a doctor. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: And I want to make sure that people understand in both New York State and New Jersey, there are special types of Medicaid for those who are not receiving like SSI and/or SSDI. That based upon a person's income, and perhaps they have no income, they would be able to apply for medical insurance now that may include assistive technology services. For example, hearing aids or a vision aid. 
So I invite everyone to contact CMS Center for Medicaid and Medicare if they are in need of medical insurance. Thank you. 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: Of course. It's a great recommendation. And so all of this presentation is to say there are many different rules ‑‑ what feels like infinite rules for obtaining assistive technology that depend on circumstance. And that can feel overwhelming. And that is where Disability Rights New York can come in. 
We are staffed with advocates and attorneys and can help you understand your appeal options. We can help ‑‑ we can represent during appeals processes. We can help people working with ACCES‑VR to obtain AT. We can provide technical and direct assistance with submitting requests. We have template letters that you can consider using when interacting with your employer to submit requests for DME or AT. 
We can educate on the appeals process. We really are here as a helping hand to support you in getting that AT and getting that accommodation. And of course it's all subject to program availability. But I think I'm safe to say at the very least, we're able to point you in the right direction of where to go and are typically able to at least provide some sort of substance of next steps or template documents that you can work with or fact sheets that you can use to pursue obtaining AT. 
And this is how you can get in touch with DRNY. Very briefly the way our office operates is you contact our intake line and you'll speak with an intake specialist who will ‑‑ this is a real person. It is not an automated system. Where you will talk through everything that you're experiencing and that intake specialist is an expert on DRNY and all of our programs. 
And from there, they will direct your request to whatever program is most appropriate. And from there, an advocate or an attorney within that program will review your case, contact you, get some more information, and go from there in terms of setting up a game plan of how we might be able to help. 
And that's it from me. Thank you for having me. If you have any questions, please feel free to put them in the chat. And I believe that Laurie has a couple more slides to go over. So Laurie, I'll pass it over to you to continue.

>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Thanks, Helen. We have another question here. If assistive technology is purchased by my employer to help me with my ability to work, who owns the assistive technology? 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: That is a great question. If it's for work, then it would be at work is where the technology would live. And that would be the purpose of it. I would say that the employer is the one responsible for that technology. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Great. And my experience in New York State, when the Department of Labor purchases assistive technology to help a person in their job, that individual owns that assistive technology. So for an example, I know that they've provided like ergonomic chairs that the person will use in one work setting. They maybe changed their career, get an advancement, they take that chair with them to the next setting. 
Same thing like with an ergonomic mat to stand on. That's the individual's to use in their workplaces. And then I just wanted to clarify this question about, you know, people who have either Medicaid and/or Medicare coverage. In terms of needing assistive technology, that person should get in touch with their Medicaid provider and ask if the type of assistive technology that they need would be provided by that Medicaid company. And Helen, can you add a little more guidance about that? 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: Definitely. Medicaid is a very robust insurance provider. Medicaid's standards for providing AT is they will provide any ‑‑ it's my understanding that Medicaid will provide any AT that is deemed medically necessary. So if you have ‑‑ if your doctor says that a certain piece of AT is medically necessary for you and they write a letter of medical necessity detailing it and you have an evaluation that also shows why this device is medically necessary, Medicaid will provide that AT. 
Like I said, there's instances where a wheelchair ramp is considered a home modification which is different than assistive technology. But if we're talking strictly AT and it's medically necessary, then Medicaid should be paying for it. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Thanks. And we have another comment here. This individual's place of worship is not wheelchair accessible. Are there any funds available to help the church to have a wheelchair ramp or be accessible? 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: Because it's a church, it's a whole different ball game. Not covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act or Section 504 of the Rehab Act. So that would be like crowd funding to get money to build a ramp or finding another volunteer group to build the ramp or something of that nature. Yeah. Churches are a completely different arena. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Thanks so much, Helen. And I've met a couple people from churches and like a couple funeral homes and things they wanted to make their facilities wheelchair accessible and their local Center for Independent Living was able to come out, do a site assessment and advise them what would probably best meet their needs. Then those facilities were responsible for making those purchases. 
In some cases making adaptations like that is a business writeoff. Or, you know, the church may be able to pull members together. If a ramp is needed to be able to provide that ramp for accessibility. Great.

>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Okay. Please continue adding more questions in our Q&A here as I continue through the slide deck. And if you could stay with us, Helen, that would be great. So to speak a little bit about these ABLE accounts. So we know in many cases a person cannot find a grant or line of funding to help them purchase assistive technology. Particularly when it comes to like a vehicle that needs to be modified, a person might be able to find a grant to cover the modification expense but not to purchase the vehicle. 
So a person can save an advance for such purchases. So an ABLE account is for a person who has a disability that began before they turned age 26. If the person has not received SSI or SSDI before the age of 26 but their disability began before then, all they need to do is complete ‑‑ ask their doctor to complete a disability certification. And that is available on our website, the ABLE National Resource Center. 
So a person who receives SSI is able to save up to $100,000 in that ABLE account. And that does not count towards the SSI resource limit for an individual that is still set at only $2,000. Any amount of ABLE savings does not impact eligibility for any type of Medicaid and the person can save as much as they wish in their ABLE account. 
This calendar year the ABLE account owner, their friends and family, maybe their special needs or pool trusts, maybe they have 529 college savings. From all those combined sources, a person can have up to $18,000 deposited into their ABLE account. An ABLE account owner who works and does not have contributions deposited into a retirement account can contribute up to an additional $14,580 this calendar year. So that could bring them up to $32,580 for this calendar year. 
And the person can use that for any type of assistive technology for transportation to make their home accessible or more usable. And for other expenses as well. So we invite you to take a look at the ABLE National Resource Center where there's tons of free information. There's a recording there from New York ABLE Plan and you're welcome to view that. That's listed under webinars. 
And if you have any questions about any of this content today, please contact either Helen at Disability Rights New York or myself Laurie Schaller at National Disability Institute. So for that ABLE account, this slide goes into all the different areas where money saved in that ABLE account can be spent some time in the future. 
So I met somebody who had a disability that began at birth. They were now age 72, and they wanted additional in‑home care services provided to them that Medicaid would not pay for. So their friends and family were able to deposit money directly into this person's ABLE account so that they had a couple more hours of services delivered to them in their home. And that's how they chose to spend their savings. 
So feel free to explore this. We want to encourage ‑‑ we know that the 15th was just a couple days ago here. But anyone who receives SSI and/or SSDI or who has a disability, if they have earned income ‑‑ even if it's minimal earned income and they're really not required to file taxes, we urge everyone to file taxes. So that person, for example, who receives SSI now by filing income taxes even if they're self‑employed could eventually become eligible for SSDI where there's really no resource limit other than if that person continues to be Medicaid eligible. Most forms of Medicaid have a resource limit too. 
Even an income tax refund, for example, could be deposited into an ABLE account. And there are free tax preparation sites that continue to be open across the United States. So by calling 211 or if you live in New York City, calling 311, you can find a free tax preparation site near you. 
And we have information at the National Disability Institute's website on free tax preparation and tax issues specific for individuals who have disabilities. So we welcome you to explore those resources posted there. My name again is Laurie Schaller. My contact information is here. My direct line is 202‑449‑9521. And today I do happen to have meetings that take me through the end of the day, but tomorrow I am available from 8:00 until 5:00 to speak with people. 
And I see a couple more questions came in, so let's see. Won't the age of qualifying for ABLE accounts increase to age 46 on January 1st, 2026? Correct. So the ABLE age of eligibility right now is the person needs a disability that began before age 26. The person can open an ABLE account at any age. But as of January 1st, 2026, anyone who has a disability that began before age 46 will be ABLE eligible. 
And can you have an ABLE account if you're not working? Sure. So an ABLE account does not reduce countable income, but it is a place to reduce countable resources where a person can save for their future. So we had a webinar yesterday that was all about using an ABLE account to afford rent in some communities where Section 8, maybe SSI isn't really enough to help the person pay for rent. They can use their ABLE account to supplement sources of income and assistance. 
And they can use an ABLE account to purchase a home or to pay for a home modification. And then it says here: Is there a penalty to spend on ABLE for a beneficiary? For a 529 account, is there a penalty to spend on disability expenses for a beneficiary? So a 529 college savings account. Up to $18,000 from that account can be rolled directly into an ABLE account until the end of December of 2025. 
There is no tax penalty at this time. That was approved by the IRS that that rollover can take place. And we're hoping that that period to roll over those fund will be extended so that it does not sunset at the end of 2025, but we do not know if that will be approved or not at this point. 
And then it says here: I think it is very difficult to migrate from SSI to SSDI and seldom happens. Well, that's interesting. So a person who is under the age of 24 who works, reports their employment earnings may be eligible instead of getting SSI to get Social Security Disability Insurance on their own work record after as little as a year and a half. And employment networks available across the United States can help people age 18 to 64 work to their fullest ability.  In many cases retain eligibility from Medicare and Medicaid for forever in many cases. And to significantly increase their income now. And of course their retirement benefits in the future. So... And the work supports help people that if their disability on record in the future prevents them from working, they may be able to get their SSI and/or SSDI back right away without needing to reapply for those benefits. 
We welcome you to explore the website choosework.ssa.gov to learn about the work supports you are eligible for. And here at National Disability Institute, if you go to our website, you can see that we have a national employment network ourselves. It is called the American Dream Employment Network. ADEN. And that program can help people to work to their fullest abilities and to navigate the work supports they're eligible for. 
And here this person says I represent an employment network and I am a certified benefits planner. That's great. So am I. So it's nice to meet you. And I thank you for participating in today's presentation. And I know we have a couple polling questions we wanted to share with you.. anyone has further questions for Helen, too, we have one more minute. 
And so question number one: What information in this webinar was most helpful? Question number two: Do you need help finding a job? So for example, anyone who says yes you're interested in help finding a job, I can provide at least two resources for you. What type of assistive technology would you like to learn more information about? So a lot of these webinars people ask for more information about like seeing eye dog availability and where a person could obtain a seeing eye dog free of charge. 
So we have webinar recordings. If you missed that presentation, it's on our website. Let us know what you would like more information about. And if you would like a presentation on the Assistive Technology Loan Program, on ABLE accounts, feel free to reach out to me and we can schedule that as soon as possible. And I do those presentations virtually. 
And we thank everyone for joining us today. Thank you, Helen. Thank you for your expertise today. 
>> HELEN HELLMUTH: Thanks for having me. 
>> LAURIE SCHALLER: Thank you. 
>> Recording stopped.