How Can My Family Save Money?
See tips on how you and your family can work together and save money for the future.
This document is also available in Spanish.
Resources in a Financial Plan
/in Chapter of The Arc, Family member, Legal Professionals, Person with a disabilityAll StatesFamily support and future planningFact sheet/by Pam KatzLearn more about the resources you might have and want to include when creating your financial plan.
This document is also available in Spanish.
Should I Use a Special Needs Trust or an ABLE Account?
/in Chapter of The Arc, Family member, Person with a disabilityAll StatesFamily support and future planningFact sheet/by Pam KatzSpecial needs trusts and ABLE accounts can be helpful tools to use to save money. You can use both, one of them, or neither. Learn how to decide which works for you.
This document is also available in Spanish.
Alexa Blueprints and Routines
/in Advocate, Chapter of The Arc, Family member, Nonprofit professionals, Person with a disability, Service provider / DSPAll StatesEducationTraining/by Pam KatzTalking to technology is something that most of us do every day. It’s become commonplace to ask a device to set a timer or turn something on or off rather than touching a button or flicking a switch. Amazon Alexa offers two new ways for students, educators, and parents to use their voice to interact with technology that can save time, deepen learning, and provide access to critical information.
With Alexa Blueprints and Alexa Routines, students can now track upcoming events on their calendar, create study resources, or even make appointments – all without needing to open their computer. Teachers can use Alexa to prepare for upcoming lessons, create quizzes and offer Q&A resources to students. And administrators can quickly access information needed for planning and communicate with faculty about dates, timelines and meetings.
With feedback from parents and educators, Alexa Blueprints now offers a feature that focuses on helping students regulate their emotions. Parents, educators, support professionals, and students themselves can access breathing and meditation exercises, calming music and even a “glow” that changes in color and intensity, all ways to help with self-regulation. It also features the capacity to build “social stories” that model desired routines and good behaviors.
For more information, check out this overview and this user guide to get started.
Financial and Estate Planning for Children With Special Needs
/in Advocate, Chapter of The Arc, Family member, Legal Professionals, Person with a disability, Service provider / DSPAll StatesFamily support and future planningToolkit/by Pam KatzGuide for parents and legal guardians raising children with disabilities that provides financial considerations they need to factor, with expert-driven solutions.
Town Hall: The Arc’s Response to COVID-19 and Plans for the Future
/in Advocate, Chapter of The Arc, Criminal Justice Professionals, Family member, Law Enforcement/First Responders/Corrections, Legal Professionals, Nonprofit professionals, Person with a disability, Service provider / DSP, Victim Services ProfessionalsAll StatesAdvocacy, Civil rightsWebinar/by Pam KatzWe are in the midst of a global health pandemic that is wreaking havoc on all of our lives and has been particularly devastating for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and their families. While we battle COVID-19, we must also plan for the future and the challenges ahead. In the wake of this health emergency and economic crisis, we need to organize and advocate more than ever before. The human rights of people with IDD and the supports and services they need to both live in and be valued members of their communities are at stake.
This Town Hall delves into The Arc’s response to the pandemic, the progress we’ve made, and the threats that remain. We also unveiled the new Strategic Framework for the Future of The Arc¸ a dynamic plan to build a more powerful, nationwide disability community movement.
Emergency Planning: Preparing for the Unexpected
/in Advocate, Chapter of The Arc, Family member, Nonprofit professionals, Person with a disability, Service provider / DSPAll StatesFamily support and future planningWebinar/by Pam KatzAs we begin to come out of the current phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is a time for reflection. How can we plan for crises and emergencies? Emergency planning is tough but important. Planning ahead can help ensure that you, your family, and people with disabilities know what to do when crises happen. Now more than ever, we are learning to adapt when we are isolated, the importance of pre-establishing key relationships in the community, and pre-planning for any emergency. Our webinar speaker will provide tips and strategies that people with disabilities, families, and disability professionals can use to help plan for when disasters strike. Many of our tips will be applicable to the current COVID-19 pandemic, but we also will provide strategies that you can use to prepare for different types of emergencies.
Speaker Bio:
Jill Pidcock is the Executive Director of The Arc of the Central Mountains in Colorado. Jill serves on several Boards of Directors and Committees to further her efforts to increase awareness and put plans and services into action, including Colorado Collaboration for Autism and other Neurological Disability Options (CO-CANDO) and Family Supports and Services Program for the local Community Centered Board. She is also on the Early Dispute Resolution Advisory Board and is a facilitator for Parents Encouraging Parents (PEP), two programs managed by the Colorado Department of Education.
National Stakeholder Survey Results
/in Advocate, Chapter of The Arc, Family member, Person with a disability, Service provider / DSPAll StatesAdvocacy, Civil rightsReport/by Pam KatzHow was our new Strategic Framework for the Future of The Arc created? To gather input, we engaged in a two-year participatory process to seek input from a variety of constituents. To understand how we arrived at our new Strategic Framework for the Future of The Arc, we want to share a summary of the insights gained from our stakeholder survey.
Strategic Framework for the Future of The Arc
/in Advocate, Chapter of The Arc, Family member, Nonprofit professionals, Person with a disability, Service provider / DSPAll StatesAdvocacy, Civil rightsReport/by Pam KatzWhat does true inclusion and equity look like for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities?
As we look to the future of disability rights, The Arc is excited to meet this question head on with our new Strategic Framework for the Future of The Arc.
This document is also available in plain language and Spanish.
This framework is intended to be a guiding light for our work across the local, state, and national levels. It is the result of an exhaustive, two-year process—culminating in the middle of a global pandemic and human rights reckoning that will shape our advocacy for years to come.
Now more than ever, The Arc must do its part to strategically build the disability rights movement into a more diverse and powerful force for change. We are proud to present our Strategic Framework for the Future of The Arc, which will guide us along this journey.
TIES Center
/in Advocate, Chapter of The Arc, Family member, Legal Professionals, Person with a disability, Service provider / DSPAll StatesEducation, TechnologyOther/by Pam KatzTIES Center is the national technical assistance center on inclusive practices and policies. It works with states, districts, and schools to support the movement of students with disabilities from less inclusive to more inclusive environments. They provide specialized resources on supporting students with disabilities who are participating in virtual learning.
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The Arc promotes and protects the human rights of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and actively supports their full inclusion and participation in the community throughout their lifetimes.
