The DC Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) and the National Disability Institute (NDI) developed a financial curriculum, Building Assets & Promoting Choice and Community Participation at the end of 2014.  This curriculum is about working together and building a better economic future for District residents with disabilities.  In November, the Steps to Achieving My American Dream webinar highlighted activities and accomplishments from the DC DDC funded project, Building Economic Strength Together (BEST).

To date, the BEST project trained 52 service professionals, 60 advocates and 42 students with developmental disabilities.

Twenty-four years after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law and guaranteed all individuals with disabilities the opportunity to achieve “economic sufficiency,” NDI’s recently released report, Financial Capability of Adults with Disabilities showed that people with disabilities are less financially stable than people without disabilities.  

NDI analyzed data collected from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation’s 2012 National Financial Capability Study and some findings included:

1.   78% of people with disabilities found it difficult to make ends meet as compared with 56% of people without disabilities
    
2.   41% of people with disabilities used methods of non-bank borrowing, such as a pawn shop or payday loan as compared with 29% of people without disabilities
    
3.   50% of people with disabilities are not satisfied with their current financial condition as compared with 30% of people without disabilities.

“This analysis represents only a portion of people with disabilities and without disabilities,” explains DDC Executive Director Mathew McCollough, “However, the report shows us that our nation is falling short of meeting the promise of economic self-sufficiency for our citizens with disabilities.  We must work together and do better on this very important matter in own communities.”

For additional information, please send an email to [email protected] or call (202) 727-6744. Readers can access this course by visiting http://ndi.elogiclearning.com and complete the following steps:

• Click on REGISTER NOW
• Enter all the necessary info and hit SUBMIT
• Accept the EULA terms “I AGREE”
• You will now arrive at your Homepage.
• Click “Available Courses” In the left toolbar.
• Click “Steps to Achieving my American Dream”
• Click “Register"
• On the next page click “Launch”

The course will open.