Financial Planning and Support

The Emergency Respite Voucher Program provides temporary, short-term relief to caregivers who face unexpected situations that disrupt their ability to provide care. The program offers financial assistance for respite services, allowing caregivers to take time to address urgent needs or to recover from unforeseen circumstances. This program is designed to support family caregivers of individuals with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or other conditions requiring ongoing care, ensuring that care recipients continue to receive quality support while their caregivers manage emergencies.

Connects people with disabilities, their families and those who support them to information about the Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act and ABLE accounts. The mission is to educate, promote and support the positive impact ABLE can make on the lives of millions of Americans with disabilities and their families.

ABLE TN is a savings program designed to help individuals with disabilities put aside money to pay for qualified expenses. These accounts provide the opportunity to save and invest with tax-free earnings to help participants maintain independence and quality of life. This bulletin also provides guidance concerning the treatment of ABLE accounts. There is also a quick breakdown of ABLE here

Save on your internet bill with the FCC’s Affordable Connectivity Program, you can save on your bill and may be able to get high-speed internet for free. The Affordable Connectivity Program is administered by USAC with oversight from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).Any household that has a member receiving SSI and MEDICAID can join.

Resource for Children's Medicaid Waiver programs divided by state with links to more information about the programs.

The Conservatorship Association of Tennessee is a non-profit organization of people who are concerned about the quality of services for adults who may need assistance in decision-making. Membership is open to individuals interested in improving the lives of Tennesseans who may need conservatorship and other protective services. CAT promotes a nationally recognized standard of excellence in conservatorship and guardianship through networking, continuing education, training, and other programs and services. CAT is an affiliate of the National Guardianship Association.

DSAMT’s Crisis Grant can assist in providing some assistance with critical living expenses for families in desperate need who live with an individual with Down syndrome.

The ECF CHOICES program launched in July 2016 with the goal of helping people with intellectual and developmental disabilities to work and to live as independently as possible. In its first year, the program enrolled 1,500 people. In 2018, the program is slated to expand and enroll up to 2,700 members.

Exceptional Parent provides articles on a variety of special needs topics, including financial planning.

Funded by state dollars and designed to assist individuals with severe disabilities and their families to remain together in their homes and communities.

Sometimes it can seem impossible to find funding for a piece of adaptive equipment you know will vastly enrich and enhance your child or client’s life. Includes Online funding resource guides and a list of funds and foundations set up to help with funding for disabilities.

Provides options for parents and students to choose the education opportunities that best meet their own unique needs through access to public education funds.

Tennessee’s Katie Beckett program is for children under the age of 18 with disabilities or complex medical needs.  This program is for children who are not Medicaid eligible because of their parent’s income or assets and has two parts, to provide services and/or help pay for medical care that private insurance does not cover.

The Metropolitan Action Commission partners with families in poverty using a Whole Family/2Gen Approach. This approach meets the needs of both the child and the adult in their lives building a system of care around the entire family. Our programs and services break the cycle of poverty by addressing the root causes by increasing family economic security, educational success, and health and well-being from one generation to the next. One of their programs is HOPE Rental Assistance program to help renters impacted by COVID-19 catch up on past due rent and utility payments that are behind up to 12 months.

NeedLink Nashville helps our neighbors meet basic needs in times of crisis by providing short-term assistance and links to other resources.

PetScreening supports the Down syndrome community and advocates for the adoption of foster, rescue, and shelter animals. PS4Ds is a philanthropic grant program that gives financial support to individuals with Down syndrome whose quality of life could be made better by adopting an animal. This includes obtaining an animal for the primary purpose of owning a companion animal.

Reece’s Rainbow promotes the international adoption of children with Down syndrome and other special needs.  By raising money to offer adoption grants on waiting children, we are able to give adoptive families the extra financial help they need to bring a child with Down syndrome or other special needs home from a miserable existence in overseas orphanages.

Racing for Orphans with Down syndrome (RODS) are partnered with Reece's Rainbow to help mitigate some of the costs for international adoption. 

The goal and mission at Ruby’s Rainbow is to grant scholarships to adults with Down syndrome who are seeking post-secondary education, enrichment or vocational classes, helping them achieve their dreams of higher education while spreading awareness of their capabilities and general awesomeness.

Funds can reimburse individuals or families for the cost of registration, attendant care, hotel/lodging, transportation, child care or respite care, meals and other related travel expenses. All scholarship awards are subject to the availability of funds.

The Special Care Life Underwriting Program is a program by Mass Mutual that helps make life insurance coverage available to those individuals with three common disability diagnoses to help educate families and caregivers of people with special needs about the importance and steps to help provide a secure financial future.

TennCare is the state of Tennessee’s Medicaid program. It provides healthcare to mostly low-income pregnant women, parents or caretakers of a minor child, children and individuals who are elderly or have a disability.

TN Center for Decision-Making Support is a shared effort of The Arc Tennessee, the Tennessee Council on Developmental Disabilities, and Disability Rights Tennessee, and is one place to learn about decision-making options for people with disabilities. It has easy-to-understand, accurate information about supported decision-making, power-of-attorney, conservatorship, special needs trusts, ABLE accounts, and more

The Tennessee Technology Access Program (TTAP) is a statewide program designed to increase access to, and acquisition of, assistive technology devices and services. Through its four core programs: Funding Assistance, Device Demonstration, Device Loan and Device Reutilization, TTAP and a network of five assistive technology centers help people with disabilities and their families find and get the tools that they need to live independent, productive lives where and how they choose. Each of TTAP’s core programs is uniquely designed to both maximize limited resources and improve the understanding of, and to gain better access to, assistive technology devices and services. 

he UnitedHealthcare Children’s Foundation (UHCCF) provides medical grants to help children gain access to health-related services not fully covered, by commercial health insurance plans. Families can receive up to $5,000 annually per child ($10,000 lifetime maximum per child), and do not need to have insurance through UnitedHealthcare to be eligible.