DEDICATION

Luz “Lucy” Aponte was born with intellectual, developmental and significant physical disabilities and passed away at the age of 39. In her lifetime, she helped transform how people with disabilities are perceived and was in the vanguard of the battle to provide transition-age youth with disabilities appropriate services to support their success as adults. 

Disability Rights Florida represented Lucy in a due process proceeding in connection with the failure of a school board to provide appropriate services for a successful transition to independent living and employment. L.E.A. v. School Board recognized the use of the discovery profile as an alternative to a traditional vocational evaluation in Florida. Eventually, a transition Individualized Education Program (IEP) included a goal to establish a retail business selling various products featuring Lucy’s abstract artwork. 

Supported employment makes it possible for all people, especially those once considered too disabled, to set and achieve their own employment aspirations. Lucy’s self-employment goal required supports and ongoing assistance in the day-to-day running of the business. Time-limited support services could be provided by the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR). Extended services or ongoing support could be provided under the Florida Developmental Services Waiver. This usual two-phase model does not typically work with self-employment, though. So, Lucy, together with Disability Rights Florida, advocated that DVR consult with Griffin-Hammis Associates (GHA), a recognized pioneer in the field of self-employment services for people with disabilities, to create a Policy on Self-Employment and Small Business. 

Lucy’s innovative use of services and supports was then a model for the Florida Freedom Initiative, a demonstration project based on the Tom Nerney, of the Center for Self-Determination, article “The System of the Future.” Working from a self-determination paradigm, the Florida Freedom Initiative provided participants the opportunity to earn income and save for targeted goals—including homeownership, postsecondary education, transportation, self-employment and assistive technology—while maintaining their Supplemental Security Income and Medicaid benefits. 

Thanks to Lucy and the tireless advocacy on her behalf, transition services in Florida fundamentally shifted toward supporting self-determination in transitioning to independent living and employment. We dedicate this guide in her honor and commit to carrying on her legacy for future generations of people with disabilities to pursue their dreams, whatever they may be.