October: National Disability Employment Awareness Month

Dear Colleagues,

Located prominently on the Great Seal of the State of Kansas is a farmer hard at work plowing a field. This illustration pays respect to Kansas farmers and our robust agriculture industry. Nebraska’s state seal showcases a blacksmith working at an anvil. The Nevada state seal emphasizes its mining industry with a miner pushing a cart. Maryland’s state seal features the fishing industry with a fisherman holding his recent catch. Many states use their official seal to pay homage to the industries that make their respective state unique and to the work force that drives their economies. Healthy state economies rely on citizens willing to engage in gainful employment.

In Kansas, 28% of people with a disability who are not employed want to work. The Office of the Kansas State Treasurer is fortunate to administer the Kansas ABLE Savings Plan. Promoting ABLE accounts throughout the state has given me the opportunity to build partnerships with employers and organizations that are reaching out to Kansans living with a disability and providing them resources to secure a job. One such partnership is with the Capper Foundation. The Capper Foundation serves families across Kansas with a goal of providing “individuals of all abilities who want to work” the skills needed to be successful employees. Before the Federal passage of the ABLE Act, an inability to save over $2,000 was a sizable employment barrier for benefit-reliant individuals living with a disability. With ABLE accounts and the passage of ABLE to work, the resource limit savings barrier has been lowered.

As state officials, the task falls on us to spread the word about the savings benefits ABLE accounts offer those seeking gainful employment. It’s our offices that meet with parents at local libraries. It’s our offices that jump on zoom calls with various county-level disability providers. It’s our offices staffing the tables at high school resource nights. As we continue to push to improve ABLE accounts at the federal level, our push to raise awareness about ABLE at the local level remains just as important.

The month of October, National Disability Employment Awareness Month, is a good time to ask ourselves and our staff “how well have we done this year engaging employers and organizations focused on disability employment?” These employers and organizations will be our best allies in our efforts to educate families about the saving benefits ABLE accounts offer. Promoting ABLE accounts as a way to save income to those willing to join the workforce is not only beneficial to the willing worker, it’s beneficial to our respective economies.

Best regards,

Steven Johnson
Kansas State Treasurer