What are Financial Management Services (FMS)?

A Financial Management Service (FMS) is the only required service for the Self-Determination Program. An FMS helps participants and their families manage their budget, pay bills to vendors, and process payroll for support workers who are hired.

What are the models of FMS?

There are three program models to choose from:

• Sole employer: You will be the legal employer of any workers you hire. The FMS will be your payroll agent and will pay employees directly as well as handle all payroll taxes. This model gives you the most control.

• Co-employer: You and the FMS jointly employ any support workers that you hire. You and the FMS will share some of the employer's responsibilities. You will still be responsible for choosing, hiring, scheduling, and training your workers. Since employees are jointly employed with the FMS, some FMS policies may apply to your employees.

• Bill payer: This model is chosen when your FMS is only responsible for paying bills for goods or services to businesses. The FMS pays vendors for the items approved in your spending plan. This model is not used when you are directly hiring support workers.

How should you choose an FMS?

More and more FMS companies are becoming available and improving their platforms as they see what's working and what's not working. Interview them and ask about their process. For example, do they already have vendors that work in your Regional Center’s catchment area? Will they require you to change your spending plan every time you want to add a new vendor?

There's no perfect FMS. One might do one thing well, but then another FMS does something else better. Some are more flexible or lenient than others. What you choose is a personal preference in the end.

You can learn more in our article Frequently Asked Questions about the Self-Determination Program.