• Disability advocates call age 26 — the point at which the state stops paying for education services — the ‘opportunity cliff’
• In Battle Creek, the new Lunger House helps prepare students for adulthood
• Advocates say services for adults with disabilities are lacking

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BATTLE CREEK — Darian Greene works at Moonraker Restaurant in Battle Creek, where he started as a busboy and recently began making pies.

He got help landing the job through the Calhoun Intermediate School District’s Adult Transition Program, which helps 18- to 26-year-olds with disabilities navigate the path between school and adulthood. Calling that program the “best years of my life,” the 21-year-old Greene now faces the world with a mix of optimism and realism. 

“Honestly, it’s a bit of nervousness, excitement and a bit of confusion,” he said. “But I believe I can work up to getting my feel for life.” 

That belief in oneself is the ultimate goal of the Calhoun ISD’s transition program and its new Lunger House, which opened this year thanks to a mix of Medicaid dollars and a local property tax for special education programs.

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Inspired by a similar operation in Tuscola County, the house offers more hands-on instruction than the ISD could previously offer. Its goal is to help its students prepare for what disability advocates call the “opportunity cliff,” the point — when students turn 26 — at which the state and federal governments stop paying for education services. 

Michigan offers its students with disabilities more time to prepare for independence than other states, most of which stop covering education services at age 21.

Still, even with that extra time, adulthood can be a challenge for the nearly 1 in 10 adult Michiganders who struggle with independent living because of a disability. About 38% of working-age adults with disabilities are employed, less than half the rate of those without disabilities, and federal law allows employers to pay workers with disabilities far less than other workers — about $3.50 an hour on average, compared to Michigan’s $12.48 minimum hourly wage for other workers.

As well, advocates say Michigan’s support system for adults with disabilities has long struggled with staff shortages and limited funding, relying on capped federal-state Medicaid dollars that often come with years-long waitlists for programs that pay for in-home care, job coaching or transportation. Michigan lawmakers just cut $1 million — about 5% — from the state’s 15 centers for independent living, which help people access housing, transportation and benefits. That means longer waitlists and fewer one-on-one services, advocates say.

“The most frustrating and the biggest cliff and challenge is attitudinal barriers that still exist,” said Teri Langley, executive director of the Disability Network of Michigan. (People with disabilities) are dismissed right away.”

To help students prepare for that world, many Michigan schools and others have launched innovative approaches to adult transition programs. Manistee County has a dedicated transition facility where young adults can build independent living skills such as cooking, laundry and navigating their communities. Washtenaw County has a regional network connecting students with employers and service agencies. And Georgetown Township’s new education center fosters real-world learning and greater independence.

And in Battle Creek, the Calhoun ISD has its new Lunger House, where students chat about their jobs over lunch, practice practical life skills such as sweeping the floor, wiping off tables and rinsing and putting away dishes, and attend classes on everything from proper work attire to saving money. 

“It’s definitely been a game changer,” Calhoun ISD Special Education Supervisor Beth Opdycke said. “We can really dive in and teach the skills instead of just talking about them.”

‘Too simple to say life skills’

Opdycke noted that her ISD’s Adult Transition Program had been a “nomad program for a while,” moving between sites that lacked essential spaces. The new house includes a full kitchen, dining room and laundry room for hands-on skill-building.

The home is funded largely through the school district’s longstanding, voter-approved, 4.5-mill property tax for special education services, the fifth-highest special education tax rate among the state’s ISDs and nearly twice as high as the state average. The tax costs owners of a $300,000 home $675 per year.

Calhoun ISD Superintendent Jerry Johnson said the adult transition programs wouldn’t be possible without that community support.

“The project was made possible by stable local funding through property taxes along with additional state funding that resulted from a change in the special education funding formula,” Johnson explained. “This led to an increase in state special education funding over the last few years. There were no federal funds or other grants in the construction of the Lunger ATP House.”

The curriculum is built around real-world application, with students spending time at local job sites such as Moonraker Restaurant, Continental Bakery, Meijer, Pizza Hut and Walgreens, where they learn the soft skills of punctuality, teamwork and professional demeanor.

“It just seems too simple to say ‘life skills,’” Johnson said. “Washing dishes if I’m in a wheelchair is a very different experience than washing dishes if I can stand.”

The program relies on a robust network of community partners, including The Arc of Calhoun County, Michigan Rehabilitation Services and Summit Pointe. 

Its location on the city bus line allows students to practice navigating public transportation — a critical component of independence.

Students who aren’t yet ready for work sites continue developing life skills at the ISD’s Doris Klaussen Developmental Center.

For 21-year-old Sapphire Miller, who is currently working at Pet Supplies Plus, the hands-on approach at Lunger House ATP is paying off. 

She said the new facility is “definitely” an upgrade over last year. 

“I was shocked and surprised at how amazing it looked,” she said. “Sometimes we clean the dishes, sometimes we’re cooking … (ATP) is a program that helps people get jobs.”

For young adults leaving school-based services, success is measured at the individual level. Program leaders in Calhoun County described independence as the guiding goal, however each student defines it.

‘Creating all these other problems’

Even with the support of transition programs, adulthood can be hard for Michiganders with disabilities.

Debbie Jackson, whose 27-year-old son, Sam, is an alumnus of the Calhoun ISD transition program, described the state’s “unit system,” which allots a limited number of 15-minute “units” each week for paid services. Because transportation draws from the pool of units, Jackson and her husband often drive Sam themselves to his programs and activities.

Using those units for transportation, she explained, would drastically reduce the time Sam has left for the therapeutic or social activities he enjoys. 

The system, she added, can even penalize small steps toward employment. 

Jackson recounted how Sam’s part-time summer job, which earned him a modest $80 for the season, triggered a bureaucratic review that temporarily cost him his food assistance. 

“You think you’re doing the right thing to help your person, and then it ends up creating all these other problems,” she said.

Jackson said her family’s ability to keep Sam engaged depends on both flexibility and advocacy, especially given his communication challenges that make competitive employment difficult. 

Many advocates have pushed Congress and the Michigan Legislature to end the exemption that allows employers to pay workers with disabilities subminimum wage, but haven’t succeeded.

Programs such as Battle Creek’s Community Inclusive Recreation help Sam stay active, connected with friends and involved in the community. 

“I don’t know how some of these other kids (manage),” Jackson said. “I’m sure they’re being neglected and falling through the cracks, because we are able to do all of this for him. We are fortunate.”

Clare Tanner, executive director of The Arc of Calhoun County, which helps families with pre-employment training and self-advocacy, said the school-to-adult system is exactly where it breaks down.

“We do need the schools to be adequately funded because we can help the parents advocate all they want, but if there’s nothing to advocate for…” Tanner said, trailing off.

Tanner noted that the toughest cases happen when young adults age out and lose their services. That transition highlights a system failure where “there are certain key resources families have difficulty accessing, especially families on Medicaid.”

Tanner explained that, because the loss of school support is not a surprise — it is a widely known systemic failure — The Arc works with Michigan Rehabilitation Services to provide classes and offers adult services and employment services “across the lifespan,” helping fill the gaps for those who can no longer access the school system’s supports.

Jackson said the state needs to do more to support Michiganders after school support ends.

“It doesn’t end at 26,” she said. “I just think you almost feel forgotten.”

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