Love and Money Week Professional Workshop

Overview

Families with disabilities navigate emotional, relational, and financial challenges that intersect in ways most professionals aren't fully prepared to address.

This workshop brings together experts in mental health, financial planning, and disability support services to build a shared foundation — covering research, theory, and practical resources grounded in real family experience. The workshop closes with a moderated panel of individuals and families with disabilities sharing their stories and what they wish the professionals in their lives truly understood. 

Space is limited — registration is required to reserve your spot. Students are welcome and encouraged to attend. 

2.75 Core CE credits for GSCSW

CE credits being pursued: GAMFT | FTA | CFP Board 

Program Description

Families with disabilities face a complex intersection of emotional, relational, and financial demands that most helping professionals encounter without adequate preparation. This workshop builds a shared foundation for mental health and financial practitioners — equipping both groups to better understand and serve this population, regardless of discipline.

Drawing on a lifespan perspective and two complementary theoretical frameworks — Bronfenbrenner's Social-Ecological Model and the Family Adjustment and Adaptation Response (FAAR) Model — participants will explore how context, demands, and resources shape a family's ability to navigate stress and life transitions. When demands outpace resources, families struggle. Understanding both sides of that equation is foundational to effective helping across professional roles.

From this shared foundation, the workshop examines what mental health and financial professionals each need to know: specific government programs and community resources, the practical and emotional dimensions of guardianship, special needs trusts, benefits navigation, and the concept of family capacity — including why a family's capacity to pursue available resources is as critical as the resources themselves.

The workshop concludes with a moderated panel of individuals with disabilities and family members sharing their lived experiences, grounding professional knowledge in the realities that matter most to the people these practitioners serve.

Speakers

Christine Hargrove, PhD, LMFT, CFT™ is Clinical Assistant Professor and Assistant Director of the Love and Money Center at the University of Georgia. Her research, clinical work, and private practice focus on the emotional and relational dimensions of money, with a specialization in neurodivergent individuals, couples, and families. She serves as President-Elect of the Financial Therapy Association and has been featured in outlets including CNN, USA Today, MarketWatch, and NerdWallet.

Carol Britton Laws, PhD, MSW is a Clinical Professor at the University of Georgia whose work bridges disability research, workforce development, and systems change. In 2025 she was appointed to chair the Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities subcommittee of the Georgia Behavioral Health Reform and Innovation Commission, a state commission tasked with collecting expert testimony and making recommendations to improve services for people with I/DD across Georgia.

Jason Norton is a fiduciary financial planner and founder of Ability Wealth Group in Athens, Georgia, specializing in financial planning for individuals and families affected by disability and special needs. As the father of a child with a rare disease, his work is grounded in both professional expertise and lived experience.

Co-presented by the Love & Money Center and the Ralston Institute on Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities at the University of Georgia —partnering to support the wellbeing of people with disabilities and their families. 

Thank you to our event sponsor Ability Wealth Group, an independent advisory firm dedicated to supporting families with special needs.