Webinars
Past Webinar Recordings Available
Watch the recording of Achieva Family Trust’s 6th Annual Future Planning Conference, held October 14, 2026. The conference brought together people with disabilities, families, caregivers, and professionals for expert presentations and practical guidance on planning for the future.
Topics included government benefits, Special Needs Trusts, ABLE Accounts, and real-world trust administration. The event also featured keynote speaker Ellen Nalven, Senior Advisor at PLAN/NJ, presenting “The Challenge of Securing Quality Lifelong Supports and Service.”
Whether you are planning for yourself or a loved one, supporting families, or working in the disability services field, this recording offers valuable information and resources to help you navigate future planning and explore options for securing quality lifelong supports.
View the webinarPresenters: Andrea Patton, Three Rivers Regional Executive Director, Special Olympics PA Katherine Reim, Regional Executive Director, Northwest Region, Special Olympics PA
View the webinar
View the Webinar
This year’s conference focused on future planning in uncertain times. Topics include maintaining government benefits while working, special needs trusts and ABLE Accounts, and Medicaid Waivers. A keynote presentation was delivered by David Goldfarb, Senior Director of the Strategic Health Resource Center, Jewish Federations of North America.
View the Recording
This webinar provides a comprehensive overview of services and resources available for people with physical disabilities, focusing on the enrollment process, waiver programs, and the importance of self-advocacy. The discussion highlights the role of service coordinators, the application process for community health choices, and real-life examples of how these services impact individuals' lives.
View The Webinar
This webinar explores Pennsylvania’s Aging Our Way initiative and the PA Care Kit, a tool designed to support caregivers with practical, accessible resources. Speakers discuss caregiver needs, survey insights, and the importance of community engagement, individualized care, and agency collaboration to strengthen support across the state.
View The Webinar
This webinar on Social Security will include an overview of the programs and services including retirement, disability, Medicare, and Supplemental Security Income. In addition, you will learn about recent program updates and how to conduct business with the Social Security Administration.
View The Webinar
This presentation covers announced and hidden changes, exploring their impact on Medicare beneficiaries, providers, and programs serving enrolled individuals.
View The Webinar
This day-long conference was dedicated to future planning for people with disabilities. The purpose of the conference is to educate and inform families, professionals, and self-advocates about the importance of Future Planning for Individuals with Disabilities.
Topics included: Planning for the Future with Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts, Government Benefits, and the differences between Guardianship vs Power of Attorney.
View The Webinar
This presentation introduces individuals and families to Performance Based Contracting and how it will be used to elevate the quality of the ODP service system. We’ll identify which services will be impacted, review some example performance measures, and discuss individual and family empowerment to make informed decisions when choosing service providers.
View The Webinar
This webinar covers the importance of Mental Health Advanced Directives (MHADs) and the 988 Crisis Hotline, discussing individual rights, agent responsibilities, NAMI’s role, and efforts to improve crisis response nationwide.
View The Webinar
View The Webinar
View The Webinar
- Chuck Keenan, Administrator, Homelessness and Housing, Allegheny County Department of Human Services
- Remy Harris, Senior Manager, Services for Families Experiencing Housing Crises, Allegheny County Department of Human Services
- Sally Ellwein, Director of Meeting Basic Needs, United Way of Southwestern Pennsylvania
Fund My Future PGH helps Allegheny County families save for their children’s futures by offering reminders to save and chances to win up to $1,000 each month!
View The Webinar
Office of Developmental Services staff look forward to sharing how you can be supported through:
- Learning about Allegheny County Department of Human Services
- Community Resources
- Utilizing Charting the LifeCourse Principals and Tools
- Registration with Office of Development Services
- Building a relationship and planning with a Supports Coordinator
- Developing a robust ISP
- The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Funding for Respite and Family-Driven Support Services (FDSS)
- Consolidated, Community Living and Person-Family Directed Support Waivers
View The Webinar
Representatives from Disability Rights Pennsylvania, Achieva Family Trust's Benefits Counseling, and The Social Security Administration cover working and benefits rules, types of waivers, eligibility, and more.
View The Webinar
PA ABLE account gives individuals with qualified disabilities and their families and friends a tax-free way to save for disability-related expenses while maintaining government benefits. Since 2013, Fund My Future PGH has been helping families start their savings journey.
View The Webinar
Are you a person with a disability who is interested in knowing more about college or working? Would you like to know how to tap into available resources from OVR? If so, this presentation is for you! Join Jill Seus Starr and her colleagues from OVR as they explain the OVR process.
View The Webinar
View The Webinar
This day-long conference was dedicated to future planning for people with disabilities. The purpose of the conference is to educate and inform families, professionals, and self-advocates about the importance of Future Planning for Individuals with Disabilities.
Topics included: Planning for the Future with Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts, Planning Transition from High School, Charting the Life Course, and Financial Empowerment.
View The Webinar
Supported Decision-Making (SDM) allows people with disabilities to make choices about their own lives with support from a team of people they choose.
Attend this session and learn among other things:
- What is Decision Making?
- What is Supported Decision Making?
- What is Decision Making Capacity?
- Health Care and Financial Decision Making Supports
The impact of dual enrollment in Medicaid and Medicare is to significantly reduce or eliminate the costs of health care.
This presentation will:
- Examine the characteristics of dual eligibility.
- The benefits that each program (Medicare and Medicaid) provides.
- How each program coordinates with the other.
- The special problems that dual eligibility generates and how to effectively deal with those problems.
View The Webinar
A panel of experts from The University of Pittsburgh, Community College of Allegheny County, Goodwill of Southwestern PA, and Achieva Employment Supports & Business Services, will present the different strategies and models for employment. They will cover the steps and process to achieve employment, and various partnerships and collaborations in the community with a broad range of companies, including industrial, health, and the service sectors. They will also share examples of positive outcomes.
View The Webinar
The topics of this webinar are Planning for the Future with Special Needs Trusts and ABLE Accounts, Understanding Government Benefits, Decision Making, and Housing Options. Experts weigh in to give tips, advice, and resources benefiting families and people with disabilities in planning for the future.
View The Webinar
A panel of self-advocates discusses the importance of the involvement and support for self-advocates in advocacy efforts. They will review the principles of self-awareness, self-advocacy, and self-determination for optimal outcomes.
View The Webinar
The purpose of this webinar is to provide an overview of the basics for successful strategies when advocating for issues of importance for people with disabilities. The basic strategies relate to advocating across disability groups.
View The Webinar
This webinar covers the legal distinctions between Guardianship and Power of Attorney.
Presenter: Nora Gieg Chatha, Esq.
View This Webinar
The intent of this webinar is to provide an overview of the human-centric, LifeCourse principles that are designed to reflect the strengths and needs of people. The webinar will provide examples of how LifeCourse principles are being utilized to drive person-centered change for people with disabilities, their families, and organizations. This will be the first of a series of learning opportunities to help people use the LifeCourse framework and tools.
View This Webinar
Are you the parent of a child with an intellectual disability? Do you wonder what life will look like after high school? Students with intellectual disabilities attending inclusive college programs are a growing population. Five of Pennsylvania’s state universities now have programs for students with intellectual disabilities.
View This Webinar
This webinar will bring together information for financial professionals that includes disability etiquette and best practices for engagement with individuals with disabilities, as well as tools and methods that are available for budgeting, savings, and debt management.
View This Webinar