Episode 2: The Importance of Service Coordinators – with Kathy Vitello

Jordan: Welcome to the Plan for Special Needs Trust podcast presented by PLAN, the Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Our Plan is your Plan. Hello, I'm Jordan Rich, and today we're talking with Kathy Vitello. Kathy is a licensed social worker with more than 35 years of experience helping seniors, people who are physically challenged and chronically ill. Her insight and experience is drawn from work in hospitals and in skilled nursing, rehabilitation and psychiatric facilities and in home care and hospice settings. I'm talking today with Kathy about her role heading up the team of service coordinators at PLAN. Kathy, it's delightful to speak with you, and I know you have a lot of things on your plate, so thanks for taking the time. 

Kathy: My pleasure. Thank you. 

Jordan: All right, let's define your role. First of all, a service coordinator, you're the manager of that area. What is a Service Coordinator designed to do with PLAN? 

Kathy: So a Service Coordinator at PLAN is a licensed social worker and is the primary point of contact for beneficiaries and their significant support people to help guide them through the life of the trust. 

Jordan: There's a lot of stuff that has to be attended to. Right? 

Kathy: There's a tremendous amount of stuff that has to be attended to because one of the primary focuses is never to impact somebody's public benefits. 

Jordan: Kathy, why don't we just introduce the concept of the service coordinators and the team? Basically, who is it comprised of and how many members are you? 

Kathy: Yeah. So there are eight social workers that cover the state of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They're all really seasoned social workers so to speak. There's many years of experience working with people with disabilities and their understanding of benefits, what people are entitled to and helping to guide them in utilizing their funds to really enhance their quality of life and not interrupt their benefits. Being able to identify things the service coordinators really want to know their beneficiaries, and that's why they meet with them. And it's not just a one time meeting, a bare minimum of twice a year. Often it's much more than that and just learning what they're interested in and what some of their wishes are. We have people that are taking guitar lessons. We have people that do massage therapy, Reiki, those alternative things that are uncovered by benefits. And the service coordinators help identify those things and help coordinate access to those services. 

Jordan: So really, Kathy, the service coordinators, as you say, are doing it all. They're answering questions of all kinds, and we're running it into some of the nitty gritty here as to what people can expect. But it's a full range of services provided. 

Kathy: It is. 

Jordan: Let's talk about some of those. Protecting funds is one of them, a very important part of this equation. 

Kathy: It is. So this trust came into being in 1993 out of what is known as the OBRA, the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act. They were designed for people with disabilities who wanted to maintain public benefits. And as anybody that lives in this world will know that you have to meet the poverty guidelines to be on public benefits. And public benefits don't cover everything. There's a lot that they don't cover. They allowed for these trusts to initially supplement people's needs. And at the end of the day, we really hope that we're improving or enhancing somebody's quality of life. 

Jordan: Quality of life. It's an easy term to throw around for people who are just going about their daily work. But for families dealing with children or even for adults with disabilities, this is a big deal. I mean, quality of life affects everything, doesn't it? 

Kathy: Yes, it does. And for parents, when they're making these plans, it's always in this conversation from the beginning, way back in the 60s was, who's going to care for my child when I'm gone? Who's going to advocate for their needs when I'm gone? We actually had one mother who was like, who's going to make sure that his toenails get cut when I'm not here? 

Jordan: I know it's very touching. You're working with people who are dealing with these issues every minute of every day. And empathy has to be an important factor. And I know the team you've assembled, we just talked about them. Are people who care because you can't do the kind of work you do without feeling that empathy? 

Kathy: Yes. And compassion. Compassion is really important because people struggle. 

Jordan: So you are equipped, you and your group are equipped to make practical suggestions to help people with any questions. What are again, some of the questions that come up besides daily living in terms of the funding and so forth.

Kathy: Mostly about benefits and what people are entitled to. So when somebody is enrolled in the trust, they set up a visit with their service coordinator, beneficiary and significant support person. They want to get to know the beneficiaries so you talk to the beneficiary, learn about the beneficiaries history. What the beneficiaries’ wants are, what beneficiaries’ needs are, potentially future needs. What's on the wishlist and looking at a living situation, are they in a safe environment? Are there needs being met? Are there other services they're entitled to? 

Jordan: Are you ever surprised you've been there eight years? Have you been surprised every once in a while at something you never thought you'd hear? 

Kathy: No, I don't think so. 

Jordan: That's because you're a pro and you've heard it all. 

Kathy: I've been a social worker for a long time. 

Jordan: Let's talk about some stories, and we will change the names of the individuals for obvious reasons. But people react and listen to stories and learn and get inspired by them. And I think it's great if you share a few. One involves a gentleman and painting, which became something important in his life. Tell us about that man. 

Kathy: So this particular gentleman actually lived in a nursing home. He was a quadriplegic, and taught himself how to draw and paint, and it was really a coping mechanism for him. It was something that helped him get through the day. Some of his artwork still hangs in our office. He was very proud of it. Some of it he sold and gave funds to charity. We were able to use his trust to make sure that he had plenty of art supplies and then the transportation to go to galleries and stuff. We even bought him a suit. He was all dressed up for his appearance at the gallery. 

Jordan: Oh, that is a wonderful story. It made his life complete. And he was able to do that because of the funds in the trust and because of the guidance that you and your team were providing. 

Kathy: Yes 

Jordan: Kathy, that was a wonderful story. Can you share with us another one? 

Kathy: Sure. We have another little gentleman who has an intellectual disability, and he received funds for his trust. And one of the big goals for him was to travel. He was really afraid of traveling. He would sign up for things and then back out. So what we did was we worked with another travel agency for people with disabilities. And we got him to start with just day trips. And then it progressed to weekend trips and eventually big trips. There's a picture around here somewhere of him on a cruise ship all dressed up in his tux. 

Jordan: It's important to stress that these are real people we're talking about who have been so helped by the people at PLAN and so helped by good planning on your part. Speaking of travel, a story about a lady in Alaska. I've been to Alaska. I know how great that is. But how great was it for that lady? 

Kathy: So she hasn't seen family in over eight years and hasn't met some family members. So being able to use her funds to hire a caregiver along with her family member to fly her over to Alaska and have this big family reunion, it's a big deal. 

Jordan: That is a big deal. How about one more story? There's one more in my list here. And then I've got a few other questions about the procedure, how you work. 

Kathy: Yes. So we had another beneficiary who when we met him, we were told by the family, or you're never going to get in. He's a recluse and doesn’t let people into his home, and he's very rigid in what he does and where he goes. He rides his bicycle to the store. And through the efforts with the service coordinator, we were able to get a companion that was taking him out in a community, broadening his horizons and cleaning out his apartment because he was hoarding and it was dirty and his housing was in jeopardy. So we have to clean it all out, really get him out, where he was enjoying things that supported that day to day functioning with a companion. 

Jordan: Those are just a few of the success stories. I know there are dozens and dozens more. We could spend hours just relaying those. That's wonderful. Another important aspect, and you kind of touched on it a bit, is the work, not just with the beneficiaries themselves, but with their families and their support networks. Just give us a sense as to how that works for the families.

Kathy: And it actually works well, because when you put money into the middle of any relationship, it can create conflict. You don't have to have a disability for that to happen. So when you remove that responsibility away from the support person, it helps enhance the relationship in good terms with each other, but the family helps with or the support person helps with guiding the individual. Sometimes people who have lived in extreme poverty for many years could get a small amount of money in the trust, but they think they've hit the Megabucks and they just want to plow through the money. Sometimes you have to say no or set some limits on things. Having that family be supportive of not being able to plow through the money but still have the beneficiary feel like there's somebody advocating on their behalf to use the funds. 

Jordan: Let's put a nice bow on this for people who are listening, who have not yet experienced PLAN and the strategic work that you do. What advice do you have for people who are concerned? I mean, obviously you deal with these folks all the time, but for new listeners and potential clients, what would you like to address? 

Kathy: I think planning is really important, and I think that we're such a unique service. Specifically because of the service coordinators who are social workers. I think combined, there's well over 100 years worth of experience in this office. Between all of us and the service coordinators is probably closer to 150. They really provide a lot of efficacy and guidance, which I think gives families peace of mind. 

Jordan: Kathy Vitello, on behalf of everyone on the staff, you did a great job representing the service coordinators. Thank you so much. And keep up the fine work and our best to everyone. 

Kathy: Thank you. And thank you for the opportunity to talk about the trust. 

Jordan: We want to thank you for listening to the PLAN for Special Needs Trusts podcast presented by PLAN, the Planned Lifetime Assistance Network of Massachusetts and Rhode Island. PLAN is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit company where the goal for every one of its clients is always to preserve assets, protect benefits, and live well. For more, visit www. PlanofMa-ri.org. We invite you to subscribe, download, rate and review this podcast and thank you for sharing it with others. Our plan is your plan.