Reports

Today, many people with disabilities are living longer and striving to enjoy productive, self-directed lives, making the need for future financial planning more critical than ever before. However, most adults with disabilities do not have a plan in place to secure their future financial wellbeing due to numerous personal, systemic, and societal barriers. NLCDD received funding from the May and Stanley Smith Charitable Trust to investigate the current state of future financial planning by exploring the literature and services available; and conducting a research study to reveal challenges, facilitators, and perspectives of people with disabilities, their families, and experts in the disabilities, legal, and financial planning fields.

In 2018, the National Leadership Consortium conducted a national survey of service providers to better understand how providers are supporting adults to lead self-directed lives and the barriers and catalysts to such supports. The survey was initiated by the Spark! Initiative, an Optum Group, which is comprised of representatives of more than 25 organizations focused on developing a variety of resources and strategies to address barriers and support a national shift towards self-directed services and supports. The I/DD Provider Survey on Self-Directed Services and Supports included questions about barriers and facilitators to self-direction, agency practices of self-direction, and individual values about self-direction.