|
BENEFITS PLANNING, ASSISTANCE, AND
OUTREACH
(BPAO) PROGRAM
A New Service
Available To You
The Benefits Planning Assistance and
Outreach Program
This service is available
to people receiving Social Security and/or Supplemental Security Income. The
Ticket To Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999
(Public Law 106-170) requires the Social Security Administration (SSA) to
provide benefit planning and assistance to all beneficiaries. This
service is free to anyone who requests assistance.
Click here to find assistance in your area of Virginia.
All SSDI and SSI
beneficiaries (including SSI recipients as young as 14) must be able to access
this service. SSA is providing this service through cooperative agreements with
local organizations and agencies. Each provider is responsible to provide
Benefits Counselors to serve beneficiaries in a specific geographic location.
The service must be
provided in the person’s native language or a format to accommodate the person’s
disability.
Properly preformed, benefit
counseling informs, educates, and supports a person in making informed choices,
rather than simply telling the person what to do. A Benefit Counselor is not
permitted to tell you how to manipulate the Federal and State benefit program.
Benefit counseling takes time; you should
expect to meet with the Benefit Counselor several times before a final plan is
developed. It is impossible to understand the information in one sitting and
you need time to think about your future before you make a decision.
What
Services Can You Receive?
*Benefit planning
*Assessment of
the impact of employment on benefits
*A written plan
for managing your benefits and using work incentives
*Advocacy to
other agencies and:
*Periodic,
follow-up planning services to keep things up-to-date
What is
Benefits planning?
Benefits’ planning
requires an in-depth understanding of your current benefit status, your
concerns, and your future needs. Its purpose is to provide you with accurate
information to make informed choices about employment and the use of work
incentives available from SSA, from your health care program, and from other
public services you receive (i.e. housing assistance, food stamps etc.)
When this information is
collected from you, the Benefits Specialist should evaluate the information. If
necessary, he/she will request your approval to obtain additional information
from the agencies providing you benefits and from the organizations providing
services. This additional information will be used to develop a complete
understanding of your current situation
Following this initial
meeting the Benefits Specialist should develop a profile of your current status
and a list of possible options that enable you to work and use work incentives
properly. After this profile is discussed with you, a written plan should be
developed containing your choices of work incentives to use from options
presented in the discussion. This comprehensive, long-term benefit management
plan must
Provide projections of
how income will affect your Federal and State cash benefits and health care
benefits. The plan will be in writing
Specific components of
the will address:
*A
description of your desired benefit and work outcomes
*A description of the related steps or
activities necessary to achieve your work outcomes and the time frame for
accomplishing each step
*A summary and recommendations of the
information collected about Federal and State benefits and
*An analysis of your benefits and finances
before and after employment.
You can request and
should be provided with the following services:
·
Benefits management supports: the
assistance in reporting income and use of work incentives;
·
Assistance in preparing a Plan For
Achieving Self Support (PASS) and follow up support in managing the PASS
·
Assistance in qualifying for
1619(b) status
·
Guidance in identifying and
reporting work related expenses;
·
Advocacy and support in accessing
the services and resources of agencies and programs to achieve the steps in your
benefit plan. This may require in-person, telephone and/or written communication
to support you.
Follow-up
Services Available.
The benefit counselor
must be available to provide follow-up assistance, as needed. This assistance
can include:
·
Assisting you and your support
team to update information to keep your current plan;
·
Reassess impact of employment and
other changes on benefits and work incentives
·
Additional guidance on benefits
options, issues and management strategies; and
·
Provide long-term benefits
management on a scheduled, continuous basis, allowing for the planning and
provision of supports at regular checkpoints, as well as critical transition
points in an individual’s benefits, employment and overall situation.
Benefits Planning Assistance Outreach
Programs (BPAOs)
Access Independence
403B South Loudoun St.
Winchester, VA 22601
540-662-4452
Blue Ridge Independent Living Center
1502-D Williamson Rd., NE
Roanoke, VA 24012
540-342-1231
Endependence Center, Inc.
15 Interstate Corporate Ctr.
Suite 100
Norfolk, VA 23502
757-461-8007
Junction Center for Independent Living, Inc.
247 W. Morgan Ave.
Pennington Gap, VA 24277
540-546-5093
Virginia Association of Community Rehabilitation Programs
6295 Edsall Road
Suite 175
Alexandria, VA 22312
703-461-8747
Last
Updated: 06/24/07
| 
