Summary: Repeals statutory language that gives the director of finance discretion to use moneys in the State ABLE savings program trust fund if the director elects to accept deposits from contributors instead of sending deposits directly to the Achieving a Better Life Experience program manager, authorizes the director of finance to expend moneys in the State ABLE savings program trust fund to provide incentive payments to ABLE account owners, makes an appropriation to the Department of Budget and Finance.
“It is the intent and purpose of the legislature to establish a qualified tax exempt savings program to encourage and assist individuals and families to save private funds to support individuals with disabilities pursuant to section 529A of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or successor legislation, and any regulations promulgated thereunder. It is the further intent of the legislature that the program established by this Act be and remain in conformance with the Stephen Beck, Jr., Achieving a Better Life Experience Act [ABLE] of 2014, Division B of Public Law No. 113-295”
Hawaii Developmental Disabilities Division – Strategic Plan 2015-2017 Progress Report
“The Strategic Plan was adopted on December 2014. In the ensuing months Team Leaders have been convening meetings with advocates, providers, partners, and Division staff to plan specific activities for attaining goals and objectives of the Strategic Plan. Teams have also developed performance measures to track progress and measure results.” Goal number 3 outlines that “DDD will ensure individuals with I/DD have opportunities to seek employment and achieve personal outcomes to work in competitive integrated settings.”
Hawaii Department of Labor and Industrial Relations “Labor Law Requirements for New Employers” (2013)
Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations for a qualified employee with a disability which allows that person to perform their essential job functions. An accommodation is reasonable if it does not impose an undue hardship on the employer’s business.
The U.S. Department of Labor awarded Hawaii a Round 6 DEI grant to improve employment opportunities for youth and/or adults with disabilities. “HIDEI [Hawaii DEI] will hire four Disability Resource Coordinators and build upon the promising practices of the HIDEI 2 [Round 2] project to incorporate career pathways into its service to individuals with significant disabilities to better prepare participants to obtain meaningful employment and achieve self-sufficiency.”
The Disability Employment Initiative (DEI) is a three-year federal grant-funded program that improves education, training, employment opportunities, and employment outcomes for people who are unemployed, underemployed, and/or receiving Social Security disability benefits. In 2010, Hawaii was awarded a Round 1 DEI grant from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Employment Training Administration. The Round 1 grant ended in 2013.
