LEADOn! Article

Financial Integration Team – Pioneering Pathways to Economic Advancement

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The LEAD Center continues to support National Disability Institute’s Financial Integration Team (FIT) Community of Practice. FIT is a peer-to-peer support network, which focuses on integrated financial capability strategies to support persons with disabilities in building their financial well-being. FIT members come from diverse organizations (see list below) from across the country that share a common interest in the integration of financial capability strategies within their organization, system, and/or city. Since FIT’s inception in spring of 2016, members have had the opportunity to connect each month for peer support, technical assistance, knowledge building, and for sharing successful practices and problem solving strategies.

One of the major achievements of the FIT Community of Practice was piloting programs that integrate a Financial Well-Being Assessment into their service delivery in innovative ways. For example, FIT member CareerSource Broward, an American Job Center in Florida, has found such success in offering financial education workshops, financial coaching, and benefits counseling for customers with disabilities that includes the use of an online financial well-being assessment education tool called LifeCents. These offerings have been expanded to TANF (Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) recipients, SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program) recipients, individuals in re-entry programs, and participants in youth programs. Based on the input of FIT members, the LEAD Center is also poised to release a series of tools, resources, and guides for integrating financial capability strategies so others may share in the success of FIT. Stay tuned for the release of these resources coming soon!

The LEAD Center would like to commend the achievements of the FIT Community of Practice from the following organizations, systems, and cities:

  • CareerSource Broward – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
  • The Arc of Broward – Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
  • Capital Area Asset Builders – Washington, D.C.
  • Northwest Access Fund – Seattle, Washington
  • Cares of Washington – Seattle, Washington
  • United Way of Tompkins County – Ithaca, New York
  • ServiceSource – Wilmington, Delaware
  • Connecticut Association of Human Services – Hartford, Connecticut
  • Department of Rehabilitation Services – Hartford, Connecticut
  • Louisville Alliance for Development through Diversity, Empowerment, and Resources (LADDER) – Louisville, Kentucky