Saint Sophia's Mission rolls out free 26 Plus planning tools for disability families

Saint Sophia's Mission is promoting its free 26 Plus program during National Disability Employment Awareness Month to help families of adults with disabilities plan for health coverage, benefits and work as young adults approach age 26. The program includes guides, a state-by-state dashboard and legal and job resources for families nationwide.

Why it matters: - Families often face a coverage and benefits cliff when a young adult with a disability turns 26. - 26 Plus is designed to give parents a free planning path for health insurance, public benefits and employment support before that deadline. - The program is aimed at families nationwide, including those navigating state-specific rules after a dependent ages off a parent’s health plan.

What happened: - Saint Sophia's Mission, a New Rochelle, New York-based Orthodox Christian nonprofit, is highlighting its free 26 Plus planning program during National Disability Employment Awareness Month. - The program is meant for parents of an adult child with a disability and is available at 26 Plus. - NDEAM is observed each October and is led by the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy. - The 2026 NDEAM theme is "Celebrating Value and Talent."

The details: - 26 Plus centers on the age 26 health coverage cutoff, when most young adults age off a parent’s health plan. - Federal law allows children to remain on a parent’s plan until age 26. - Coverage after 26 for an adult child who cannot support themselves because of a disability depends on state law or the plan’s own rules. - Families usually must send proof within a deadline, and many states, including New Jersey and New York, require that proof within 31 days after the plan’s age limit. - The program is built as a step-by-step planning tool from age 14 to 26 and beyond. - 26 Plus includes a dashboard that lets families choose their state and the child’s birth month and year to see a countdown, a checklist and state-specific help. - The program includes 10 plain-language guides covering health coverage after 26, SSI at 18, Disabled Adult Child benefits, Medicaid, ABLE accounts, guardianship and alternatives, special needs trusts and working without losing benefits. - State resources cover Medicaid, SSI, SNAP, disability services, job help, parent centers, ABLE programs and free disability rights groups in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories. - The resource list also includes a lawyer directory that starts with free legal help and then lists special needs law firms by state. - The program includes copy-and-paste Grok prompts that families can use in their own free Grok app. - Anyone can read the 26 Plus page and the start of each guide without signing up. - A free account unlocks the dashboard, prompts, state resources, lawyer list and full guides. - Saint Sophia's Mission says families use their own Grok app and that nothing they type or upload in Grok comes to the mission website. - 26 Plus is general information, not legal or medical advice.

Between the lines: - The launch ties disability planning to employment, not just benefits paperwork. - Father Zachary Martin, CEO of Saint Sophia's Mission, said parents wanted plain answers, deadlines and a place to start, and that the organization built 26 Plus to provide that free of charge. - The emphasis on state-by-state differences shows how uneven post-26 coverage rules can be for families. - Saint Sophia's Mission is also using the moment to point families to its broader job resources, signaling a wider support strategy beyond benefits navigation.

What's next: - Families can start with the public 26 Plus page, then create a free account for full access. - Saint Sophia's Mission is directing job seekers to its free national job board at Find a job and its free AI Job Coach at Free AI Job Coach, Powered by Grok. - The mission says its job board has more than 1,500 listings, including roles for people with disabilities, autism-friendly jobs and remote jobs, with new listings added daily. - The organization also offers copy-and-paste prompts for resume and interview help through the free Grok app. - Saint Sophia's Mission says its recent job board announcement was featured on AP News and PIX11.

The bottom line: - Saint Sophia's Mission is packaging benefits guidance, legal resources and job tools into one free platform for families preparing for the transition at age 26.