Other Funding Sources

Grants for Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (ID Grant) provide financial assistance to eligible Minnesota resident students with intellectual and developmental disabilities who attend eligible Minnesota postsecondary institutions. The grant program was established in fiscal year 2018 and has received $800,000 total in state appropriations with no allocation for administrative costs.

Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waivers can provide support for individuals with intellectual disability participating in postsecondary education (PSE). HCBS waiver funding has been used to pay for peer support, career services, transportation, tuition, fees, and more (Parisi & Landau 2018). This Insight Brief explains how to access information on state HCBS waiver programs, how to review those programs, how to determine what waiver services can support PSE, and more.

Given the positive outcomes of postsecondary education (PSE) that are possible for individuals with ID, more states should consider allowing Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waiver participants the option to use waiver support to participate in PSE. Using HCBS waivers could greatly improve their likelihood of employment, as well as opportunities to experience greater community inclusion, personal satisfaction, and decreased reliance on publicly provided support services.

An increasing number of states allow students with intellectual disability (ID) to use Medicaid Home and Community Based Services waivers to support participation in postsecondary education (PSE) programs. These waiver services support access to higher education for students receiving Medicaid services who might otherwise not be able to attend postsecondary education. This Insight Brief explains what Medicaid Waivers are, what PSE services they can be used for, and how to access waiver services.

This video from the ABLE National Resource Center provides very straightforward descriptions and explanations of the type of expenses that ABLE funds can be used for. The ABLE NRC Director, Chris Rodriguez, goes through broad categories like education, transportation, assistive technology and more and gives specific examples of the type of services that are covered. 

This report examines AmeriCorps as a model that allows youth with disabilities to maintain their Social Security benefits while enrolled in service programs that support work-based learning and provide a living allowance and education award.