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>> Good afternoon everybody, this is Ray Cebula from Cornell University's Yang-Tan Institute and I want to welcome you to today's webinar. We have a special webinar today were going to be talking about the Ticket to Work and Free Support Services Available for Young Adults in Transition. A lot of us feel very strong about transition activities and the ability of a young person to finish school and work their way into the workforce, rather than remain on disability benefits and we can help you do that. Social Security set up some good programs and we have some great people to talk to you about that process and about how we can protect both cash and healthcare, while we're making that process. Today you are listening to us on a webinar you have a webinar screen a webinar console in the right-hand corner of your screen and a few tricks we want to talk about. You can see on this slide that there is a way for you to ask questions you can't talk to us work in a talk to you, but you can ask us questions and what you need to do is click on the Q and A tab at the top of your screen and the box below is going to open and here's a larger screenshot of that box. You'll be able to type your question in and hit send, and Jamie is going to monitor those questions for us. We need to let you know that there are hundreds of you out there, so we will not likely get to all of your questions. We will however, give you information about where you can get those questions answered throughout the session. Now you have been connected, by default, through the speakers in your computer. If for any reason -- Jamie was mentioning there are storms down, Virginia way, I'm up in Boston, there are storms here; however, most of our presenters are in the sunny state of California where the weather is beautiful. So what we need you to know is that if you have any issues, you can call in and all you need to do is go to the top of your screen, hit the audio button and this box is going to open for you. Click here -- use phone, I will call in and you'll be able to get your call-in information. Let me move ahead a few slides. Today's toll-free number, if you do end up calling in, is 855-749-4750. You will be asked for the access code and you'll dial 643 350 421. Now, we try to make all of our webinars as accessible as we possibly can and we need your help with that. If during today's session you have any problems concerning accessibility, we want you to let us know. You'll have our information. You can get in touch with us in any number of ways. And rather than simply letting us know, that you're having an issue or that you had an issue with the webinar, if you know of a fix, if you know of a computer program, if you know of steps that we can take to make our presentations better for you, let us know that as well, and we promise to take your concerns very, very seriously to improve this experience for everybody in the future. Again, the toll-free number for today, if you do need to call in, is 855-749-4750 and the access code is 643 350 421. The close captioning link for today's session is www.edi.cornell.edu /captions.cfm?activity_id=4111. Now, with today's registration confirmation you should have received the PowerPoint presentation in an accessible PDF format and so you should be all set. However, we are going to archive our webinars and this session will be available in about two weeks so that you can either listen to it again or use that archive to find other topics that we've discussed in the past. If you need some general information about SSI or Social Security disability, there are other webinars on various topics in our archive. So give us two weeks, this webinar will be archived at www.edi.cornell.edu /m-wise-webinars.cfm. Now, as we asked you and told you, we want you to submit your questions and we showed you how to do that using the platform that we have today and I see the question boxes without so I'm assuming some of you have already figured that out. [Background talking] Okay Mike -- I think you need to be muted. Mike -- your -- I'm hearing Mike in the background. There they go. Okay, thank you very much. During today's webinar, you can use that Q and A box, as I said, or if you want to use the chat box that's okay. We prefer you don't, but that's okay. If you want to email your questions, you can mail them to webinars@choosework.net and if you don't have any questions now, but in an hour after the webinar is over, you realize that you do have to ask something, any time day or night you can send us a message at support@chooseworkttw.net and somebody will get information back to you. Now, today, we are going to talk about the Ticket to Work program, and I'm going to let Richard Rosenberg introduce you to himself and his team when he takes the presentation over. We're going to talk specifically about Work Incentives and use transition. Richard is going to talk to us about employment networks and how these employment networks can help. I will then pick up and talk about state vocational rehabilitation agencies and how they can help and then provide you with some other resources for information and we'll have a question and answer session. And again, there are lots of people out there. We want all your questions, but we can't promise that we're going to get to all of you. Now, before we have a chat with the Commissioner what I want to do is to put you people all to work and we always ask for some information about you, just some general information so that we know we're reaching the right people and as many people as we possibly can. So the first thing I want to ask you is, how did you learn about today's webinar? Was it via email? Was it via Facebook or Twitter, the website, or family or friend, or some other means? Let us know. This'll help us to better advertising so we can reach out and get more people in the future. And we're doing pretty well. Couple more people. Make a choice. All right, thank you very much. Now I have to wait 20 seconds so I can ask you the second question. I guess the computer is counting you all as we wait our 20 seconds. I'm not quite sure what it's doing, but what can you say. Okay. And what do you hope to learn from today's session? Are you interested in the Ticket to Work, Work Incentives for SSI, Work Incentives for SSDI, information about employment networks and state BR agencies, or something else? And for those of you -- I notice some people are clicking off something else, please use the chat or Q and A box to let us know what you're hoping to find out, so we can either get some information to you during this session, or plan a new webinar around your ideas. It looks like everybody wants to know about everything. All right, we'll close that down. Thank you. We'll wait our seconds. And it will move on to pole three. What is your gender, male or female? All right. All right, that was quick and easy. Jamie did you notice again the women were quicker off the trigger? Every webinar that we do, when I asked that question the women answer first. Okay, number four. What is your age? 18 or younger, 19 to 25, 26 to 40, 41 to 55, 56 to 65, or 66 and older? All right, that was great. Thank you. We got our percentage of their real quick. And lastly, very often we have groups of people who are watching on one computer screen, so besides yourself, how many other people are watching the screen with you? This will let us get a much more accurate count of how many people are actually participating today. So let's see, we have one party going on out there. All right, thank you very much. We do also at the end of today's presentation have a survey, which I will remind you of again, that when we sign off a survey will appear on your screen and it will take you probably -- probably less than a minute to complete, and will give us some more helpful hints, so we'd appreciate your taking the time to complete that survey as well. And we do have a message from associate commissioner Bob Williams. He is with the Social Security Administration Office of Employment Support Programs and is a great friend of ours and a supporter of Work Incentives. So Mike, if we could queue up that video.

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>> Hello and welcome to today's webinar. My name is Bob Williams and I am the associate commissioner for Employment Support at the Social Security Administration. We run the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program which assists persons ages 18 through 64 on SSDI or SSI who want to improve their life and future by becoming employed. By viewing this webinar you will learn how you can receive training, become employed, increase your earnings, reduce your reliance on disability benefits, and eventually earn a better living by becoming fully self-supporting whenever possible. The Ticket program is not for everyone. This is why the choice of whether to take advantage of it is yours and yours alone. I know firsthand that people with significant disabilities face many barriers to becoming and staying employed. This is especially true in today's economy. A major reason you receive disability benefits is that Social Security determined that you are not able to work enough to support yourself, but I also want you to know that having a significant disability no longer has to be a lifetime bar to employment and greater financial security. The Ticket can offer you the choices, training, opportunities, and support your need to go to work and gain financial independence. I hope today's webinar begins your journey toward greater self-sufficiency. Your life and future can be better! Thank you for joining us.

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>> All right. Thank you Commissioner and thanks Mike. What can you expect from us today? We're going to give you information on the Ticket to Work program. We're going to give you a lot of information about Work Incentives and were going to do that very, very fast so that we can spend a lot of time on the transition issues. So we want to let you know what people ask all the time, so we'll talk about some of those common questions that we hear, and some of us have been hearing the same questions over and over again for 35 years now and will try to let you know what about those questions is right and what is wrong. Where to find more information? Again, this is just the tip of the iceberg. So we'll give you other sources where you can talk to people, where you can scan websites, you know, without any obligation whatever, to get more information, and we're going to give you some success stories today from people who have actually used the process that we're going to talk about and have assigned their Ticket and have gone to work, and there are lots of others on the website that you can take a look at. Now why would somebody choose work? There are lots of reasons why people go to work and earning more money is clearly the first one that everyone thinks of. The way the Work Incentives work is that if your return to work as planned appropriately, you're going to have more money at the end of the month. There's no way that anybody wants you to go to work and lose -- and lose benefits or lose healthcare. Gaining independence. Now, gaining independence from the benefit system so that you don't need to report every time you move, you don't need to report when you get married, you don't need to report to anybody how much are making. You also gain independence through your financial improvement. You can then make more decisions about how you want to live and where you want to live in what you want to do with this extra money that you then have. And there are a couple of great things about work that are far and above, I think, more important than just a paycheck at the end of the week. Meeting new people, and I tell everybody this story every time we have a webinar that I met my spouse at work. So needless to say, work was very important. I've met people from across the country because I work, and I'm not isolated in my home. I can go out and do things with people, both because I have income, I've gained independence, and I have met lots of people through work. Learning new skills. That's something that you might need to do and you need your Ticket to gain skills so that you are able to work. You might need to relearn skills that you already have, because of your impairment and throughout your new job or career, you're going to constantly learn new skills, so work is going to bring you all of these things, and notice there are four things here. We haven't begun to touch all of the benefits of work and income is only one of them -- incomes only one of them. When you're ready to go to work, you have to start planning, you know, and it takes a little more planning than it would for somebody who's not receiving Social Security benefits and health care, because we have to be careful of those two things and make sure they are preserved and protected until they are replaced with other benefits -- your earned income and private healthcare. So, gathering information and finding your resources is key to planning. The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives are going to help make this journey to work a smooth one. The good thing about this is, there is no wrong door. There is no wrong door at all. When you're ready -- when you think you're ready to try to go back to work, build your employment team and again, there is no wrong door. You can start building this team anyway you want to. This is a team effort, but you have to remember that you are the coach of the team, so it is going to be up to you to stay connected to your employment team, which may include an employment network, it may include a VR agency, it may include a planner, it may include a teacher, in this case, or a guidance counselor as you explore all of those work options. You might want to speak to an expert to start. You can call the Ticket to Work helpline at 1-866-968-7842 or four TTY users, 1-866-833-2967. No obligation. Ask questions. Ask away. Make sure you're comfortable with this return to work effort. Learn more about the Ticket by perusing the Social Security website at www.socialsecurity.gov/work. There is a lot of information, in fact, almost everything you need to begin this journey to work is on that website, and as you can see, there is a blog, you can read or listen to other success stories, and there are lots of great stories of people who have been successful returning to work. And again, no obligation. No obligation at all. Or you can start by finding an employment network, which we're going to call ENs throughout today's session, you know, and you do that by finding someone in your area, you can go to the Social Security website to find them. They're all listed by zip code and by specialties, and they can help you begin to build this employment team and plan for the return to work. Or if you prefer, work with your state vocational rehabilitation agency. They will also start this process. So as you can see, there are lots of ways to start this process. They're all right. Any which way is going to get you to building that employment team, but again remember, you are the boss of this team you are the coach, so stay connected with that team. Now to switch gears a little bit we're going to talk very quickly about the types of benefits that people can be receiving from Social Security. And the first one is Social Security disability insurance, and this is just what it says it is, an insurance program. People work, people pay FICA taxes, and they are buying insurance from Social Security, and they can use and access that insurance if they become disabled, according to the Social Security administration. And the great thing about the transition age kids, or young adults, is that they can become insured very, very fast, so that's an important thing to know. These people who are insured are working, or have worked, and are paying taxes, so they are buying an insurance benefit. The other side of the coin is the SSI program and this is a needs based benefit. It requires that you have very low income, that you be disabled, according to the Social Security rules, and you have minimal resources, so it's a very, very different program. Unfortunately, both programs have Work Incentives and their different, so the first thing for you to do is determine what type of benefit that you have, and we can help you do that, your team can help you do that if you're not sure. And last but not least, we have people that we call concurrent beneficiaries who receive both SSDI and SSI. Now what happens here is that people have been working at low-wage jobs, or if they haven't been working for a long time, their SSDI benefit might be below the SSI level that is set by the federal government. If that is the case, and the person is otherwise eligible -- that they have low income, and they have limited resources, SSI will kick in some money to bring that person up to the federal guidelines. Now, this person here has to pay attention to both sets of Work Incentives, and I'm really going to encourage you that if you have both benefits to seek help, get some counseling, and put together that employment team. Now I promised you we were going to talk about some of those questions that we hear from everyone, and there are three common myths out there. And if we go out on the street today, here in Boston, and find somebody who's on these benefits, I'm going to ask them these questions, and they're going to tell me all the wrong answers. Now the first one is if I try to go to work, I'll automatically lose my Medicare or Medicaid. That is completely wrong and when we look at Medicaid, Medicaid has expanded so much that it's very, very difficult to even think about losing it. There are potentials for all kinds of categories, 46 states now have Medicaid buy-ins, so this is a very, very extensive protection for your health care benefits, and Medicare benefits will last for at least seven and a half years after your trial work period -- now we'll talk about that very quickly in a little bit, but seven and a half years. So what we can do now is go to work and worry about what's going to happen to healthcare way in the future, and focus on getting back to work. Now, the second common myth -- if I use my Ticket to Work to go back to work, Social Security is going to perform a medical review and I'm going to lose my benefits. Again, wrong. If you use that Ticket and assign your Ticket, or you are in used status with your state VR agency, Social Security is going to postpone all of those medical reviews and they won't happen, and that is because nobody wants to pull the rug out from under you. If you are making an attempt to go to work, we want to support that return to work effort and not pull the rug out from under you by saying oh, you went back to work, you're no longer disabled. Those reviews just will not happen. They'll be postponed, provided you're making progress in accordance with your plan. Now, the third one is if I go back to work and then have to stop working because of my disability, I'm going to have to start all over again, and re-apply and it takes a long time to get benefits and I don't want to, or can't afford to wait that long. So it's just better not to try to work. Once again, wrong. Social Security has made it very, very easy. If your benefits are terminated because you have returned to work, there is an express line now to get back onto benefits called expedited reinstatement, and if you were to walk into Social Security today on September 12th, and say I want to file an application for expedited reinstatement because I've stopped working, you will likely have a check on October 1st. If you wait a little bit later and apply on the 18th, it will be November 1, but it can't be that fast. So you don't have to worry about that anymore either. And that brings us to the Ticket to Work program, and I'm going to turn you over to Richard Rosenberg, and he's going to introduce himself. Take it away Richard.

>> Thank you very much. I am Richard Rosenberg. I am a vocational counselor for Whittier Union High School District. We are a school district in LA County. We have been doing a lot of work and work training for individuals with disabilities since we created Career Connection 30 years ago. Also with me, I'm very proud and pleased to interview two of my colleagues -- or introduce, Terry Chang and Julie Johnson. Both of them have been SEAWICK Community Work Incentives counselors, coordinators, and they always coach me and keeping honest, that they really help individuals, students, young adults, and families navigate the system to understand everything that Ray said. Bottom line, it's always better to go to work. Bottom line, you will not lose your medical benefits. Bottom line, you will make friendships, relationships, people that you will enjoy getting up and going to work and having a life is why Social Security Administration school district, the Department of Voc Rehab really want to push and support the value and the power of going to work. So, Terry Chang, Julie Johnson, Richard Rosenberg from Whittier, California, where it is sunny and beautiful, but you don't need to move here yet, would like to share some of our ups and downs of becoming a Ticket program, becoming an employment network and how we navigate the system. The Ticket to Work program was designed as a free and voluntary program to assist SSDI and SSI beneficiaries who have a disability go to work, enter workforce, and for the first time to increase their work hours, so it really has been a powerful arena to create an opportunity for individuals on SSI, SSDI to go to work and not live in fear of losing their benefits, losing their MediCal as they navigate. There are a lot of places and [inaudible] you can go online, you can go on the phone number, so it's Ticket to Work helpline which is 866-968-7842. The TTY is 1-866-833-2967, and then the Social Security website which is SocialSecurity.gov/work, and we really just want to continually emphasize -- and we know that we have a variety of people on the phone, but it's important for the individual, himself or herself, as a young adult, as an individual navigating school looking at work to know that it's always better to go to work. It's always better to go to work. It's important for the mother, the grandmother, the guardian, the group home provider, whoever is out there going to young adults' meetings, IEP's. I blank Ps, to know don't be scared when a school district says we want to provide a work incentive for your son or daughter, we want to be able to provide an opportunity that they may work a couple hours at a local hospital, or a hotel, or a fast food, and we want to pay them from the school district under what we call Work Incentives or work wages, that's okay. We know that it is better to do that. We know that there is always an advantage by getting paid, for many reasons. Next slide, please. The Ticket to Work program has really established are you ready to earn more money, you need the personal fulfillment that comes from working, do you want to be able to get benefits back. If your job doesn't work out because of your disability, are you overwhelmed and don't know where to turn to? The Ticket to Work program really helps you improve your earning potential, it gives you assurance that you can go and pursue employment, it puts you on the fast track back so you don't have to worry about getting a job at the pet store and then it's only seasonal and you lose it, or getting that job in a hotel and all of a sudden their business goes down and you lose the job. You do not have to stay away from work because you're worried about your benefits. And it's huge. As we share that with you. We tell real life stories the bottom message from Bob Williams, the associate commissioner what you heard from Ray and what you'll hear from the three of us work is always the right way to go. I think we have a story.

>> [Background talking] Yes, we do. We're going to meet Rob now, and Rob, 300 pounds lost, one kidney gained so we have a kidney transplant very disabling condition, and financial independence recovered. The Ticket to Work helped Rob become an active member of his community again, earn a bigger paycheck, and transition back to stability and that's what this is all about, transitioning back into financial stability. So Mike, you can queue that up and will hear from Rob.

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>> He drives 108 miles one way to work -- both sites, same amount of time. Snowstorms, Robbie is still on time.

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>> He's got a tremendous, tremendous amount of pride in his work, and in himself.

>> Michelle Brigham: Robbie is just a go-getter. He just -- he wants everything, he wants to try everything, he wants to be able to do everything, and healing is a part of that, you know, with the sickness it really hindered him to be able to get back into the workforce and to get back to work and traveling and everything, it's just -- it's been a wonderful thing for him.

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>> Pretty much. I was overweight and I was always doing something. I was always -- in order to keep five businesses going, you know, it was -- it was just something I needed to keep going. So my weight problem was deteriorating my heath. I had some history of kidney failure, and then I got sick when I was in the middle of that and that's what I had to shut everything down. Finally, my kidneys completely failed. The only way to get a kidney transplant was I needed to lose the weight. I went from like around 550 down to 250. I had a transplant, you know, that was scary, it was -- really didn't know what all to expect. I had bills, I didn't know what, you know, how to transition from work into Social Security, and so finally I went and I got on Social Security through my doctor's office, and at that time too I went back to school as well, to college.

>> What was clear with Rob immediately is that he was not comfortable where he was. He knew that he had -- he had to get back to work, and it needed to be meaningful work. Now in the process, he was going to do anything that he needed to do to make that happen, within the context of his existing circumstances. He knew that he had health issues that needed to be addressed and he knew that in order for him to be able to get back into some work that was meaningful, that -- that really did serve him, but also put him in a position where he could earn a living that was going to support him, that he needed a college degree. He was also very active as an EMT in the -- in the mountain area, and that was something that meant a lot to him

>> And then after I got that degree it was like, you know, one of the biggest accomplishments because I work during my sickness, and I wanted to get myself back into a life to where I can enjoy it and I don't have to be relying on a government program. I didn't want to keep living that way, on a fixed income and limited area of being able to do things. My DVR had said we have a Ticket to Work program. After you -- there are certain agencies that represent Ticket to Work and ERI was one that was most suggested by them.

>> Well when Robbie came to us, he had a lot of questions. First off, Robbie was very well versed in -- more than a lot of individuals who come to me, in understanding his benefits. He knew that he had Work Incentives and he also knew that he was able to continue a lot of his -- continue with his medical insurance, so we worked together to talk to Social Security to ensure that the month that he actually was using trial work month was accurately reflected in his Social Security record. Ticket to Work program offers individuals access to employment services for free. Work incentives are given to an individual through virtue of whatever their entitlement is, so an individual who is receiving SSI has different Work Incentives, versus an individual who has SSDI. An individual does not need to assign their Ticket in order to access Work Incentives. Anyone can go to work with a disability and utilize Work Incentives.

>> Anytime I had a question she was available she helped me through the program. Any of my questions and concerns I had we'd take them, you know, put them down and take one at a time until we got them accomplished. So anybody out there that's had worries, it's only human nature to be worried, but in all reality until you start getting through it, you just take one day at a time, you'll be just fine. You'll get through it. So if your health happens to keep you from working, you can still go back into the program, and they're there to help you transition any which way you want to go there. There to help you.

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>> Oh, he was so happy because he could go back to work and he started to get on the Internet and he started looking different places, what he could take and where there were jobs available, and he came upon this one part where it was DMV. So then then he started going went all over the country for the interviews

>> Donald Genin: And Robbie was hired as a part-time examiner down in the Southwest corner of the state. When we opened up the opportunity in Chilton, Robbie took a transfer up to Chilton. At that time he was just part-time, and we were able to get him -- get a 50/50 position where we could get him over to Manitowoc and allow him to be full time. He is the kind of guy that -- that when he's at work he shows a deep appreciation for having a job. He is very dependable, wants to be out there doing his job, he wants to be accepted and he is pretty good.

>> He operates as a firefighter also, and an engineer on a different apparatus. I think actually overcoming a profound illness, such as a transplant, and being able to recuperate to the point where you can come back and be incredibly productive, not only for yourself for self-esteem reasons and for your own pride and goals, but he really adds flavor to the general overall work environment. So I think he's a huge benefit. He's done a fantastic job coming back

>> The Ticket to Work program has kept me stable and has kept me, you know, being able to stay with my job to help support me in any needs that I'll be having in the future, it will keep me going and keep me working.

>> He was my hero... ...because of what he went through. He took it all in stride and he never complained and even now, today, you never hear him say, you know, I'm so tired. He just goes right on to work. He just never liked to be on Social Security, so when he got his job it was a real blessing for him.

>> I guess I'm not scared to keep taking steps forward in my whole entire time here. I never took a step back, always took a step forward. I always maybe stopped a little bit, reassess my choices, but I never went back, I always went forward. Ready, big smile. Now one, two, three. There were go.

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>> Okay. Thanks Mike. Very, very good story. I like Robbie. And I -- and Robbie is just one example. Again, there are more examples on the website and listen to them. There are more people who have gone to work, and as you can tell, have become happier because of it. And that's a good thing. So I want to turn this back over now to Rich.

>> Thank you. And I think as we do work with transition age youth -- and we work with transition age youth who are going from middle school to high school, and in high school they may have a disability. They have an IEP. They're going to leave with a certificate or diploma we'll help those individuals navigate going to work, looking at their benefits, accessing a team of people who may be able to help them. We have another cadre of individuals that scan the transition services of our district from 18 to 22, and those individuals we definitely help the families to apply for Social Security, navigate, looking at overpayments. A lot of what you hear, we really build on knowing how to build your team to be assertive to be appropriately aggressive and to ask for what you believe in your heart makes sense. As a person who does present around the nation, I think one of the most important things from an individual's point of view and a family's point of view, sometimes professionals can be limited. Sometimes professionals can put people into boxes or enter programs. Oh, you have autism, you go to the autism program. Oh, you have a visual impairment, you need to go to the program for the blind and visually impaired. Oh, and I really, personally and professionally, have problems with that. Every person is an individual and every individual should be able to have their own dreams, their own desires for the future, and be able to navigate. As we looked at Rob and his life and he ends up working for the firefighters and DMV, he's social. That's what he really wants to do and it takes a team of people working together in order to navigate that. I think some of the reasons that we feel that we are successful that we work with is we work with teachers and individuals and families. They're all motivated for the end result, and the end result that we believe, then, is everyone should be able to live to work and recreate in the community as independently as they possibly can. We feel it is crucial to involve the family. The family has to be involved because the family can either make or break a job site, make or break us navigating with regional center or rehab or the Social Security Administration, so we do involve the individual himself or herself and family members and training to understand benefits and advance planning. As we navigate and go from here to the real world. So as we look at building your team, you may want to speak to an expert of the Ticket to Work help line which is 866-968-7842. We want to learn from other Tickets to Work by reading blogs looking on the website. Find an employment network that meets your needs or works with your Voc Rehab agency or your community support provider stay connected and navigate and the other one that I'd like to add up there, Ray is you could add the red book. There is this document is available from Social Security Administration, which is called the red book. It is a totally inclusive document. It is written relatively easy to understand, but it has anything and everything you want to know about navigating Social Security and returning to work. It's on the SSA.gov website. I'll tell you a little story, 10 years ago we used to hand out the red book to families and say oh, go to the red book, you can navigate Social Security, it'll help your son or daughter with a job, it's great. Well, the reality is, you may still want and need some handholding to navigate the red book to understand the benefits that are available for the work incentives that are available for you. So let's go to the next slide, and we'll introduce some of the Work Incentives that are out there for young adults in transition. We're going to talk as the day goes on. Julie and Terry are going to help me with a PASS plan, and SEIE, which is student earned income exclusion and section 301, which is the connecting -- continuing benefits while you're in the Ticket to Work program. So let's skip and -- I did that, let's go to the next slide where we're really going to delve into SEIE. If you are under 22 and regularly attending school, you qualify for a student earned income exclusion. We as a school district have a great letter that you can take to Social Security. So your son or daughter can work while they're in a workability program, a mobility program, a work incentive program and not lose their benefits. Social Security does not count up to 1,730 of earned income per month, which is a grand total of 6,960 a year. SEIE is applied before your general income exclusion or your earned income exclusion, so it really is a way to shelter the money so that you won't have any impact on your Social Security. I want Terry to share a story about Miguel and Miguel's father of how we navigated an SEIE.

>> The SEIE really helps our students go back to work and get some training to make sure that they like their job, that they want to stay there. So we started with Miguel. He had a job that was perfect for him. He hadn't quite graduated yet so we asked dad if he would let Miguel do it, and his dad said absolutely not. And I said okay, look, he can do this job, it won't affect his benefits, I promise you. So, Miguel started working.

>> Because dad was scared any messing around with benefits is going to lose money, lose income, going to screw it up. It was hard enough to get on SSI, how dare you think that I'm willing to let you have my son work and earn money, and you tell me it's not going back to Social Security?

>> So Miguel started working at a sandwich shop. He became really good at sandwich making. He'd come into our office every day, ask us what our favorite was, and then he would tell us what was in that sandwich, so he did really, really good. Well, the second month he was working dad got a thing that said his benefits were being affected, and he came in my office, and he threw it on my desk, and he said fix it. You said it wasn't going to affect his benefits. So I called Social Security and yes it was a little mistake on their part, and they fixed it. So at the end of the year Miguel was doing so good they hired him, and I think it was like December 15th he went over the maximum and I said dad -- I told Richard I said Richard, we went over the max they're going to get his benefit a little bit.

>> She was scared to death to call the father.

>> So I asked Richard to call him, and being the gentleman that he was, he said no sister it's your business. So I called and the dad said, you know what, it's okay, he's doing so good, he's becoming independent, he enjoys his job, and he said thank you for getting him this job.

>> And what was the phrase that Miguel said?

>> Oh yeah, he would walk into our office and he goes, I'm an independent man.

>> And I think it's huge and Miguel still comes in every month to make copies of his pay stubs to make sure they go to Social Security. He then checks in with us. Part of what we are as a transition program -- we became a Ticket to Work, we are an EN, we are an ongoing support and nurturer for a lot of the individuals as they navigate the system and move forward. But it really shows why and how important while an individual is in school, they can earn money and not have an impact on their Social Security. Next slide states you are regularly attending school if you take one or more courses in the 10 classes in a college or university for at least eight hours a week, or in grades seven through 12, and our grades seven to 12 is considered until age 22 because of the transition program, in a training course to prepare for employment for at least 12 hours a week. And it really is a pretty clear and simple process, but I will tell you there are times we have asked families to take it into the Social Security office so it doesn't have a negative impact on their benefit, and they go to the Social Security office -- and I know we have people in and around social security, and we do love them. They make it happen. However, there are some people behind the glass windows they don't always know these benefits. Social Security offices really deal with retirement. I am learning so much on a regular basis of what really happened to the Social Security office. You may want to Xerox out of the red book, the information about an SEIE as the family goes to navigate and work for their son or daughter. So regularly attending school, as we said. Instructions -- seven to 12 -- 12 hours. If your home teaching because of your disability. Your course of study may be provided as an avenue to show that you are still entitled to an SEIE, a home visitor or home tutor can do the same thing. So we really see it as a great incentive as individuals navigate and move forward in that work experience. Anything else. Okay. The next would be a PASS plan. A PASS plan is magical, when it works, and PASS plans can be done. And if you receive SSI or can become eligible to receive it, you can benefit from a PASS plan. The PASS plan allows you to set aside other income, put it aside so Social Security will not touch it and your Social Security won't be negatively impacted, and you'll be able to count that income as you set it aside for your PASS plan which will allow you to buy a computer, to buy a car, to buy a van, other activities along those lines. So I think I want Terry to share a story about Christie and about how we navigated a microphone PASS plan for Christie, so that you can see what it really is.

>> Christie was dual receiving both benefits and didn't know anything about Social Security. In fact we actually got a hold of her because she called Social Security after graduating, and they told her she should go to work because she needs a kidney transplant.

>> Hold on a minute. Let me restate that one. Sometimes, you ask consumers or family members when we're calling across the country, the call the 800 line for Social Security. When they call the 800 line to get information, you will not always get the most informed person. You could get a great human being who's very reliable and dependable, however, we have worked with Social Security out of Baltimore -- VCU, Cornell, all of us have worked to try to help them to give out honest and real information. It doesn't always happen. So, Christie's first response, because she's on dialysis, etcetera was, oh you shouldn't go to work, it's impact your benefit.

>> So we -- her teacher actually knew about us, so she brought her over here. And she got another job, and she needed a car to go to work, and we told her that she could write a PASS -- we could write a PASS for her. And that weekend, she was all excited. She went to Arizona where her boyfriend was, who happened to be a car salesman, and she drive back with a brand-new car -- well, a used car. I go Christie, I told you that we were going to write a PASS for you. And so we decided that we would go ahead and write the PASS. We were in touch with the PASS cadres, we work together, and we turned in her PASS and in 10 days. They gave her $8000 for her car while the car cost a little bit more than that. But they put the $8000 towards the car and let her continue with her PASS. So she could get regular...

>> Oil and grease.

>> Yeah, oil -- maintenance for her car.

>> So it really was just a PASS plan, because it tied to her plan for employment. And Social Security really wants more PASS plans done than have been talked about, or used in the past. So really was exciting. We have one other story will do, which was Emily and how Emily got hers.

>> Emily Hager also needed a car. She was a traveling...

>> Interpreter.

>> ...interpreter.

>> And she had a physical disability and challenges health wise that qualified her for Department of rehab and Social Security.

>> So she needed this car to get to all the places that she wanted and Emily was a very bright girl so she did all her own paperwork, worked with the Pass cadres, and she also within a month or two, got enough money to buy her car so she could continue on her goal of becoming this speech interpreter.

>> So it's exciting. The next slide. Young adults in transition, if they are doing a PASS plan, as we just said, it must be in writing and designated especially for you, you identify specific work goal that you are capable of performing, you include a specific timeframe for reaching your work goals, show what income you receive other than SSI, so there has to be some other income coming in, which is a job used to reach your work goal, and be approved and reviewed periodically to measure progress towards your work goal. PASS plans are wonderful, but you must emphasize how it has to be very clearly defined and the money trail is clear and you never slipup. Even though there may be an emergency where you need to use money out of your PASS to go by medicine, you can't do that. You know, it really has to be very clear that it specialized for your PASS plan, and we're just giving you a sampling today. There are PASS cadres throughout the United States and the -- Baltimore really wants more PASS plans implemented, so if you think you have an individual, or you are an individual yourself, where a car for work is really important, and you have some income, look at a Pass Plan as you navigate. The next is Section 301, Continual Benefits, and what that's saying is while you're in the Ticket To Work program, that it's really important that Social Security determines no longer disabling condition, your benefits usually stop. But, if you have assigned your ticket to an EN or your ticket is in use with a PR agency, your benefits may continue. Your participation must be Social Security approved, your participation must show progress towards your work goals, so it's really another one of those benefits that's out there that allows you to stay receiving benefits and not fearing that you're going to lose your benefits.

>> They can even have an IUP.

>> And they can have an IUP as they navigate.

>> If they have an IUP, it keeps them in there.

>> The IUP will keep you in there, is what Terri [assumed spelling] is saying and helping me along. The reference for the Red Book is on the next slide which we really, you know, it -- it is a great document. Go and print it, read it periodically, look at what impact it may have for you and your son or daughter as you navigate and go forward. As we talk, the next slide and the next few, and Julie's going to help me with this, is how do we avoid overpayments? When you receive more money for the month than the amount you should have received, that amount is considered an overpayment and the difference between the amount you received and the amount due. Next slide, Ray. The reality is I think 99% of the time, almost 100, when we've ever challenged an overpayment for individuals that we navigate with, the individual themself and family has one. So it's usually an error that is not necessarily appropriate as we navigate and move on. So how do we bottom line avoid overpayments?

>> Okay, overpayments for an FSI recipient is, there's really no way to avoid it, because you get paid on the first of the month, and you start your job, and then you've already been overpaid. So unfortunately, there is no way to avoid it. It's just -- it just is bound to happen.

>> But it's going to be corrected.

>> But you want to make sure you're reporting earnings so it will stay very small, and then as soon as possible, usually within two months, Social Security knows you're working, and they will start to estimate your wages. If your income is up and down, like a lot of our young adults, they don't have, you know, they're not working 40 hours a week. Their -- their income goes up and down, so Social Security will estimate what they typically earn, and then they will monthly kind of owe a little, or they'll be paid a little extra. But that's all figured out usually a couple of months behind, because that's how long it takes Social Security to catch up. But just to let you know, the minute you start working, if you're an FSI recipient, you will have an overpayment. For those receiving Title 2, you won't because of your trial work period, as long as you haven't completed it. And it's just -- just know you're going to be getting paperwork from Social Security. Don't panic. Talk to your team, and you can work it out and it won't be a problem.

>> And I think that's one of the biggest things is to be able to really talk to your team and make sure, for all recipients on the line, don't throw those pieces of paper away. Bring them into your school person, your university Office of Students with Disabilities, your VR counselor, your employment network. Please, if we have the information, that allows us really to work with you and help you go the next step. Next slide. And part of what we said is to know which payment you're on and which incentive you're receiving. Julie, will you just talk a little bit about trial work period and how that works and what that looks like?

>> Okay, the -- the trial work period is a benefit for FSCI Title 2, and that is where individuals continue to receive their full benefit while they're trying to see if they can work. And if they work and earn over a certain amount, which is the trial work -- trial work amount, which is $750, it counts as a trial work month. It just checks it off. It does -- you continue to receive your benefit. You get nine of those within a 60 month period, so you could work a few and be out of work, so you really need to keep track of that. And if you're -- if you're working with an employment network, or with anyone, you want to make sure that a lot of times we don't remember if we've worked, so you want to get a benefits query and make sure that it's up -- a benefits query from Social Security. Make sure that it's up to date so that it will have those months recorded so that you can keep an accurate track. You get nine months after that, you -- trial work period ends. You immediately go into your standard period of eligibility, but in addition to the trial work period, you get three more months, where they're looking to see if you can earn over a certain amount now, no longer the trial work period, but the SGA amount, Substantial Gainful Activity, which is $1040 this year. If you earn over that amount, you receive your benefit for that month and two more months, and then your benefit -- your cash benefit stops. You are not terminated, it stops. And then, like I said, you're already in your extended period of eligibility, so anytime you earn over the SGA amount, that Substantial Gainful Activity amount of $1040, you will not see your benefit. Any time you earn below that amount, you are due your benefit. But Social Security doesn't know. A lot of people think because they're taking taxes out, at least the people that work with me, they think Social Security knows they're working, they think they know how much they're earning. But they don't know, and they only find out at the end of the year when IRS sends a report, and then they don't even know monthly earnings, so you need to let them know. If you start working more hours, call them up and let them know. If you start working less hours and your money goes down, let them know. They do not know. And they'll quickly act on it, and -- and then your benefit -- you'll either receive your benefit or you won't for the month that you worked over or under the SGA amount.

>> Which gets to the next two slides, and part of it is I feel, and I'm sure a lot of you were just lost there, and that's okay. We're letting you know that there are people like Julie and Terri out there in your community who can help you navigate Social Security, so back to what Ray said in the beginning, and what I say, and what Bob Williams says is it is always better to go to work. And there are incentives out there to reinforce you and help you financially as you return to work. But just what Julie said is keep in touch with Social Security. Report all events so that they know what you're doing. Let them know when you've been working, when you haven't been working. If you do not have a list of the benefits that you receive, or that one of your family members receives, contact Social Security and request a reporting responsibility or -- BP, what's it called?

>> BPQY.

>> B.

>> BP - benefit query, but I don't think that...

>> Benefits query, so you'll know what your -- BPQY, right?

>> Right, yes.

>> There it is. Thank you, Ray. We like your support. But seriously, that's a -- that's a document that you're entitled to from Social Security. The other is you can go online to, God, I had a young adult...

>> My Social Security.

>> mysocialsecurity.com.

>> Well, it's fsa.gov, but it's on the site, My Social Security.

>> My Social Security. Ray, help me out, [inaudible]. My Social Security is a way on the Internet, creating password and to see what your benefit is. We're doing well, Ray. Thank you. The next slide is find out how often you should report, report your wages in writing, keep your original paystub, and give to Social Security your copy. You can also ask Social Security to stamp that they received your paystub, a copy, so that you keep the communication going. Bottom line is youth in transition have the right to work. Youth in transition have incentives and benefits that are out there. We really want to reinforce that as we assist and we navigate. The next is to talk about, quickly, what an employment network is, and how you can have employment networks in your local community, and I'm going to do this quickly and then Ray's going to talk about Department of Voc Rehab. Next slide. An employment network is part of your team, and you can find out who is your EN, employment network, in your area by calling the phone number 866-968-7842, or you can go on www.socialsecurity.gov/work to assess a list of employment networks near you. An employment network is an individual or a group of individuals who are in the community who know Social Security, who know Social Security benefits, and who know jobs, job development and job placement. The bottom line goal for an employment network is to help you get a job and maintain a job, and that's what we really look at. The next slide. So if you go on the website and you put 90605, which is our zip code, you would then find Career Connection with Whittier Union, and then we do have benefits planners, we have job developers, and that we went to assist you in getting a job. You may want to call and ask us, and Julie would be the person you would talk to. How many people have you helped through the Ticket To Work program? And over our years, we've helped over 120 individuals. What kind of companies do you work for, and do you help get jobs? And we would say we do anything and everything, from hospitals to hotels to fast food to retail sales to warehousing to shipping and receiving. You name it, we're going to look in our community for a job. What kind of jobs may be available to me? And I think what's important there is Julie and I or Terri would say, what is it you want to do, what have you done in the past, what are you committed to doing? And I'm going to say a little bit here, and I know we're running out of time, we don't give people jobs. We assist people in finding jobs. We assist people through online application. We assist people through the interviewing process. As an old man that I am, when we gave young adults jobs, it didn't work. People really have to work together to want the job, to work hard to earn the job, to then be able to maintain that job. How often will you communicate and meet? As often as necessary in order to get the job done. The next slide, the EN should explain how the ticket program works and what services we provide. The EN should ask about your work goals and your intentions, just like I said. The EN should talk about what -- any fears you have, and this is where Julie just did it with you. The fear of losing my benefits, the fear of losing any of my Social Security, the fear of losing my Medi-Cal and what that looks like. It is to be talked about with your employment network. They really are an advocate with you and for you, and the employment network can give you advice on how to navigate Social Security, where a person behind the white -- or the clear glass cannot really advise you because they work for Social Security. Your employment network employee, staff, should be your friend and help you to navigate the system. You and the EN will develop your own individualized work plan that'll talk about what you're going to do, how you're going to go to the next steps, and how you're going to navigate employment. The next slide, you should have a signature with your IWP, which is to say you agree with the EN, what you're working on. You can at any time unassign the ticket. You can also work with getting a new EN. You are not sentenced to the only EN in your neighborhood. It has to be a good working relationship. And to be honest, things have gotten better, but in the past, people would call and they'd get 800 numbers, and they haven't been in business. So stay persistent in order to find an EN that'll work with you. Social Security postpones the CDR, Continuing Disability Review, as long as you are connected with an employment network, which again is an incentive.

>> Okay, I just want to add something. I always tell people when they call me about the Ticket To Work, I tell them the goal is to help you work your way off your benefits completely, but not immediately. And one of the biggest fears is of course losing your benefit, and I think that this -- the waiving of the Continuing Disability Review is really, really important because what we're trying to do is to help you to earn over that Substantial Gainful Activity amount of $1040. And that's the amount where Social Security would say if they did the review, oh, well maybe you're no longer disabled. So that should put your fears to rest, that they're not going to look at -- they're not going to do the review as long as you're, you know, completing your yearly timely progress reviews, your guidelines, your meeting all of those, and working. So that's really, really big, that postpone of the Continuing Disability Review. That should be very, very beneficial for everyone.

>> And as you can see, Ray, go to the next slide and then we'll move these quickly so we can talk about Voc Rehab. [Inaudible] said, we assist with resume development, we assist with online as well as in person interview, interview skills, job accommodations. If there are some reasonable accommodations that would assist you, we have a great guy, Ingo [assumed spelling], who uses crutches, who sometimes gets a little fatigues, but he's a great personality, a great worker. He's been at the Closet Place closet workshop for a long time, which builds closets. There are tax incentives for employers. We will also referral to other agencies as needed to make sure it's a full team. The last slide on employment network is giving you job leads, so it's either check in with us or have an email address. We will assess different resource centers where you can go online to the public library, to go to the One Stop where they may have a database. Our One Stop right now is The Hub for hiring for a new Walmart that will be coming in the community, so we stay connected with that. The other think, like I just said, job development on your behalf. We will do it, but ultimately you need to be the one doing it, earning that job, earning that interview, to be able to go the next step. So that's a quick and -- moving through transition to employment network. Julie has one more thing, and then we'll turn it to Ray.

>> Okay, that final -- that final bullet, continue to provide new services through ticket after you've finished working with Voc Rehab. After you've successfully been working for 90 days, they're going to close your case, and you really need help. You still need that Social Security benefits plan because there's still a lot of things that could happen. There's a lot of help that you need, so you -- you want to go ahead and call another employment network at that time, or an employment network. And you want to assign your ticket again because you want that -- that continuing disability review exception, and you want the Social Security help.

>> Bold that, Ray.

>> Understand what's going to happen you know, the ongoing support. You really want that -- that additional help to keep you, if something happens, that you don't just fall apart, that you have a team there to help you understand everything that's going to happen after you've started working successfully.

>> Thank you very much. Ray, you want to run through Voc Rehab? And we'll entertain questions or concerns.

>> Okay, thank you very much. Now, if we look at the other side of this coin, where can you get help to begin this journey back to work? We may have some areas of the country, some of the rural areas, that might not have an EN that you can meet with. Your state VR agency is always going to be an option, and every state has a vocational rehabilitation office. Several of them have satellites in bigger states so that you can meet with them at your convenience somewhere close to home. And you can also use your Ticket To Work with that state vocational rehabilitation agency. Now, as a recipient of Social Security benefits based on disability, you're automatically eligible for VR services. Now, that being said, we all know that sometimes there are waiting lines for services, and there are selection criteria. But people who receive Social Security benefits based on disability are a very high priority, so you know that you're entitled to services. It's not even going to be an issue. Much like working with an EN, you're going to work with an individual counselor to put together an employment plan. Now, what happens to your ticket? When you sign that plan and agree to work with vocational rehabilitation, your ticket is assigned to VR, but it's really not taken by VR. Social Security puts you into a special status call VR in use status, and that's a very, very important status, because that ticket has value. And you just heard, you may be able to take that ticket once VR closes your case, and give it to an employment network for ongoing services. Now, just like when you're working with an EN, when that ticket is in use and you are making timely progress with your employment plan, Social Security is going to postpone the continuing disability reviews. Again, no one wants to pull the rug out from under you, so those reviews are not going to occur, providing you're making progress. And Social Security is going to work with you and the VR agency and potentially your EN to determine whether or not you're making the progress according to their guidelines. And both the ENs and the VR agencies know what those progress criteria are, and can let you in on the secrets. Now, when you begin to use your ticket with a state VR agency, you and your counselor are going to discuss that opportunity, or you should. If your counselor doesn't, you should ask about the opportunity to have an EN provide supports after VR services ends. Now, as you've just heard, the VR policy or practice is to close your case after you have successfully worked at a specific level for 90 days. The VR then takes hands off. You have been successfully rehabilitated and you are working. Well, lots of people need more than 90 days worth of service, so by taking that Ticket To Work and assigning it to an agency such as Richard's, an EN, you can secure follow on services for your employment. Whether that be someone on the job, a job-coach type person, whether it be somebody to simply help you keep reporting and keep your records straight, or whether it may be something as simple as the need for somebody to talk to about issues you may be having. Because there are lots of things that go on while you're returning to work. What happens if in month four after VR closes your case, you need to talk to somebody about asking your boss for a reasonable accommodation? If you have your ticket assigned to an EN, you can have that discussion with somebody, and that EN will be waiting for you to call with that question. It's great to have that employment team last beyond the VR agencies assistance, and that program is known as Partnership Plus. Now, I told you we have some other resources for you, and I don't like to lie so we're going to give you those other resources. If you want more information, we've mentioned this over and over again, visit the Social Security website www.socialsecurity.gov/work. You can find lists of employment networks that will tell you where they're located, what areas of the country they serve, and what types of people they serve. Not all employment networks serve everybody, you know, and that's fine. You want an employment network to make a good match with you. No obligation. No obligation whatsoever. That's a free website that's available to you. Or you can call, if you want to talk to somebody, talk to somebody at the Ticket To Work helpline. That's 1-866-968-7842, or for TTY users, 866-833-2967, and they can talk to you about helping you find your VR agency or an employment network, or can talk to you a bit about the specifics of your particular situation. That's another great way to get started. Now, in order to follow us, you could like us on Facebook. If you want to know when the next webinar's happening, when a topic's going to be discussed that you need to know about, follow us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/choosework. And you can follow us on Twitter, www.twitter.com/chooseworkSSA. They will also notify you when the next webinar is happening or when something important is going on in the Social Security world, there'll be a little tweet coming your way. Once again, that Ticket To Work helpline is 1-866-968-7842, or for TTY users, 1-866-833-2967. And we do have lots of questions, as I told you. So Richard, I have one person. I'm going to give the question to you, and any one of the three of you can take this question. How can I be sure that my VR agency is going to cooperate with the employment network that I'm trying to make the transition?

>> That's a great question, because the DR in the state of California with VR partners -- or Partnership Plus, DR will carry your case first, and then you have all the choice you want once you are successfully closed, Rehab 26, whatever you call it. It is your choice to go to an employment network that you choose. So it really is to be driven by you, not driven by Department of Rehab, so Department of Rehab can't say you have to go to the ABC EN. You want to go to the XYZ, it's your choice, you control it, you -- you do the signature for that. Good question, Ray.

>> [Multiple speakers].

>> Okay, and on that -- on that -- yeah, on that point, Richard, can you talk to me about choice? Talk to me, how much choice an individual has if they want to begin working and assign that ticket or not?

>> As far as -- I'm looking in my two staff and team, as far as we know, it's -- there's no pressure from Department of Rehab. We personally and professionally as an employment network, that we've worked with this family or individual, we would like them to come to us because it's a win-win situation. But if they want to go to an agency that's just over the border in Orange County, that's their choice and we let it go. There is no way to hold people hostage. Now, if you're really asking me the loaded question, there are some EN's in the past that put out artificial incentives to individuals to get them to sign up, that if you become our ticket recipient, we'll give you $25 a month for six months by staying with us. I think that's manipulation, and I don't think that's fair, and I know that's not what the intent of becoming an employment network and helping an individual was.

>> Okay, and do I have to use my Ticket To Work?

>> No.

>> It's a completely voluntary program. I tell people all the time, if you just want to go to work on your own, you don't even need to talk to us. I -- I say it's a good idea, though, because of the continuing disability review exemption, and because of all the support they'll get, especially for Social Security benefits planning. But absolutely not. If you just want to go out and get a job on your own, that is completely fine.

>> Okay, and the last question is how do I pay for your services?

>> There is no fee ever. It's a free program. No cost.

>> All right. I guess that's -- that's going to do it. In closing, folks, I want you all to know, I appreciate your help. Thank you, all of you folks in California who are sitting in sunshine. Fortunately, the weather on the East Coast held out, and we didn't have any interruption. Again, if we had not gotten to your question, you know where to find us. 1-866-968-7842. For TTY users, 1-866-833-2967. I want to thank Jamie are monitoring [inaudible] box, thank all our presenters, and thank Michael and Michael in the background for making everything work for us today, and have a great day. Watch your Twitter feeds and your Facebooks for the next webinar. Remember the survey's coming up. It'll be up in two seconds. Take care, everybody. Bye-bye.

>> Awhile. Yeah. [Inaudible]. Okay, so, all right, in that case, go back to... Yeah.