Adults with Developmental Disabilities

Reflection Paper

In class we talk about many different populations of people, but I think that one that gets overlooked is adults with developmental disabilities. I worked in a sheltered workshop for a little over 7 years and have seen first hand the kinds of financial difficulties they have. Just like children, these adults, don’t have much of a voice when it come to their own personal finances. Most of them do not understand the concept of money.

A lot of adults with developmental disabilities live in group homes. Much of their financial income is determined by the state. They are covered by Medicaid, SSI, SSDI and some receive SNAP. According to the Social Security Website most are covered by SSDI (87%), if their parents had a work history and the person was diagnosed before the age of 18.  I knew a few others that qualified for Black Lung Survivors Benefits.

Case workers scrambled to make sure that no one clients savings got over $2,000 for fear of them losing benefits. A couple years ago there was a panic when they reduced the amount of cash that was disbursed every month to clients in ICF group homes. For most it went from $60 to $50 or $40. Ten or twenty dollars does not seem like much to most, but they use that for things most people take for granted. Haircuts, a coffee, new shoes, clothes, or entertainment. Often clients that went to the workshop could not go on any outings that month because they lacked the funds. These were not extravagant outings. They were things like going to get a coffee, ice cream, or go to the zoo. 

A good thing was the clients never had to worry about healthcare, housing, or food. That was covered. When they got $60 a month that put them at $2 a day for cash. They were better off than pretty much everyone in the book $2 a Day since they don’t have to worry about food or shelter. These people can not advocate for themselves, although some try their best. One client from an ICF home knew that he would only get a certain amount of cash each month no matter how much he worked. It was sad to see some of the clients that had no concept of money working every day, sometimes making upwards of $200 a paycheck. They never get to see that paycheck. They get the allotted $40-$50 and the rest goes towards their room and board. 

Like anyone else, disabled or not, we want independence. Many of these clients could make a wage enough to pay for outings, clothing, haircuts, entertainment, or anything else that they need without going without new shoes for several months due to lack of cash funds. A higher functioning client wanted so badly to get out of the workshop and into the community working. She walked everywhere, went to interviews, and eventually landed herself 2-part time jobs while working at the workshop. She wanted to better herself and make enough money to do the things she loved. Since she was bringing in “too much” income she had to start paying into Medicaid.

I know there must be limits to what people can get because I can see it getting out of hand. Where is the line drawn though? If you increase their benefits so they have more cash, then that money is probably coming out of some other program. If you let them make as much as they want without losing benefits the state will be losing money. I believe that every adult with a developmental disability should be able to keep what they earn. Obviously if they make an obscene amount of money then yes, they should pay for some of their benefits. I don’t see the harm in them keeping what they earn.