4.3.0 Money Management |
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Louisiana Statewide Transition Project and Louisiana: Healthy and Ready to Work Fact Sheet Series |
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11/1/00 |
Learning to manage one’s own money is an important developmental milestone as children move through adolescence and on into adulthood. The functional reason for teaching all teenagers to manage their money is to enable them to make purchases. An additional functional reason is to teach them the relationship between money and work. However, learning to manage one’s money develops skills as basic as demonstrating the ability to purchase one item or multiple items to skills as complex as applying the mathematical concepts needed to maintain a checking account, prepare and follow a budget, file income taxes, establish and maintain credit, and obtain a loan to purchase a car or home. By the time they exit high school, all young adults should demonstrate some skills in managing their own money.
(1) Determine an understanding
of the teenager’s knowledge of mathematical concepts and money management
skills. For example: Can the young
adult carry money around with him or her? Can the young adult manage his or her
own money during community outings? Can
the young adult purchase items from the school cafeteria or school store? Can
the young adult purchase items from vending machines at jobsites? Can the young
adult collect and manage money for club fundraising activities? Can the young
adult manage money or tokens for riding public transportation? Can the young
adult make purchases from snack bars and fast food restaurants in the
community? Can the young adult purchase multiple items at a grocery store or
drug store? Can the young adult manage a weekly allowance of money? Can the
young adult manage a checking account? Can the young adult develop and follow a
monthly budget based on his or her earned (paycheck) and unearned (SSI/SSDI)
income? Can the young adult manage a credit card or debit card account? Can the
young adult develop and follow a savings plan for a car, home purchase, or a
vacation?
(2) Determine which skill(s) are
necessary for the young adult to be competent in desired future environments
and activities. Does the young adult plan to attend a postsecondary educational
program? Does the young adult plan to continue living at home or move to an
apartment or other housing option? Does the young adult plan to work part-time,
full-time, or not at all? Does the young adult plan to own a home or a
car? Does the young adult plan to own
his or her own business? What skills will the young adult need to be competent
in these environments and settings? These priority skills should be addressed
within the student’s IEP/statement of transition services. For example, a
student who will be competitively employed and living independently may need to
master all of these skills with a high level of independence. A student who
will be employed through supported employment and living in a supported living
arrangement may only need to master some of the skills with a high level of
independence, as he/she will receive support in many others.
(3) Teach and/or support the
development of these priority skills during functional activities. Consider the chronological age of the young adult, learning needs,
previous money experiences, and current level of mathematical performance.
Skills may be taught and/or supported through the use of partial participation,
assitive technology, and/or activity modifications. The most important
component of this step is ensuring that the young adult has the opportunity to
learn and practice priority skills in the classroom and community during
real-life and functional activities. In addition, it is critical that the young
adult demonstrates mastery of the skill, that is, be tested, in the community
during a real-life and functional activity. For example, younger students might
learn to make purchases in the classroom and practice making purchases in the
school cafeteria and school store, but older students must have the opportunity
to make purchases in the community in neighborhood grocery stores, fast food
restaurants, and public buses.
Students/Young Adults:
As they enter adolescence, young adults with
disabilities should be given a level of responsibility for managing their own
money that is comparable to that of their peers and that matches the values and
expectations of their families. For example, all teenagers might be given a
weekly allowance to spend on agreed-upon items. They might be given a budget for
clothing purchases and then supported to purchase items within the budget. They
might be included during discussions around the family’s financial planning for
a car or home purchase or in vacation planning. They might be given
responsibility for developing a budget and managing money from a part-time job
or from an SSI/SSDI check. They might open up and maintain a checking account,
debit card account, and/or a credit card account.
Families:
Families should encourage young adults to
develop greater independence in managing their own money and to participate in
family financial discussions and planning. Discussions might include attention
to financial terminology and concepts, such as tax, interest, fixed expenses,
down payment, loan, balance, minimum payment, etc. They might consider giving
young adults money to make purchases in the community, thus supporting them in
applying the skills they are learning in school.
Agencies:
Agency personnel should encourage families to
discuss and support money management activities with young adults during the
IEP/transition planning process. They should encourage young adults to develop
greater independence in managing their own money and to participate in
financial discussions and planning as part of their IEP/transition planning
activities. They should give young adults more responsibility for managing
their money to make purchases in the community, thus supporting them in
applying the skills that they are learning and that they will need in future
environments and activities. Agency personnel should also assist families and
young adults in determining these priority skills and in learning and
supporting skills through training, partial participation, and/or assitive
technology.
IV. RESOURCES/CONTACTS
HEATH Resource Center
One Dupont Circle, Suite 800
Washington DC 20036-1192
1-800-544-3264
National Information Center for Children and Youth
with Handicaps (NICHCY)
PO Box 1492
Washington DC 20013
1-800-695-0285 http://www.nichy.org
V. REFERENCES
Clark, Gary. (1998). Assessment
for transition planning (part of the Pro-Ed Transition Series). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Ford, A. et al. (1989). The
Syracuse community-referenced curriculum guide for students with moderate and
severe disabilities. Baltimore, MD: Paul H. Brookes.
Mannix, D.
(1995). Life skills activities for secondary students with special needs.
West Nyack, NY: The Center for Applied Research in Education.
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The development and dissemination of this
document were supported in part by funds from the U.S. Department of
Education (Cooperative Agreement #H158A6007, “The Louisiana Statewide
Transition Project: A Multi-Constituency Model”) and the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services, Maternal and Child Health Program (Grant
MCJ-22HRW6, “Louisiana: Healthy and Ready to Work”). The opinions expressed
herein are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the
policy or position of the U.S. Department of Education or the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, and no official endorsement by either of these
two agencies should be inferred. The LSUMC does not discriminate on the basis of race, color,
national origin, sex, religion, age, or disability in employment or the
provision of services. This document may be duplicated and disseminated in its
original form without obtaining permission. Alternate forms of this document are available upon request at 1-888-942-8104 or TDD 1-504-942-5900. |
Patton, J. et al. (1999). Infusing real-life topics into existing
curricula (part of the Pro-Ed Transition Series). Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.