Learn what's been going on with the campaign since January!
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Hire Me SC Quarterly Newsletter
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People with
disabilities can work, want to work, and should be afforded
every opportunity to work. Powered by Able SC and the South
Carolina Disability Employment Coalition (SCDEC), a coalition
formed to eliminate employment barriers for individuals with
disabilities, Hire Me SC is a campaign that promotes a culture
of inclusion across the state of South Carolina, one in which
employment for every individual, disability or not, is the norm
rather than the exception.
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The Palmetto ABLE Savings
Program
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During
the Quarterly meeting on March 7, Karen Crider, with the
SC Treasurer's Office, presented on the Palmetto ABLE
Savings Program. The presentation focused on the
program's benefits for individuals with disabilities and
their families. Karen shared statistics on the program's
growth, emphasized the eligibility criteria for
participation, and discussed the features of ABLE
accounts.
The
federal Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act of
2014 created savings and investment accounts for
individuals with disabilities. This allows account owners
to save money without impacting eligibility for certain
means-tested benefits including SSI and Medicaid.
Today,
ABLE accounts are available in all 50 states. Over
164,000 accounts are open nationally, and over $1.74
billion has been saved. We have over 3,000 accounts open
in South Carolina and over $36 million in assets have
been saved.
Check
out the PDF version of the PowerPoint to learn more about
eligibility, benefits, options for funding an account,
and what are considered allowable expenses.
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Task Force on Eliminating
Subminimum Wage
The Task
Force on Eliminating Subminimum wage,
established due to the passing of bill
S.533 in May 2022, is continuing its work for
the phase out of subminimum wage by August 1, 2024.
Valarie Bishop, Executive Director of the South Carolina
Developmental Disabilities Council is the Task Force Vice
President and shared an update at the SCDEC quarterly
meeting on March 7th.
The
Task Force is focusing on what providers and individuals
need to make this transition so that individuals can move
into the next phase of their employment goals. This
includes identifying what direction an individual wants
to go if they are not interested in additional
employment. Providers heard from several people who said
they are not interested in seeking other employment
opportunities. Instead, they want to focus on getting
involved in the community in other ways. The task
force plans to develop a resource guide. It would include
fact sheets on employment rights, Social Security
benefits, assistive technology, transportation,
affordable housing, etc., however, they are hoping to
collect additional input from providers and individuals
on what resources would be most helpful.
About
250 individuals in South Carolina are currently being
paid subminimum wage, and we have until August to
complete the phase-out. You can read more about task
force duties in bill S.533. Members include
representatives from multiple organizations and state
agencies, and individuals with disabilities who were
previously or currently paid subminimum wage. They will
be meeting monthly through July 2024.
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Benefits Workshop Updates
With
the continued support of funding from Disability Rights
South Carolina, we will be hosting 6 workshops in 2024!
Our first virtual workshop took place on February 22nd.
We had 29 attendees and 10 panelists participate.
Our
first in person workshop of the year will take place on
May 24th, from 1:00 PM-3:00 PM at Thrive Upstate in
Greenville, SC. This workshop will benefit those
transitioning from subminimum wage employment, including
beneficiaries, their families, service providers, and
support staff.
At the workshop, we will:
·
Break down myths about working while
receiving SSI/SSDI.
·
Hear from Thrive Upstate about their success
phasing out subminimum wage.
·
Connect you with local service providers.
Contact
Hire Me SC for more information on in person workshops,
and click on the button below to register for the
workshop on May 24!
Also,
don't miss our next virtual workshop on August 13th from
10:00 AM-12:00 PM! Once registration opens for this
workshop, it will be posted on the Hire
Me SC website.
Thank
you to Disability Rights SC for providing funding to make
these workshops possible!
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Hire Me SC
720 Gracern Road Suite
106 | Columbia, South Carolina 29210
803.779.5121 | hiremesc@able-sc.org
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