Continueing Education Units for Social Security Disability Work Incentives Courses or Webnairs

Courses

Work Incentives Planning and Utilization For Benefit Practitioners Certificate Series

WEBINAR SERIES BUNDLE

Work incentives pave the way to work and financial independence for recipients of public benefits. All public benefits programs and pensions provide incentives for recipients with disabilities to return to work. During the first set of 7 webinars (Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income and Work), participants will explore the principal benefits provided by the Social Security Administration as well as the work incentives pertaining to each benefit. While SSA provides some of the most significant cash and health care benefits, reality indicates that recipients with disabilities may receive benefits from a myriad of public sources. The second set of 6 webinars (The Effect of Work on Other Federal Programs and Their Relationship the Disability Programs) participants will review the various federal programs providing benefits to individuals with disabilities, including TANF, Workers Compensation, and Veterans Benefits, as well as how each relate to one another and are impacted by earned income. Finally, the third set of 4 webinars (The Ins and Outs of Becoming a Benefits Practitioner) will introduce the practice to participants by providing suggestions as to how this complex variety of work incentives, critically needed benefits and earnings can be described and explained to an individual with a disability to both encourage work and financial independence.

This intensive certification program for Benefits Practitioners requires participation in 17 webinars, completion of a provisional certification on line examination as well as a file review that, upon successful completion, will result in full certification. The webinars are presented twice weekly over a period of eight and a half weeks. The on line examination will be administered two weeks after the conclusion of the webinar series and participants will be allowed a full work week (24/7) to complete the examination. Finally, within 3 months of successfully completing the examination a file review will be completed by Cornell faculty to ensure that the provisionally certified Benefits Practitioner is actually able to effectively use the information obtained through the webinar courses and written materials.

Full certification can be maintained by securing 60 hours of continuing education units (CEU) over the 5 year period immediately following the attainment of full certification. An on line "portal" will be made available for logging CEU activity.

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Work incentives pave the way to work and financial independence for recipients of public benefits. All public benefits programs and pensions provide incentives for recipients with disabilities to return to work. During the first set of 7 webinars (Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income and Work), participants will explore the principal benefits provided by the Social Security Administration as well as the work incentives pertaining to each benefit.

While SSA provides some of the most significant cash and health care benefits, people with disabilities may receive benefits from a myriad of public sources. In the second set of 6 webinars (The Effect of Work on Other Federal Programs and Their Relationship the Disability Programs) participants will review the various federal programs providing benefits to individuals with disabilities, including TANF, Workers Compensation, and Veterans Benefits, as well as how each relate to one another and are impacted by earned income.

Finally, the third set of 4 webinars (The Ins and Outs of Becoming a Benefits Practitioner) will introduce the practice to participants by providing suggestions as to how this complex variety of work incentives, critically needed benefits, and earnings can be explained to an individual with a disability to encourage both work and financial independence.

This intensive training program for Benefits Practitioners requires participation in 17 webinars. At the completion of the 17 webinars, participants will receive a Certificate of Attendance. Credentialing can be received if the participant chooses the Work Incentives Planning and Utilization for Benefit Practitioners Certificate Series (with Credentialing as a Benefits and Work Incentives Practitioner) course.

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Participants interested in completing a course in SSA Work Incentive Knowledge and Utilization must complete all seven webinar classes in this concentration area. Individuals considering the delivery of benefits and work incentive planning and assistance should consider also completing the Work Incentive Planning course and the Federal Benefit Programs course. Individuals completing all three courses and passing an online examination will be eligible for the Cornell University Certificate in Work Incentives Planning and Utilization for Benefit Practitioners.

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Participants interested in completing a course in SSA Work Incentive Knowledge and Utilization must complete all seven webinar classes in this concentration area. Individuals considering the delivery of benefits and work incentive planning and assistance should consider also completing the Work Incentive Planning course and the Federal Benefit Programs course. Individuals completing all three courses and passing an online examination will be eligible for the Cornell University Certificate in Work Incentives Planning and Utilization for Benefit Practitioners.

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Participants interested in completing a course in SSA Work Incentive Knowledge and Utilization must complete all seven webinar classes in this concentration area. Individuals considering the delivery of benefits and work incentive planning and assistance should consider also completing the Work Incentive Planning course and the Federal Benefit Programs course. Individuals completing all three courses and passing an online examination will be eligible for the Cornell University Certificate in Work Incentives Planning and Utilization for Benefit Practitioners.

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Learn to counsel youth with disabilities to use work incentives as a tool for establishing careers, as you earn Cornell's Youth-C credential!

You'll learn about:

• Work incentives that can specifically benefit youths
• Calculating and tracking the use of these work incentives, and planning for periods of time when each may not apply
• Using and understanding the BPQY to ensure a youth receives applicable work incentives
• Counseling youths and parents about the benefits of work—and the benefits of work incentives
• Financial tools to assist the youth and family as the youth begins work
• Assisting with developing good money habits immediately when a job begins

Prerequisite: Either an up-to-date WIP-C™ credential from Cornell University or CWIC certification from Virginia Commonwealth University.

The class will be limited to 40 participants.

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Learn to counsel Veterans with disabilities about returning to work, as you earn Cornell's Vet-C credential.

You'll learn about

• Disability benefits offered by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
• How VA benefits and SSA benefits impact each other
• What happens to VA benefits when Veterans return to work
• Tools to verify VA benefits
• Counseling Veterans about the benefits of work and how to leverage VA benefits to support work
• Outreach to organizations serving Veterans

Prerequisite: Either an up-to-date WIP-C credential from Cornell University or CWIC certification from Virginia Commonwealth University. The class will be limited to 35 participants.

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INDIVIDUAL WEBINARS

What makes an excellent Benefits Practitioner? A Benefits Practitioner must abide by a strict code of professional conduct. Critical to the delivery of effective benefits and work incentives planning and assistance are the communication skills of the Benefits Practitioner. Good communication skills provide the cornerstone for superior and ethical work incentives counseling, and this program teaches participants how to engage in active listening and "values-free" communication.

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The Social Security Administration (SSA) administers two disability benefit programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The disability determination process is the same for both programs and will be reviewed in this course. All workers who have a FICA deduction from their paychecks are purchasing a disability insurance plan and retirement pension. The SSI program provides means-tested benefits and health care to low-income individuals with disabilities. This program has strict rules and processes for both the standard of disability and the determination process. Learn how disability decisions are made, who makes them, and what an applicant can do after receiving an unfavorable decision.

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Congress has made provisions for the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide work incentives for beneficiaries of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In addition to the disability programs and work incentive provisions that the SSA oversees, they also administer a vocational rehabili­tation (VR) program for providers of VR services that serve SSDI and SSI beneficiaries. The addition of the Ticket to Work Program creates a myriad of rehabilitation, placement and job support programs available to recipients with disabilities who seek to return to the work force.

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The SSA has implemented many work incentive programs that will assist SSDI beneficiaries of cash and health benefits in making a successful transition to work. These work incentive programs can be of significant benefit to any beneficiary who wishes to attempt a return to the work force. Learn how each program works and interacts with each other, how to trouble shoot during the return to work process and help debunk the "urban legends" surrounding a beneficiary's return to work.

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SSA implements several protections to support the return to work of SSDI beneficiaries beyond IRWE, Subsidies and Special Conditions. Individuals who receive SSDI and meet certain criteria are provided protections from Continuing Disability Reviews as well as Expedited Reinstatement of Benefits should attempts at work prove unsuccessful. These additional considerations are meant to remove common obstacles to returning to work and debunk ongoing "urban legends" surrounding detachment from entitlements. For those entitled to SSDI, Medicare is provided as a health insurance program following a 24-month waiting period following entitlement. SSA provides for extended Medicare coverage when a beneficiary attempts work for significant periods of time.

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Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federally-administered means-tested program available to individuals who are aged, blind or disabled who meet specific eligibility criteria. Having replaced individual state programs in 1974, SSI is intended to provide a basic level of income and health care to assist a recipient in meeting the basic needs for food and shelter. The SSI program, administered by the Social Security Administration, contains a vast system of rules and regulations concerning categorical, financial and disability eligibility. This session will provide an organized, thematic view of this complex and important social program.

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Recipients of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) with disabilities have many valuable work incentive programs that can assist in making the transition from recipient to worker. The vast array of work incentive programs will allow any SSI recipient to return to work while gradually reducing cash benefits and moving toward greater economic self-sufficiency. This session will provide an overview of these programs that are critical to anyone wishing to move toward greater financial independence.

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Overpayments continue to pose a substantial obstacle to beneficiaries who are attempting to return to the work force. Overpayments occur in both the Social Security Disability Insurance and the Supplemental Security Income programs. How overpayments occur and what a beneficiary can do about them are the questions that will be answered during this presentation. Along with examining the overpayment process, participants will also learn specific strategies to assist overpaid beneficiaries and support them in resolving this issue.

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Many individuals who receive other means-tested federal and state entitlements may also receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and/or SNAP. Created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (P.L. 104-193), TANF replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC). The objective of the program is to promote work, responsibility and self-sufficiency. The SNAP Program helps low-income people meet their nutritional needs. Both programs are means-tested; meaning that an individual's eligibility and amount of benefit is determined by income. Thus, any earnings a person may have could negatively impact the amount of benefit the person receives, creating a disincentive to work proper planning is not completed.

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The lack of suitable, affordable housing is often a major barrier to successful employment of persons with disabilities. Still, various public and subsidized housing programs can sometimes help to overcome this barrier. This webinar class will provide a brief summary of the major federally-sponsored programs that should be available in all states, with an emphasis on those policies most applicable to persons with disabilities.

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The national Unemployment Insurance Program established under the Social Security Act of 1935 provides for temporary and partial replacement of income to individuals who have lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The Workers Compensation program provides a safety net including partial income replacement, health care and rehabilitation services to workers injured during the course of employment. While individuals receiving SSDI will not experience an impact on their cash benefit eligibility as a result of receiving unemployment insurance benefits, individuals receiving SSI, will as it is a means-tested program.

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The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a federal income tax credit for individuals who work and have earned income under certain levels. One goal of the EITC is to reduce or offset the amount of payroll taxes while at the same time encouraging individuals who might otherwise receive other public benefits to seek employment. Veterans Benefits are available to veterans of the United States Armed Services and, at times, their dependents for both service and non-service connected disabilities. Both cash and health care coverage may be available to the veteran and, at times, eligible dependents. But how will these benefits impact the receipt or eligibility for SSDI and SSI?

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SSA implements several protections or safety nets to further support the return to work of SSI beneficiaries beyond IRWE, PASS and BWE. Individuals whose earnings exceed the break even point for receiving cash benefits retain their eligibility for SSI and Medicaid under the 1619(b) as long as their earnings do not exceed certain state thresholds and they meet specific eligibility criteria. This program provides for continuation of critical health care benefits. Further, individuals who receive SSI and meet certain criteria are provided special protections from Continuing Disability Reviews as well as Expedited Reinstatement of Benefits should their attempts at work not be successful.

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Practitioners who will be supporting SSDI and SSI beneficiaries' return to work efforts must not only understand the importance of providing benefits and work incentives planning but also ensure that their clients have access to good information prior to making important decisions regarding work. This webinar class teaches practitioners how to collect and analyze critical benefits information while at the same time developing a portfolio of options they can use to advise the individual and to support them in making informed choices regarding work.

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Many Benefits Practitioners think their job is done once they have developed some sort of report that presents options for a beneficiary when making decisions regarding work. Research shows that this is not enough! Practitioners need to consider the levels and types of support a beneficiary may need to make certain decisions. While a beneficiary may be able to select that they want to work at a certain level and utilize certain work incentives, they may not know where to go to access the supports necessary to aid them in finding a job or how to work with SSA to use certain work incentives.

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Avoiding the pitfalls often associated with post-entitlement issues for SSDI and SSI beneficiaries requires proactive planning, monitoring and assistance. Anticipating potential problems that may arise and having interventions ready to support the individual is critical. While individual paths to employment vary based on the person's desires, abilities and interests, how their benefits are impacted do not—they are static; governed by policy and procedure that can be planned for. This webinar class explores the importance of proactive planning and monitoring, long-term supports, strategies for effective crisis management and ethical considerations for practice.

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Beneficiaries must be expected to be involved with several systems and agencies. The practitioner must be fully aware of any other service plan that has work as a goal, be cognizant of any work incentives or income and resource rules of ALL of these programs in order to effectively guide your beneficiary to work. As a result, Benefits Practitioners who support a caseload of individual managing their benefits and utilizing work incentives will need to effectively organize and manage their time as well as determine just how large a caseload should be.

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A representative payee (or rep. payee) manages benefits from Social Security for a beneficiary who is not capable of managing the funds independently. The proper role of rep. payees is often not clearly understood…even by rep. payees themselves. Many

beneficiaries need rep. payees, but many advocates believe that rep. payees are overused, and that many individuals who have rep. payees don't need them - they could manage their own funds adequately. In the course of your work, you are likely to encounter individuals who have rep. payees, but would like to (and are capable of) managing their own benefits. You'll also meet people who need payees, but whose payees are not doing a good job serving them. You may be uncertain about how to interact with rep. payees; which issues should you address with them and which issues should you not? What is a Work Incentive Practitioner to do?

This webinar plunges into the most common and important questions about rep. payees, including:

· When does (and doesn't) a beneficiary need a rep. payee?

· How does SSA determine whether a person needs a rep. payee?

· Who are preferred candidates to be rep. payees?

· How does a person apply to be a rep. payee?

· How does SSA evaluate an applicant to be a rep. payee?

· How is a rep. payee appointed or changed?

· What are the duties of a rep. payee?

· What kind of bank account should a rep. payee use to receive a person's benefits?

· How is a rep. payee's performance monitored?

· How can a person with a rep. payee request to receive their own benefits directly?

· When can a rep. payee charge a fee?

· How should a rep. payee use (and not use) a person's benefits?

· What should a rep. payee do with benefits not needed for a person's current expenses?

· What can be done if a rep. payee is inadequate?

· Which issues should (or shouldn't) a Work Incentive Practitioner address with a rep. payee?

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SSA's rules regarding the impact of earnings on Title II Disability and SSI benefits are substantially different for self-employment income than for wages. This topic has grown increasingly important in recent years as more workers have been classified as self-employed, including private contractors (who work for an employer but are technically self-employed) and gig workers. Self-employment has also become a more popular work option for many people with disabilities for whom regular wage employment is impractical or undesirable. Now more than ever, Work Incentive Practitioners need to know the self-employment rules.

Self-employment generally involves some advantages where benefits are concerned. However, it also entails more responsibility. Self-employed beneficiaries need to keep better records than wage employees, tracking earnings, business expenses and other details. Work Incentive Practitioners not only need to understand the rules, but also know how to advise self-employed workers about tracking information, reporting earnings and filing tax forms.

This webinar covers all the self-employment basics:

· What constitutes self-employment?

· Tracking business expenses

· Calculating "net earnings from self-employment (NESE)"

· How NESE are counted during the Trial Work Period, SGA determinations and for SSI purposes

· Reporting self-employment earnings to SSA

· Differences in SGA determinations and work incentives for self-employment

· Importance of business structure (sole proprietorship, partnership, limited liability company (LLC) or corporation)

· Differences regarding SSI work incentives for self-employment (IRWE, BWE, PASS, Property Essential to Self-Support (PESS))

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Have you wondered why many of SSA's rules refer to "disability or blindness"? While blindness is certainly a disability, SSA rules treat it differently from any other disability. This is true because blind advocates were able to carve out special advantages for blind beneficiaries early in the history of the Title II Disability and SSI programs. The matter is complicated by the fact that some people can qualify for Title II or SSI based on vision impairments that don't meet SSA's definition of "statutory blindness", but they can only use the more generous rules if they do meet this definition.

The training covers the key issues and differences for statutorily blind workers, including:

· Definition of statutory blindness

· How to establish blindness on SSA's record

· Differences for blind SSI beneficiaries (assessing blindness, work incentives)

· Differences for blind Title II Disability beneficiaries (disability duration, insured status, SGA earnings guideline, SGA determinations, disability freeze, waiting period, SGA rules for blind workers aged 55 and older)

· Randolph-Sheppard Act (provides self-employment for blind workers in food service)

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WEBINAR SERIES BUNDLE

A 15-week online course requiring an investment in an "inside-out" approach to working with people with disabilities. Participants actively commit to sit throughout 15 weeks of discovery and exploration of what it means to be person-centered and inclusive.

A ONE-OF-A-KIND LEARNING EXPERIENCE

A provocative 15-week program that combines interactive webinars with a self-paced online theory- to-practice curriculum. This course is designed to take the guesswork out of what it means to be truly person-centered and to build social inclusion with people with disabilities.

Participants will be immersed in a learning experience that is guided by people with disabilities, recorded interviews with experts, reflective and field-based applied learning, facilitated discussion and more. Be prepared for an "inside-out" experience. Participants are required to work with a minimum of two learning partners,* one of whom must be a person with a disability—throughout the course. These partners, along with the other participants in the course, serve as guides and supporters throughout the learning journey.

*Participants are responsible for finding your own learning partners.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Value-driven principles like inclusion, belonging, contribution and leadership are universal, and as such, this course is appropriate for anyone wishing to explore or study them. It is important to note that this course was written to provide disability service providers and practitioners a safe place to return to the roots of person-centered planning and practice; to listen to the voices of experience; apply theory to practice; and to share thoughts and ideas with others on a similar quest. This course is especially recommended for:

• Executive directors
• Program managers
• Service and/or program coordinators
• Direct support professionals
• Social workers
• Counselors
• Community inclusion practitioners/specialists
• Person-Centered Planners

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Source: https://www.ytionline.org/courses

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