Policy and Practice Brief: PASS: SSI’s Plan for Achieving Self-Support; This Self-Directed Vocational Rehabilitation Plan is an Alternative Funding Source to Support a Range of Work Goals

This primer provides an in-depth overview of the Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS), a Supplemental Security Income work incentive program. Detailed is how the PASS can support self-directed vocational rehabilitation and its impact on an individual’s benefits as they progress toward their established work goal. The process for completing a PASS Application is also reviewed

Social Security Disability Insurance, Medicare And Work: A Review of the SSDI and Medicare Rules Related to Work Activity. Guidelines for Proactively Using the SSDI and Medicare Work Incentives to Help Individuals with Disabilities Maximize Independence Through Work

This policy-to-practice brief will focus on issues related to benefits and work for the SSDI beneficiary. After first explaining what SSDI is and the differences between SSDI and SSI, we will explain two historical work disincentives: the substantial gainful activity (SGA) rule and the continuing disability review (CDR). We will then explore a number of work incentives or special rules that seek to encourage work by either allowing benefits to continue for limited periods while working (trial work period (TWP), extended period of eligibility (EPE)), or allow individuals to quickly return to benefits status when a work effort stops or wage levels dip below the SGA level (expedited reinstatement). We will also explain special rules for either ignoring some short-term employment efforts (unsuccessful work attempts) or reducing countable monthly wages to be measured against the SGA amount for the year in question (impairment related work expenses, subsidies, paid time off)

Policy and Practice Brief: The Federal Earned Income Tax Credit; A Work Incentive That Puts More Money in a Paycheck and Saves on Taxes

This brief explores the Earned-Income Tax Credit which is a special tax benefit for working people who earn a low or moderate income. Reviewed are the specifics of the tax credit along with application for how it can support the career development aspirations of beneficiaries with disabilities

Supplemental Security Income: Calculating the Impact of Earnings on Benefits

The purpose of this guide is to educate New Yorkers with disabilities about the impact of earnings on Supplemental Security Income benefits

Medicaid & Work: Keeping your Medicaid While You Work

The purpose of this guide is to educate New Yorkers with disabilities who receive SSI about how they can go to work and keep their Medicaid

The Medicaid Buy-In for Working People With Disabilities: Individuals With Disabilities Can Earn Significant Wages and Qualify for This Important Health Care Benefit

This policy-to-practice brief provides an in-depth illustrated description of the Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS) work incentives. This brief reviews how the PASS can be used to promote a work goal; the criteria for approving a PASS; and how the PASS can be used in conjunction with other programs to promote and achieve vocational success. Throughout the brief, examples are used to illustrate principles and provide an example in the appendices to show how to propose a PASS that meets all of SSA’s criteria for approval. Extensive citations to law, regulation, and policy appear in footnotes to maximize the usefulness of this publication to benefits planners who are engaged in writing PASS proposals for individuals

Ticket to Work: Choosing the Right Employment Network

The purpose of this guide is to educate New Yorkers with disabilities who have a Ticket to Work from the Social Security Administration on how to secure the services and supports to go to work by choosing an Employment Network

WORKING: The Newsletter of the New York Makes Work Pay Initiative

WELCOME to the inaugural issue of Working, a print and elec¬tronic newsletter produced by the New York Makes Work Pay Initiative. This Initiative is a Comprehensive Employment Ser¬vices Medicaid Infrastructure Grant funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) and its management partners the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syra¬cuse University and the Employment and Disability Institute (EDI) at Cornell University. The New York Makes Work Pay Initiative is currently funded for calendar years 2009 and 2010 and will provide an array of services to individuals with disabilities, the agencies and advocates that serve them, and employers, helping to remove obstacles to work and pave the way to self-supporting employment

The “New” Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program: Enhancing Economic Self-Sufficiency of Beneficiaries through Work Opportunities and Public/Private Partnership

Discusses the history of the Social Security Administration’s Vocational Rehabilitation and describes the intents and functioning of the Ticket to Work and work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. This publication is based on federal Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) laws, regulations and policy. Following Sections I and II pertaining to historical context and evolution of SSA and the Ticket, information presented regarding the operations and structure of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program is based exclusively on the new 2008 regulations