Who Can Help You Go Back to Work?
Last month in this space, we looked at programs the Social Security Administration (SSA) offers to make it easier for people who receive benefits to return to the labor force without imperiling their benefits. If you missed that article, you can find it here.
This month, we’ll take a look at some of the organizations SSA partners with to help people with disabilities reach their career goals. Some of these organizations include Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA), Vocational Rehabilitation (VR), Employment Networks (ENs), and Protection and Advocacy Programs.
Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA)
The goal of the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Program is to better enable SSA beneficiaries with disabilities to make informed choices about work. The WIPA program replaced the Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach program effective October 1, 2006. Each WIPA Project hasCommunity Work Incentives Coordinators who will:
• Provide work incentives planning and assistance directly to SSA beneficiaries with disabilities to assist them in their employment efforts;
• Conduct outreach efforts in collaboration with SSA’s Program Manager for Recruitment and Outreach contractor to beneficiaries with disabilities (and their families), who are potentially eligible to participate in federal or state work incentives programs;
• Work in cooperation with federal, state, and private agencies and nonprofit organizations that serve beneficiaries with disabilities;
• Screen and refer beneficiaries with disabilities to appropriate Employment Networks based on the beneficiary’s expressed needs and types of impairments;
• Provide general information on the adequacy of health benefits coverage that may be offered by an employer of a beneficiary with a disability and the extent to which other health benefits coverage may be available to that beneficiary in coordination with Medicare and/or Medicaid; and
• Provide information on the availability of protection and advocacy services for beneficiaries with disabilities and how to access such services.
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR)
State vocational rehabilitation agencies furnish a wide variety of services to help people with disabilities return to work. These services are designed to provide the client with the training or other services that are needed to return to work, to enter a new line of work or to enter the workforce for the first time.
Employment Networks (ENs)
The Employment Network works for Social Security in the Ticket to Work program. If you are eligible for a Ticket to Work, you can contact an Employment Network for help in going to work. You can contact any Employment Network in your area to see if it is the right one for you. Both you and the Employment Network have to agree to work together to attain your employment goals. You are free to talk with as many Employment Networks as you choose, and you are not obligated to give an EN your Ticket simply because you have spoken with them. You can stop working with one Employment Network and begin working with another, or with the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency. If you need help in choosing an Employment Network you may contact the Ticket to Work Operations Support Manager, MAXIMUS.
Protection and Advocacy Programs (P&A’s)
-
• Assist beneficiaries with disabilities in obtaining information and advice about receiving vocational rehabilitation and employment services.
• Provide advocacy or other related services that beneficiaries with disabilities may need to secure or regain gainful employment.
To find your local organizations in your state visit www.ssa.gov or call 1-800-772-1213 to inquire about these organizations that can help you get back to work and help you achieve your career goals!
It would greatly benefit us to hear back from those of you who have been successful in establishing yourselves back in the work force. For those of you who are trying to find employment, please let us know what some of your issues are and we will be happy to assist you in any way that we can. You can contact Lindsey Whitcomb by e-mailing lwhitcomb@unitedspinal.org or calling 800-404-2898, ext. 269.
