Preparing For The Future

GETTING ID'S

Georgia ID card

You may apply at any age for an ID card from the Georgia Public Safety Division. If you are under age 18 you must be accompanied by a parent or legal guardian. Proper ID is required such as a birth certificate and proof of parental address. The cost of this card is $10.00. No personal checks are accepted. First time applicants must go to a Driver's License Facility Full Testing Facility.

Social Security Card

Your Social Security number is the most important ID for you to have. Contact your nearest Social Security office to apply. 1 800 772 1213. You may download forms SS 5 from www.ssa.gov, a free service.

SUPPLEMENTAL SECURITY INCOME (SSI)

Supplemental security income (SSI) makes monthly payments to people who are aged, disabled, or blind and have limited income and resources (assets). To receive SSI payments on the basis of disability or blindness, you must meet the social security definition of "disabled" or "blind." You do not need social security work credits to get SSI payments. People may be eligible for SSI even if they have never worked. People who receive SSI benefits can also qualify for social security if they are eligible. Children who are disabled or blind, as well as adults, may qualify for SSI payments. To be eligible for SSI, you must have limited income and resources and be a citizen of the U.S. or its territories.

Social Security online www.ssa.gov.
Phone: 1(800)772-1213

To apply in Georgia: Call the Social Security Administration 1-800-772-1213 to find your closest Social Security office.

For information about work incentives and Navigating Government Benefits
Sally Atwell, Program Director (866) 77-2726 sally_atwell@shepherd.org
Benefits Navigator Program, Shepherd Center, 2020 Peachtree Street NW, Atlanta, GA 30309

TRANSFER OF RIGHTS

IDEA has outlined procedures for the transfer of educational rights from the parent to the student when the student reaches the age of majority (18 under Georgia law). IDEA requires that the student and the parent be notified about the pending transfer of rights one year prior to reaching the age of majority in order to give the family time to consider their options and make decisions regarding the determination of competency. Under Georgia law, unless there has been a court proceeding declaring otherwise, all individuals are considered competent at the age of 18 and all legal rights transfer to the individual. A court decision taking all rights away from a student or listing specific rights taken away, including educational rights, is necessary for the rights to remain with the parent and/or guardian once the student reaches 18 years of age. The IEP must contain a statement that the parent and the student have been notified one year prior to the transfer of rights.

When the student turns 18, the IEP should then contain a statement that the rights have been transferred. Once the rights transfer, the student becomes the person responsible for educational decision-making under IDEA. However, the parents retain their right to notice as long as the student remains eligible under IDEA. Notice should include: IEP meetings, placement and/or service change meetings, notice regarding graduation, or any other required notice information.

POST- SCHOOL LIVING OPPORTUNITIES

Common Questions / Possible Solutions

What are my parents going to say when I tell them what I want?
What kind of help will I need?
Do I have medical needs that require assisted living?
How much can I afford?

Post-School Living Opportunities through the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities
Georgia Department of Human Resources
Behavioral health and Developmental Disabilities
Two Peachtree Street, N.W., 22nd Floor
Atlanta, Georgia 30303
Phone: 404-463-8037

Mental Retardation Waiver Program (MRWP) Summary This is Georgia's first waiver that began in 1989 and currently serves the most consumers. It provides individual fee-for-service reimbursement for an array of eleven different services that support people in the community. These supports range from providing twenty-four hour residential and day program services to periodic intermittent services such as respite. Waiver services also include reimbursement for environmental and vehicle modifications as well as medical equipment and supplies.

For information on Georgia's New Options Waiver (NOW) and Comprehensive Supports Waiver (COMP)
Services under the NOW and COMP waivers related to living opportunities include:

Community Living Support — these services are individually tailored supports that assist with the acquisition, retention, or improvement in skills related to a participant's continued residence in his or her family home.
Community Residential Alternative — these services are targeted for people who require intense levels of residential support in small group settings of four or less, foster homes, or host home/life sharing arrangements and include a range of interventions with a particular focus on training and support in one or more of the following areas: eating and drinking, toileting, personal grooming and health care, dressing, communication, interpersonal relationships, mobility, home management, and use of leisure time.
Environmental Accessibility Adaptation — these services consist of physical adaptations to the participant's of family's home which are necessary to ensure the health, welfare, and safety of the individual, or which enable the individual to function with greater independence in the home.

Employment Services through The Georgia Department of Human Resources, Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities

The New Options Waiver Program (NOW) and the Comprehensive Supports Waiver Program (COMP) provides the following services to participants that are related to employment services:

Behavioral Supports Consultation — these services are the professional level services that assist the participant with significant, intensive challenging behaviors that interfere with activities of daily living, social interaction, work or similar situations.
Prevocational Services — these services prepare a participant for paid or unpaid employment and include teaching such concepts as compliance, attendance, task completion, problem solving and safety.
Supported Employment — these services are only supports that enable participants, for who competitive employment at or above the minimum wage, is unlikely absent the provision of supports, and who, because of their disabilities, need supports to work in a regular work setting.
Transportation — these services enable participants to gain access to waiver and other community services, activities, resources, and organizations typically utilized by the general population but do not include transportation available through Medicaid non-emergency transportation or as an element of another waiver service

Call Kate Brady, the Employment Director in the Office of DD, at (404) 657-6427 or e-mail her with questions about Supported Employment Services in the NOW/COMP Waiver at kdbrady@dhr.state.ga.us .

Employment First Georgia is a statewide resource promoting innovative, customized employment practice. Each individual will be supported to pursue his or her own unique path to work, a career, or his or her contribution to participation in community life.
Employment First Georgia is housed under the Georgia Advocacy Office and supported by a collaborative of state and federal agencies, including start-up funds from the U.S. Department of Labor/Office of Disability Employment Policy.

Contact:
Employment First Georgia
150 E. Ponce de Leon Ave. Suite 430 | Decatur, GA 30030
Phone: (404) 885-1234 | Fax: (404) 378-0031
E-mail: info@employmentfirstgeorgia.org

Georgia Sensory Assistance Project

Services to Children and Youth with Deafblindness

Transition Resources