The ABLE Act and Employment: Strategies for Maximizing the Effectiveness of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act as a Tool for Financial Stability and Employment Outcomes of People with Disabilities

This brief discusses how provisions of the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act (Public Law 113-295)1 can be combined with federal benefit services and other federal programs and initiatives to further competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities. The brief contains a list of the provisions of the ABLE Act, their impact on the financial self-sufficiency and employment opportunities of persons with disabilities, and recommendations on how to best utilize the ABLE Act to maximize these outcomes in several systems in which people with disabilities participate, including Workforce Development, Vocational Rehabilitation, Medicaid, and Social Security. The policy brief concludes with a list of action steps so that each of these identified systems can partner with state ABLE programs to improve employment outcomes for ABLE-eligible individuals.