Answer:
There are a host of revenue sources available.
As traditional developmental disability and mental health services
funds become more and more individualized or “portable,”
personal budgeting and control of individual rehabilitation and
treatment money grows. In the near future, due to changes in state
and federal policies, disability funds will be more controlled by
the individual with the disability, and many people will be able
to redirect their money away from traditional agencies and into
their own hands through fiscal intermediaries or families. Individuals
will be able, for instance, to create a personal budget with funding
that once went directly to a service provider, to buy very specific
good and services they need to succeed. For example, in the near
future, someone who generates $12,000 per year in state funding
that goes to the sheltered workshop may be able to redirect those
monies directly into a personal plan for a job or business, and
draw on those funds just as the adult service provider would, for
as long as needed.
As
noted in the first “Where
can I get grant money to start a business?”, both Vocational
Rehabilitation and the Work Force Investment Act (WIA) programs
support small business. Emerging demonstrations of Individual Training
Accounts (ITAs) and Intensive Services funds from WIA providers
are proof of the viability of enterprise development. And, VR funds,
Tribal VR funds, and WIA funds can all be used together (if purchasing
different items or services for the individual), and can be further
blended with SSA Work Incentives and developmental disability, mental
health, or other disability system funds to create a well-funded
business start-up or expansion.
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- The VCU-BARC Self-Employment & Social Security Pages
have been developed in conjunction with Griffin-Hammis
Associates, LLC. The contents do not necessarily represent
the policy, interpretations or opinion of the Social Security Administration
(SSA). The information contained here is intended to inform readers
of issues that may affect Social Security and/or other public assistance
benefits. Because individual circumstances differ, the reader should
not rely on any information here as being specifically applicable
to an individual's situation. Readers are encouraged to contact
a BPAO benefits specialist to discuss her or his specific situation.
