>> Good afternoon everybody. This is Ray Cebula from Cornell University Yang-Tan Institute and I want to welcome you to today's Wise event a work incentive seminar event. We are going to talk to you today about supporting your journey to work and moving from benefits dependence to financial independence and today's program is focused on mental illness. We are going to have a great presentation by some wonderful speakers and one of our friends Megan is here with us. Some of you who have been with us before probably seen Megan's videos and we, you know, we just love Megan. Megan is one of my personal heroes cause she's got a great story. She's a great woman and has persevered and is a true success story and we want to talk to Megan, we want Megan to talk to us because we believe everybody who's listening today can be a success story. So, let's start talking about where am I going? Okay, I just Michael help me I just did something wrong, I'm turning. There it is. I see it. Something is different about my console today, so I apologize for that but I'll catch on. Accessing today's webinar but you are connected by default to your computer's speakers so that you can hear us. If you do lose connections I know we're up here in Boston and we're expecting some thunderstorms to come rolling in just after this session, so a little bit further west you could have some storms coming through and if you lose your connection you can dial in at 1-855-749-4750. If you do lose your connection and you don't have that phone number written down just type in a question in the question and answer box that we'll talk about later and we can get that number to you. The access code to today's call which you'll be asked for by the automated voice on the line is 649-678-314 and at the very least you'll be able to follow along with us over the phone. The webinar and PowerPoint presentation that we're going to use in accessible PDF and text are located in the URL link that was sent to you with your confirmation letter so that you do have all of this information and if you've printed it out you'll be all set to follow along on the phone. Now, when we talk about webinar accessibility notice that there is nothing on this slide but webinar accessibility and that's not really the case here because there is everything on that slide. We want our webinars to be completely accessible to as many people as possible and what I want from all of you is to let us know if you have any issue with accessibility and more importantly if you do have an issue, if you have a solution to that issue please let us know what that solution is because if you do have, if you know of a program that we're not aware of or some kind of fix that we can make it will make everything a little bit easier, again, nay issues that you have with accessibility we want to hear about them. We have real-time captioning that's provided during the webinar. It's in the lower right-hand corner of your screen in at the bottom of that webinar console and you can make that larger and smaller but just know that as you make it larger some of the other boxes are going to be closing, so we're going, you're going to have to play with that if you do want to ask a question that question and answer box might have to be open which is going to shrink the size of the media viewer, so remember that when you do that. The closed captioning link today is www.edi.cornell.edu/ captions.cfm?activity underscore id equal sign 5110. The captions again can be found in that media viewer, mine right now is closed but if you open it up you'll be all set. Today's webinar, the transcript and the audio recording are going to be available in about two weeks and they're on the website at www.ilr.cornell.edu/ edi/m-wise-webinars.cfm. We try to get them up as soon as possible but we need about two weeks. You're going find lots of webinars there. Some of our older webinars are up there and if you find one related to a topic that you want to listen to feel free to listen any of them. Questions and answers during today's webinars are going to take place in the Q and A box. If you look at the corner, the right-hand side of your screen you're going to find I'm looking right now about three-quarters of the way down an arrowhead next to Q and A. If you click on that it's going to open up. You'll be able to type you questions in. They will magically appear on Jamie's screen and Jamie will then feed me the questions that you have. You can also send them to webinars@choosework.net. If you happen to think of your question after the session is over, if you're thinking about this information and all of a sudden, "Oh, my God that's the question I should have asked." Please shoot us an email at support@choosework.net and we'll be sure to get answers to you. Now, there are lots of people online and we usually have lots of questions and never enough time to answer all of the questions, so what Jamie's going to do is pick the questions that are going to pertain to the largest number of people which means that if you're asking a very personal question we're not likely to answer that question because this isn't an appropriate forum to have your personal information shared with the world but we will, we will before the day's over get you to someone who can answer your specific questions. Now, here are the panels again, these are the panels that you see on the right-hand side of your screen. Let me get my little marker, oh where's my marker? I need my marker. Alright, there we go. Okay, you're going to find the Q and A box with an arrowhead if the arrowhead is pointing down the box is open, if the arrowhead is pointing to the right it's closed; click on it it's going to open this box. You're going to want to come down to the bottom of the box, type in your question, "Where can I get a copy of these slides?" click on send, and that question will be sent to Jamie as I told you; very, very easy to ask questions. You are limited to the number of words or characters you can put in there but you can generally get a pretty long question in there and if you need to go to another box, go right ahead, go right ahead. Now, once again if you do run into issues and you have not written that phone number down you forget that you can ask Jamie for it in the question and answer box if you go up to the top of your screen, find the word "audio" click on it and click on "audio conference" it's going to open this box. You're going to be switching from computer to use phone, so if you click on "use phone I will call in" it will open up today's phone number, the access code and your attendee ID, so that's another way to get the phone number should something happen to your Internet and I just got a note from Jamie saying her Internet is already slow. She's down in Virginia and I said a little bit further East than Boston so we're already going to get some kind interruptions going on anyway. Now, before I talk about today's agenda I do have some questions for all of you. We like to take some polling questions so that we know who is listening, how many people are participating, and how you found out about us so that we know we're reaching out to the right people; real quick questions. The quicker you guys respond the better, the quicker we're going to move on so I'm going to open the first poll and it's how did you learn about today's Wise webinar? Was it by an email, Facebook or Twitter, a website, a family member or a friend, a WIPA Agency or something else and if it was some other place let us know what that was by typing it into the question and answer box so that we'll know to reach out to those groups later on. We'll give you a couple of seconds to answer this. I have my secret percentage and I need a lot more of you to answer. [ Pause ] Alright, we're getting very, very, very close. Alright, I can close that down you'll have 20 seconds to continue to answer. [ Pause ] And once again this information is very, very helpful because what you just told us is going to let us know whether we are reaching out to the right groups or using the right methods or not. The second question; what do you hope to learn from during our webinar today? The ticket to work? Work incentives for SSI? Work incentives for SSDI? Employment networks? Legal protection and advocacy or something else? And once again, if you click F or other let us know what your topic is because we have been known to take some of your topics, I believe this is one of them and make up webinars to provide you with more information concerning the topics that you want to hear about. I'll give you a few more seconds. [ Pause ] Okay, and very close. Need two or three more people to participate, there we go. Alright, 20 seconds left. [ Pause ] Ten. [ Pause ] And it looks like you speakers have your work cut out for you. They want to know about everything. It's a pretty even split. Okay, now we get some quick questions about who is listening in. What is your gender? [ Pause ] Okay, 20 seconds. [ Pause ] Ten seconds. [ Pause ] Thank you. I'm going to open a new one. What is your age? Please pick an age group; 18 or younger, 19 to 25, 26 to 40, 41 to 55, 56 to 65, or 66 and older. You don't have to worry we'll never know because we don't know who you are when you answer this question and we're done with that already. Thank you very much. And we're looking at a very, very good age range for return to work purposes a very, very good age range. And our last question is sometimes we know that are other people with you watching your screen, so besides yourself how many other people are with you watching today? Whoops I forget to open it, I'm sorry. There we go. Ooh we've got one party. Ooh, we've got a couple more parties. [ Pause ] Jamie we have to add another question. Do you have food and what kind? [ Pause ] Alight, 20 more seconds. Thank you very, very much folks that information may seem to be, seem very simple but it helps us out a great deal and we have nine seconds to go before we can get busy. Okay, so for our agenda today. I'm going to start off by interviewing our friend Megan, then we're going to move to Kendra Berry who's going to talk about some common myths concerning the social security and return to work process and particularly dealing with mental health. Then we're going to talk about the ticket to work, what is that ticket all about and what are the work incentives that we keep talking? What do they do and how can they help you get back to work? Sheriene Knox is then going to talk about employment networks and tell us a bit about her employment network and them I'm going to provide you with a bunch of resources. Now we might interrupt each one of these speakers or I might interrupt these speakers if your questions are right on point about what they're talking about but we will generally plan on taking a break right after each speaker finishes and save some time at the end for your questions. So, what I want to start to do, start today up with our special guest, again one of my personal heroes when I think about these webinars and the experience of doing them, Megan Riggs who is a true success story. So, Megan can you hear me? >> I can. >> Great. Good and I can hear you just fine too. So, why don't we start at the very beginning and tell us what were the circumstances that led you to apply for social security benefits? >> Well, it's been a really long time. I think since I've done my whole story probably the last time that I talked to you guys, but several years ago, probably it's been maybe like six years now I had, I was working and I ended up having a breakdown and it was from a mental illness and from there I went onto disability and I applied but at that point I was very young, I like to think I'm still young now, so I was 24 and I didn't want to be at home all the time and I thought this can't be what the rest of my life is going to be like so I wanted to go back to work but there was always that fear of what if I can't do it, am I going to lose everything that I have? And so, in the mail I got a little thing about Take It To Work and I said I have nothing to lose, so I tried it out and I gave my ticket to work to an employment network and from there you can kind of say the rest is history. They helped me find a job and I actually worked there for about two years before I ended up getting laid off and, you know, there was no problem; my disability came back until I found another job and in that process I ended up starting my own business at the same time and so right now I've actually started letting go of my regular paying job for my own business and I'm in the process of hiring, so it's a very exciting time for me. >> Okay, Megan can you tell us a bit about why you were laid off ? >> I was laid off, it was restructuring, so. >> Okay, so okay great. And you are now; what's your business now? >> My business now is I teach classes, fitness classes for seniors so my company is actually called Stand for Life Health. >> Great, great and how many people are looking to employ? >> Well, lots and lots. So, far I've hired three people but I'm always looking for more. >> That's pretty good. That's a pretty, that's pretty good and, you know, if you're moving from a paying job into your own business did you have any help to get that business plan going and get that into operation? >> I actually did. I, there are lots of resources out there and so for me since I'm in Maryland I went to the Maryland Women's Business Center and they teach, they take fellows too, so it's just not women; it's for everyone and I actually went there and they helped me with my business plan and I think I probably didn't tell you but since the last time we talked they had a business plan competition and I entered it and I won not first place but I won second prize and I also won intelligence office weeks for like a poll voting on who thought people's pitches were the best, so that was really exciting too. >> Yeah. Congratulations, that's really great. How about you say that you worked then you were laid off and you're back now working and starting your business can you tell us a little bit about how work helped in your recovery? >> Well, I think for me personally the biggest help that work was is to get you out of the house, you know, there's those times that you don't want to get out of the house and you don't want to leave and for me that's one of the best things about my business is because I'm going to meet, you know, what I like to call my friends and all my students in my classes and stuff and you have a reason for getting out the house and you always especially after working out you always feel better and so even if you didn't start off with a great day, after that class it's a great day. >> Okay. I'm looking at a question that is coming up from the audience. How do you, how did you know that you're mental illness was in remission enough so that you could start working again? >> For me I wouldn't say so much that it's in remission cause, you know, every day you have a good day and you have a bad day, but I knew I wanted to try to go back to work and so there was nothing to lose because I wasn't going to lose my benefits and I could get out there and I can get experience and I kind of figure out maybe what's a better situation for me starting off part-time or not working as much and then slowly building it up and so I became more confident, so for me for any, I would say for anyone who's listening or watching or reading I would say, you know, that you have nothing to lose. You can always try it, if it doesn't work out this time that's just this time. >> That's great. And you said you have nothing to lose. What do you mean by that? >> By that I mean that you get to keep your benefits and they don't take your benefits away, I know you have someone on who's going to do a better job of explaining than I could, but you won't lose your benefits. You start working and there are lots of numbers that you have to meet, so it's one of those things that you can make up to certain amount before you lose your benefits and also they don't just them away right away, it's kind of like if you make this much we'll take this much and then as you increase you lose, so you're never really losing money it's once you have enough money to support yourself that's when they'll start to take away. >> So, you never experienced Social Security pulling the rug out from under you? >> No. >> Okay. And you did have help right to plan this? >> I did. >> Okay. And who was that? >> For me that was my employment network. So, as soon as I knew that I was getting laid off I called them and is said, "What do I do" and they told me okay we need these forms and they put everything in, they got all the questions done and they were like, you know, you're next check will be coming. >> Okay. Great, so that employment network was there for you even after you started working and needed them? >> Correct. >> Alright. Okay. I guess the only other question I have for you right now Megan is are we married now? >> Soon, soon. Next year. >> Next year! Okay. Alright. I. >> We have to. >> I knew you were engaged. I wasn't sure. We want to hear about the wedding. Okay. We've got another question coming in out of the audience Megan. I want to make sure their questions are being answered. Did Megan have a background in exercise physiology or was this the profession that she always to be in? >> No, actually it wasn't what I had always wanted to do. I went to school for forensic science and general biology and that's what I was actually working in. But I always had a love of dance and fitness and so when, even though I was working fulltime in the evenings as kind of like my own hobby I was teaching fitness classes and so it kind of sprung out. Once I was laid off, I had a lot of free time and I didn't want to give up working cause I liked it and so I just started teaching more and more classes and the business kind of grew out of that. >> Very good and for those of you who want to see Megan in her ballroom dancing mode get on that website I gave you earlier and find the old webinar that she was in and you can see her at her dancing finest. Alright, Megan thank you very, very much as always it's great talking with you and I want to thank you for your help. >> No problem. Thank you for having me. >> Okay. Take care. Alright. >> Thank you. >> And we're going to now turn it over to Kendra Berry and she can introduce herself and take us through some of the slides that we have coming up. Kendra, take it away. >> Thanks Ray, can you hear me? >> Yes we can. >> Always great to ask because one time I started talking and no one could hear me. My name is Kendra Berry and I am a Community Work Incentive Coordinator with Indiana Works which is the WIPA Project for Northern Central Indian and we help people understand how work will impact their benefits. Lets' start by going over mental illness myths and facts. There are so many myths out there that if you have a mental illness it will be difficult to return to work and let's see what the first most common myth is. Mental health problems only affect a few people? When I talk to people I hear this a lot and they think that no one will understand because they aren't going through the same situations. Mental health problems are a lot more common than you think. In 2011, 1 in 5 American adults experienced a mental health issue. One in 5 that's a lot of people. One in 10 young people experience a period of major depression and 1 in 20 Americans lives with a serious mental illness. That's schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression and this information comes from the mentalhealth.gov website and you can learn more there about mental illness and about others with the same diagnosis that you have. It's just good to keep in mind you're not alone. There are so many people on this call that have the same questions you have and want to learn how they can go back to work. So, the next most common myth people with mental health needs even those who are managing their mental illness well cannot tolerate the stress of holding down a job. Before I was the [inaudible] I was a teach manager at a mental health center a job coach after that for the mental health center and people would come to us and they would say that those offices told they couldn't handle working and that really is a myth. If you want to try working, you should try it. It's completely up to you and you have so many supports available to you. People with mental health problems can be just as productive as other employees. Employers who hire people with mental health problems report good attendance and punctuality, as well as, motivation, good work, and [inaudible] on the job that are on par with or greeters than other employees who don't have a mental illness. So, there's no reason to think that you can't go to work. The best thing about this program about the Ticket to Work and learning about the work incentive is that you can find out about the support that's there for you. There is assistance for you to help you find a job and they're not going to place you somewhere if you want to try part-time you'll be able to do that. If you want to try fulltime you'll be able to do that with support as well. Let's go onto the next myth. The people with mental health needs even those who are managing their mental illness well can't tolerate the stress of holding down a job. When you're able to work, mental health problems, with mental health problems and you're in treatment, [inaudible] was the total medical cost, you'll have increased productivity, lower absenteeism and decreased disability costs and one of things that we'll be going over in a few minutes and that Megan mentioned as well is that going to work won't cause you to lose your benefits and that includes insurance. A fact that's a huge concern that people have. So, you have the ability to go to work and in the big picture it will be a great thing for you. So, I encourage everyone to give it a try and you are taking the first step just by being on this phone call with us. So, the next myth, there is little hope for people with mental health problems. Once a friend or family member develops mental health problems, he or she will never recover. And I'm sure that everyone on this phone call knows that that is not true. Just because you've been diagnosed with a mental illness does not mean that you will never recover. Studies show that people with mental health problems get better and many recover completely. A lot of people will be in treatment and you may see a therapist or you may just see a psychiatrist every three months or every six months. Just because you are slow in treatment doesn't mean that you can't recover and live a wonderful life. Recovery refers to the process in which people are able to live, work, learn and participate fully in their communities. There are more treatments, services and community support systems than ever before and they work for many people. Even being on this call is part of a community support system because we're going to explain the work incentives and the different support systems available. You'll hear about [inaudible] networks and how that can assist you with getting a keeping a job. So, now that we've gone over these myths and you have to remind yourself they really are all false. You can go out there, you can get a job and you can live a wonderful life even though you've been diagnosed with a mental illness. So, let's move on to the Ticket to Work Program and what the Ticket to Work Program is. I think I'm going to kick this back over to Ray and he's going to help you get to know Ben. >> Alright. We've got our little friend Ben who is going to take us a journey through all of the work incentives and then Kendra will come back with us and explain them a little slower. Okay, Mike if you queue up in the video, thank you. [ Pause ] Okay, we're having a delay here while Mike gets Ben up and running. [ Pause ] >> Independence, fulfillment, community involvement. These are some of the benefits that work provides. By working, you can earn more income, meet new people and learn new skills. What is the Ticket to Work Program? How can it help you? Ticket to Work is a free and voluntary program from social security that provides you employment support services to help you go to work while still providing access to Medicaid and/or Medicare. It can help you go to work which can give you a greater sense of purpose and help you give back to your community. With time, you will be able to replace your cash benefits with your earnings from work putting you on the road to financial independence with a piece of mind that your benefits will be available to you if you need them due to your disability. Meet Ben. Ben qualified for the Ticket to Work Program because he is age 18 through 64 and received social security disability insurance. If Ben received supplemental security income he would also qualify for the program. Ben wanted to work but needed to understand how work would impact his benefits especially his healthcare. Ben did some research and found out that over 316,000 people with disabilities have participated in the program. After doing more research he decided that Ticket to Work was just the ticket he needed to be successful in going to work. When Ben contacted the ticket helpline they talked to him about supports from social security he could use to go to work. He found that with social security's Ticket to Work and work incentives he might be able to work while keeping his Medicaid or Medicare with a piece of mind that if he needed to stop working due to his disability there would be a fast track back to restarting his benefits. With the Ticket Program, Ben had a choice of service providers, employment network and [inaudible] Vocational Rehabilitation Agency he was able to select one of these service providers to work with him one on one to help him reach his work goals; both could offer him specialized services and he could choose which was right for him. PR Agencies work with individuals who need more significant services. The services that Ben could receive include benefits in career counseling, education, training, and job search support. ENs are private or public organizations that may help with career counseling and assistance of job placement and more. Different ENs offer different types of services so Ben could pick an EN that was just right for him. Ben also had the option to receive services from his state PR agency and then when those services end he could work with an EN to receive additional services that would help him find a job or keep an existing job. Ben took some time to think about his options and decided to assign his ticket to an EN. Ben's commitment to participate in the Ticket to Work Program forged a partnership between him and his service provider. They both agree to work together and jointly developed a plan that was just for him. His plan to find his work goals and describe the specialized services that EN would provide or a resource to help him meet is goals. Ben's road to employment through the ticket program is a two-way street. In return for assistance in getting a job, Ben pledged to social security that he would take specific steps determined by the plan he developed with the EN within timeframes set by social security to work at a specified earnings level but complete certain educational or training requirements. Taking the agreed upon steps for employment with timeframe set by social security is called making timely progress. By taking these steps, Ben was able to fully take advantage of the support and protection the Ticket to Work Program provided. You can be like Ben. The Ticket to Work Program is here to help you become and stay employed, meet new people and gain fulfillment and financial independence. We know it's a big step but there are so much help for you all along the way. The ticket program offers many tools and resources to help you learn about starting your journey to financial independence. Are you ready to work? Call the Ticket to Work Healthline at 1-866-968-7842 for TTY call 1-866-833-2967 to talk to one of our knowledgeable representatives or visit www.socialsecurity.gov/ work to learn more. Good luck on your journey to financial independence. We are ready to help you on your way. [ Music ] [ Pause ] >> Okay, thank you Mike. Kendra we're going to get back with you and talk about some of the benefits and most importantly the work incentives that people can use to get back to work. >> Sounds great. Let's start with the Social Security Disability Benefits Program. If you're listening to call there are two main disability benefit programs. The first is Social Security Disability Insurance or SSDI; this if for people who worked in the past and they paid into the system and they became insured under their own work record or they because disabled before the age of 22 and are insured under a parent's record. The other program is Supplemental Security Income or SSI and this is for people who didn't work close enough to when they became disabled or haven't worked on all in the past and this is the money that you're receiving to live off of. Some of you may be receiving both SSDI and SSI and this is known as concurrent benefits. The reason it's important to know which benefit program you're receiving is because the work incentives are very different. What you can do is contact your local WIPA Program in your state and they will give you a report and tell you about the work incentive for your specific situation, not only social security but Medicaid, Medicare, Group [inaudible] any benefits you receive. So, let's look at Ben's journey and taking the next step. What you'll want to do is gather information and resources because that's the key to planning a journey towards employment. Like I said before, you are already taking that first step by being on this call with us today. The Ticket to Work Program and the work incentive can help to make your journey a smooth one. It will provide you that support every step of the way as you begin to think about working, decide what you would like to do, what field you would like to be in, whether you want to work part-time or fulltime, all of that. You'll have assistance every step of the way. So, when it comes to the next step of the journey only you can decide if work is the right choice for you. You'll hear a lot of information today about the different steps and the support systems but you are the only one who can make that decision. We're not here to force you to go to work, we're here to help you understand how working can be beneficial for you. People often ask me why should they return to work and there are a lot of great reasons. The most common reason I hear from people about why they want to return to work is that they want more money, that it's hard to pay their pay their bills and that they just want it to be easier day-to-day. Working can also help you gain independence. You won't have to rely on other people to assist you and you won't have to rely on all of the different benefit programs. Working also is a great way to meet new people. A lot of people that I talk with say that they're just tired of being in their homes and they just want to get back out there and interact with people and working is a great way to do that. You can also learn new skills. Vocational rehabilitation and employment networks can help you to get training for a new job, so if there's something that you're interested in you can do that. The Ticket to Work Program provides a lot of different supports. They'll support career development for people with disabilities who want to work. It's for disability beneficiaries age 18 through 64 and it's a free and voluntary program. One of the most common questions I get is do I have a Ticket to Work? I don't have any papers and you don't have to have a paper copy of the Ticket to Work. You can call the Ticket to Work Helpline and they'll be able to let you know if you're ticket is available to be referring or if maybe you assigned your ticket in the past, but the great thing about the Ticket to Work Program is that because it's free and voluntary if you assign it to someone and it doesn't work out, you can reassign it to a different agency and get the assistance that you are looking for currently. Now, that we've talked some about the Ticket to Work Program let's use a work incentives. You'll hear more about the employment networks leader and some more ticket support but let's review how the work incentives will assist you in getting to work. The most of the work incentives, I'm waiting for the next slide to pop up it takes a second. The work incentive have special rules that allow you to receive training for new skills, improve the skills that you already have, pursue your education, tryout different jobs, start a career and gain confidence. The purpose of this program is that social security wants to provide you with a safety net so they, like you heard from Megan, going to work won't cause you to lose all of your benefits. They're [inaudible] that in place for you so that you can find a job that's a good fit for you. And the biggest benefit is that it's not an attempt to not for them just place you somewhere. The agencies work you with are going to work with you on finding the job that you want so that hopefully you'll be able to have a career and not just a job because there is a big difference between going to work in a job and having a career. So, these work incentives that we're going to review will help you go reach your goals. As we go over these work incentives you'll notice that under each one it says SSI or SSDI, because again, all work incentives are not available for both benefits program. So, it is important to know what you're refusing. If you have specific questions about your situation, the best thing to do is contact the Ticket to Work Helpline and to get a referral to your WIPA Project and they will be able to answer your specific questions. Let's review some of the most common work incentives so that you can see how these safety nets will help you as you begin to consider going to work. The earned income exclusion is available for those SSI and SSDI recipients and what it means is that social security is not going to count all of your earnings. Depending on what you're paying for out of pocket for anything related to any disabling condition you have, social security will take that into account. So, if you're paying for medications, therapy visits, psychiatry visits, you can use those to lower the income that social security will count. By assigning your Ticket to Work, for both SSI and SSDI recipients you'll have protection from medical continuing disability reviews or CDRs and that's that paperwork that you get every so many years for some of you with every year, or others it's every 7 years. You get a packet that you have to fill out that says, you know, are you still disabled? If your ticket is referring you not have that continuing disability review. For SSDI recipients there's a 9 month trial work period, so again, just for SSDI. This is one of the best safety nets for SSDI recipients because what it is it's a 9 month period where you can earn any amount of money at all and your benefits checks will continue. So, if you would like to try working fulltime and you are earning $3000 a month for the first 9 months you will be able to have your $3000 in earnings and you'll be able to continue to receive your social security check, so it's an awesome safety net for you to see if you're able to handle working. Again, for SSDI recipients we have Medicare, continuation of Medicare coverage. This is called Extended Medicare. It says that for up to 93 months after the trial work period your Medicare will continue. Almost 8 years of additional Medicare coverage, so that means you insurance will not go away. For SSI recipients there is a federal regulation called 16-19 B that says that your Medicaid will continue until your earnings above a certain level. Here in Indiana your Medicaid will continue at no cost to you until your yearly earnings are about $37,000. So, for those SSI and SSDI recipients going to work will not cause you to lose your insurance coverage and that is usually the biggest fear that people have because your medications can be expensive and so can therapy and doctor's visits so you'll be able to tryout working and keep working and still have insurance coverage. The last common work incentive is EXR or Expedited Reinstatement and this is for both SSI and SSDI recipients and this is probably my favorite work incentive. This work incentive is the one that allowed Megan to get back onto her benefits after she lost her job. What this work incentive says is that if you're unable to work due to your disability even if your benefits have stopped you can request expedited reinstatement and your benefits will restart again the next month and you don't have to go through the application process and this is huge relief for a lot of people because most people I work with tell me horror stories of, you know, [inaudible] on benefits and they're afraid to have to go through that again. Expedited reinstatement takes away that fear because you can get your benefits restarted. These are just some of the work incentives available. There are more and they vary depending on your situation. So, contact the Ticket to Work Helpline and get connected with your local WIPA to learn how working will impact your specific benefits. >> Okay, Kendra thank you very much. We've a couple of questions that I want to ask you right now. Somebody wants to know the difference between, I'm sorry, I'm not going to ask you that one I'm going to [inaudible] that question. How do you get both benefits? You mentioned that some people receive both benefits. >> It's just different programs. SSDI is if you've worked in the past and paid into the system. If you've only worked a little and maybe you only qualify for $200 of SSDI, the SSI would cover the rest of it. The governments that the federal government rate this year at $733 and that is the minimum amount of money that they someone can live on. So, if you have not qualified for $733 with SSDI and you get less than that then you would get that amount to makeup to that 733 so that you can meet that minimum amount that the government says someone can live on. >> Okay, so if I received a check that was $1300 I would not be able to get SSI? >> No, you would not that would just be an SSDI check. >> Okay. Thank you very much. Alright, and I think we're done and we're going to move on to Sheriene. We will probably have some questions for you at the end Kendra. Thank you. Sherine can you hear us? >> I can hear you, yes thank you very much. >> We can hear you too. Welcome back. >> Thank you. Thank you. The first [inaudible] attack was your employment so would do the next slide please? You've got some choices for your employment team. The first choice is an employment network and that's companies that are other than state [inaudible] where you have agencies. And these companies, these employment networks can help you with all of your career planning. We're also required to give you some job leads, now those job leads are based on specific vocational goals that you have. It's like if you want to work in some area then we try to push you into another area, it's very specific to what your interests and your skills are; help with down placement. The ongoing support for employment if you go back to work part-time we can stay with you for approximately one year after you begin working to help you how to maneuver through how your benefits will be affected or some issues that you may have on the job. If you work full-time and you earn what's called SSGA, substantial gainful activity and then there's a possibility that an employment network can help support you for up to five years after you begin working and so the benefit of that is we can help with reemployment, we continue helping you with your benefits and connect with other resources and that's part of the benefits counseling. Now you've probably heard about your state VOC rehab agency. They, in turn can provide intensive training and education, some rehabilitation. They can also on occasion purchase some adaptive equipment if you need a specialized chair for work but they also do career counseling with some placement assistance and some benefits counseling as well and they will follow you for up to 90 days after you begin employment. The WIPA Kendra spoke about that, the work incentives planning and assistant project. I will generally talk with my local WIPA representative as well to ask more specifics about benefits, although I am aware of what benefits are out there and basically how they're affected. So, we know things change to [inaudible] most in the government and so it's wonderful to have the WIPA individuals for us to speak to. And then there's the protection advocacy for beneficiaries of social security. Anytime that there needs to be a resolution with conflict then you would contact your local state protection advocacy. >> Okay, Sheriene have to interrupt you right now. Somebody said you're going to help me for five years and then they saw all of this stuff and they want to know how much does all this cost? >> There is no charge. >> That's wonderful. >> Yes, you can pick your employment network. There is no charge. You can access your local WIPA at no charge and of course your protection advocacy at no charge. >> Okay. Thank you and now I'll give your next slide. >> Okay, thank you. The employment network has many vocational [inaudible] services where we're all under the umbrella of what's called employment networks, and again, we're organizations and agencies and we all have agreements with social security to provide you with the services that we do. Most importantly is that they do not give these agreements to agencies that do not have people with skills and abilities and a work history. For instance myself. I have over 25 years-experience in working with people with disabilities specifically in helping them to return to work so that you have to have proof of history of assisting people with disabilities in order to secure an agreement and become an employment network. Next slide. Some of the services that are provided, of course career planning and that is as unique as everyone is a unique individual. Take a look at what type of work that you did before and what kind of jobs are out there and how those mesh together with your skills. Employment networks are very good about knowing what jobs are out there and what skills are needed and these may be jobs that you've never heard of before, so we can make these suggestions, do a little research and develop a career path or plan for specific vocational or work goals that we can assist you in finding. As far as job leads and placements, I also like to teach people how to find job leads. Employment networks want to teach people how to also do their own job search. We can assist with placement. We do resume development. I have very big on interviewing skills, making sure that individuals are able to convey what they think they're conveying because we all think we're speaking clearly but sometimes the person that's listening is not hearing what we're saying. So, especially if you need accommodations, you want to be able to speak to that well and explain it and any accommodations that you might need to an employer. The ongoing employment support is what I talked about that after you become employed that we can continue to assist you, again, that maybe help in the reemployment if the job does not work out or after three years most people, that's the average time, that people go to a new job. So, within three years you could say hey you know what I've got all this experience and I'm ready to move the ladder but I need some help let's update my resume. What kind of interviewing do I need to prepare for? And let's move onto my next position that requires more skill and hopefully with that more income. So, just for selecting an employment network determine what kind of help that you need and employment networks should ask you, you know, how are you in developing a resume; do you have a resume? Have you made contact with your references? Have you done so? There are some people who, you know, need assistance in completing an application. Most of the time what I hear is, you know, how do explain this length of time that I have been off work? So, these are some things that you want employment network to be able to assist you with; with how do I explain this? How do ask for an accommodation? So, talk with multiple employment networks and be sure to ask a lot of questions. Those are just a few, but basically how is employment network, how are they going to help you specifically in what you're doing? >> Okay. I'm going to have to interrupt you there cause you brought up a question. How do you go about explaining a gap in your resume? >> When I speak with people individually I ask them, you know, have you moved during the process? Or have you been ill? Then specifically tailoring that answer; for example, if I have somebody that says, you know, I've been very ill for two years and my doctor has just release me and then we talk about what their comfortable in sharing with the employer if the employer needs to in fact know that if they ask. How to put that on a resume, so primarily you could say, you know, I have had some health issues that I am not fully recovered and I'm released to return to work and looking for an opportunity back into the workforce and I hope that you will give me that opportunity so that's one way. >> Okay. Thank you. >> You can do the to help, the tool there's visiting the www.choosework.net/ findhelp to search for the right service provider for you. They have it broken down that you can search by different things such as zip codes, services offers, disability types, languages spoken and then again provider type whether it's an EN or a vocational rehabilitation or with a or the protection advocacy. Next slide. Operations job [inaudible]. Next slide please. That is a company that I specifically work with. I do have a forte in working with veterans, although I do work with nonveterans as well. But my company is not for profit and we are dedicated to preparing service members, military spouses, caregivers and veterans for successful employment. We are pretty much in Indiana, the state of Indiana but we are also looking at expanding. For the Ticket to Work Program I work with people who are all over the United States, because again, I'm not limited to working specifically with veterans but I do have a lot of success and a lot of experience in doing so. My company we believe in making a personal connection. We want to assist veterans of all abilities and all eras and employment goals and careers and we offer a one week transition seminar that's called VETs, Veteran Employment Training seminar and what that does for one week is that helps the veterans transition into civilian life in regards to finding employment, again, we very much talk about what skills have you developed in the military and which ones will benefit you to speak to during the interview process. Vets have skills but many don't realize what they have just by being in the service such as the discipline, the pride, being able to take direction, completing tasks, going the extra mile, being able to work as a team, so you know, there are resources that can help you to recognize and also to how to say in terms during an interview because that's very important because they basically seem like two different languages when you're a civilian and not a veteran. As far as individuals returning from active duty, about 20% return with posttraumatic stress disorder that includes depression and anxiety and about 15% with chronic TVI, traumatic brain injury and I think there's a whole lot more because there a lot of people who suffer a head injury that they think is mild and don't put the two items together. But, when working with the veterans, you know, definitely need to ask questions about, you know, what triggers for posttraumatic stress disorder or what keys in in the anxiety and what specific issues that there is with traumatic brain injury. What's most important is discovering what is the best environment to support your needs and to not trigger your anxiety or depression or other issues that you may have. The environment is extremely important, so again, looking at you as an individual that you're unique. What I generally ask about is, you know, memory, how's your memory? How's your fatigue? Emotions, medications; how's your concentration? Your sleep, etcetera because all of that falls into success on the job site because the last thing that myself or I'm sure anyone that wants to do that's helping you is to put you in a situation to where you would become fired or not become successful. So. >> Okay, Sheriene I'm going to interrupt you again. Cause we got a couple of questions. Now, do you help veterans whose mental illness was not service connected? >> Correct. As long as you are receiving social security disability and/or SSI and that you have a Ticket to Work, yes. Yes, I work with. >> Okay, and any branch of the service including the National Guard? >> Any branch, yes. >> Alright. Now, I've got a tougher one for you. >> Okay. Alright. >> Okay, what's the best way to disclose your mental illness to an employer or shouldn't I disclose it all? >> If you need an accommodation then yes disclose it and the best way I can explain that is through an example. I work with many people who suffer from anxiety. Some individuals have panic attacks and, although they take medication they are still subject to panic attacks especially in new situations like new jobs, so I ask them is this something that you would need to stop doing your job for any length of time whether it be five minute or it be ten minutes to go take medication or to do breathing exercise or are you able to stay on the job and do your breathing exercise and do what you need to do and continue to work through it. If they can continue to work through it, then no, an accommodation would not be needed and nor would I disclose. But if you need to leave for five minutes to sit in your car or go to a quiet place to do breathing exercises or, again, take some medication then yes, ask for an accommodation because you are asking to leave the job for a few minutes or if need be longer depending on your situation. But as long you, when you ask for an accommodation, if you can provide some type of answer in regards to this is how I handle it and I can get back to work within five to ten minutes then I generally have no issues with employers making that accommodation and also in fact, since knowing that a new job will trigger some anxiety that's new to all of us that generally that's subsides as your employment goes on. >> Okay. Thank you. >> Okay. We work with veterans with mental illness in a variety of ways and that includes. I'm am sorry, I've lost power on my. >> Yeah, you, we can still hear you. >> Okay. Okay, alright. You may have to help me through this. We help individuals. We make sure that you are connected with the VA. If you need a mentor there's veteran mentors that are available. Also, again on the accommodations piece in helping with additional questions that may have in regards to returning to work. As far as my contact information, I can be reached at [inaudible].org and so feel free to connect with me if you like. >> Okay, I'm going to ask Jamie to put your contact information in the Q and A box so people can see it because we are losing you. >> Okay, well I just came back on. >> Okay. Do you want to give us that contact information again? >> I sure will. That is sknox@jobreadyvets.org and I think the best piece of advice that I want to give everybody out there that's listening is that make decisions based on fact and fear. I say that over and over and over again. Get the information you need about how your benefits are affected; is someone knowledgeable, if someone is interested in seeing you as the unique person that you are and in helping you in your best interests then you'll be fine. >> Okay. Now, Sheriene is it safe, I know that you work with vets and that's the specialty that you work on, but when we were talking about vets with mental illness is it safe to assume that most of what you spoke about will pertain to anybody with mental illness? >> Yes it is. >> Okay, great. Just so everybody else knows that we weren't disregarding them. Okay, and I did post your contact information and please let; I want everybody to know that it's the second one because I hit the wrong key the first time and so it's the second one, it's the sknox with an x. Alright, let me get ready to get through some information about some more places to contact the support and then we have more questions for both Sheriene and Kendra, so I want to get through this very quickly. These are just some of the agencies that are available to you for support and they're agencies that most of us who are in this profession of getting people back to work use almost daily, almost daily you know and I can assure that some of the resources that we've already talked about I do in fact use daily. The National Suicide Prevention lifeline is available to talk with somebody; yourself or somebody that you know who is suicidal or experiencing emotional distress. They have trained crisis worker who are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. These calls are completely confidential and toll free and the call when you do dial the number goes to the Crisis Center that's closest to you. This is a national program. These centers can provide crisis counseling and mental health referrals, again, I it is a crisis situation that we're dealing with so they're going get you through that crisis and provide you with a local referral for some long-term assistance and they can be reached at 1-800-273-TALK or 1-800-273-8255. The veterans crisis line is and organization that's going to connect with veterans who are experiencing crisis, as well as, their family and friends with qualified and carrying department for veterans affairs responders through another toll free hotline online chat or texting, so there is very, very many ways to contact these people. I know it's hard to reach out for help. Maybe online chat is the way that you need to go until you're comfortable talking to somebody or texting. I know some people text all the time. Veterans or their friends or families can call 1-800-273-8255 and press 1 to chat online, or if you want to chat at www.veteranscrisisline. net or text 838255 and you'll receive free confidential support. So, again, if you want to talk to somebody dial 1-800-273-8255 and press 1 that way you won't have to listen to the recording. If you want to chat online the website is www.veteranscrisisline. net or if you want to text them information and get some texts back you have a text conversation at 838255, again, free and confidential. SAMHSA is great organization. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration they have a treatment referral helpline where you can get some general information on mental health so if you have a family member who's experiencing what you believe is a mental health issue give SAMHSA call and they may be able to talk with you about it to give you, you can provide the general information and they can provide you with some type of information about what might be happening and refer you to some local treatment centers in your area. You can speak to a live person Monday through Friday 8 am to 8 pm Eastern Time, 8 am to 8 pm Eastern Time and that number is 1-877-726-4727 and mental health.gov another website that provides, you know, some of these websites are really, really superb and they are absolutely easy to use and I'm telling you that because I can use them, if I can use them anybody can. So, mentalhealth.gov is going to give you one stop access to information about mental health and mental health programs and it's provided by the United States Government. Their aim is to educate and to guide. They're looking to talk to the general public about mental illness that include employers, employers who have questions about mental illness when you disclose that mental illness they may have some questions about it it's a great place for them to get information. Health and emergency preparedness professionals so that they will know how to interact with somebody whose experiencing mental illness during some kind of general emergency. Policy makers, all of those senators and congress people in Washington, all of the different administrations like SAMHSA are making regulations that are impacting mental illness and we want to be part of that discussion; government and business leaders, school systems and local communities all of that information is provided to these as well as individuals like yourself by getting online at www.mentalhealth.gov and the National Alliance for Mental Illness they've been around for a very long time dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans who are affected mental illness, as Kendra said nobody is immune or alone. Millions of Americans are affected by mental illness to some degree and the NAMI advocates for access to services, treatments, supports, and research and they're committed to raising awareness, awareness is a very important thing. Everybody needs to be aware and building a community of hope for everybody who's in need, you know, building awareness of mental illness is very important for the individual walking down the street or through the shopping mall as much as it is for employers and everyone else and they can be reached at www.nami.org. Now, Mental Health America is a community-based network dedicated to helping Americans live mentally healthier lives with a century, a 100 years of service and 300 different organizations, organizational affiliates across the country, the Mental Association, the Mental Health America Associate advocates for changes in public policy, educates the public and delivers needed programs and services. So, if you think your community could use some education or a program on mental illness held at the public library get in touch with them at www.mentalhealthamerica. net. A new resource finding your path to employment with the Ticket to Work. It's a series of videos that can help jobs seekers especially those who are deaf or hard of hearing learn about the Ticket to Work Program and the resources that are available to help you find a job and more importantly keep that job. You can view these videos online and they are all in ASL at www.chooseworktpw. net /library/finding- your-path-to-employment- asl-video so please take a look at those particularly for those folks who are deaf or hard of hearing and need something that's perfectly understandable. Now, I'm not going to tell you to join us at our next webinar just yet because we have a couple of minutes and we've got lots of questions. So, Kendra if you're still with us I want to go way back to EXR, Expedited Reinstatement and ask you does Expedited Reinstatement work for Medicare too? >> Medicare is kind different, we went over the work incentive for Medicare [inaudible] extended Medicare, so you will have that protection. You won't even lose your Medicare. Your Medicare will still be valid while you're check stops. You don't need the Expedited Reinstatement for Medicare. The Expedited Reinstatement will just be for the cash benefit that you receive. >> Okay. Thank you very much. And I think I need Sheriene again. Sheriene are you still with us? Live TV, I think we've, oh Sheriene you're talking I see your phone, I can't hear you. Do you have your phone unmuted? [ Pause ] Okay, we can't hear Sheriene right now so I'm going to talk to about our next webinar cause we have a few slides left and maybe we can get her reconnected again. Our next webinar is going to be on June 24th, 2015 same time, 3 O'clock to 4:30 pm Eastern Daylight Time and we're going to talk about community service as a pathway to an employment for young adults, again, we're talking about folks who are receiving benefits from the Social Security Administration based on disability but we're going to talk about youth, youth in transition. We can register online at www.choosework. net/ wise or call 1-866-968-7842 for voice or TTY 1-866-833-2967, again, we're going to be focusing on employment for young adults. It's a great session so if you know a young adult who is graduating from high school or getting ready to join the workforce please let them know about this session. Okay, Sheriene are you with us now? >> Can you hear me now? >> Yes, I can hear you. Great. Okay. >> I'm sorry. >> No, it's not a problem. Somebody's asking with the Ticket to Work Program can you go to school through that program? >> Yes, as a matter fact you can because after you sign up for the ticket annually there is what's called a timely progress review and during that time you either need to make efforts towards completing so many credit hours of college or a technical certificate or be working because when you assign your ticket what happens is that it shelters you from having a medical review because they consider that you are making progress towards becoming employed, so when you sign your ticket you have about a year that will keep you from having that medical review but at the end of that year Employment Networks do again what's called a Timely Progress Review to where we report that you are making good progress to work towards your goal for the Ticket to Work Program. >> Okay. And can you tell me the difference between the Ticket to Work and the VR? >> Actually, Vocational Rehabilitation is, an also usually an Employment Network; Vocational Rehabilitation will take a look at your diagnosis and see if you qualify for their services which as previously on the slide states that that could be some educational monies, trainings, it could be for adaptive equipment. For an Employment Network such as myself that's not connected to Vocational Rehabilitation basically to qualify is that you have to be receiving Social Security Disability and/or SSI, so for myself there is not a 90 day eligibility determination like there is with Vocational Rehabilitation, but Vocational Rehabilitation can offer more supports than a traditional Employment Network in most cases. >> Okay, so the Ticket to Work is really just something that's a Vocational Rehabilitation agency in the state can use as a payment method to get paid. Okay. Okay, now I'm going to ask you specifically because this is a general question but I think your experience will be helpful. What types of jobs have you helped people find? >> Gosh, I've helped find in all areas. Within the last month I've had an individual return to work after six years to go back into project management in Indiana making 55,000 a year. In March I helped an individual that listened the November webinar and tracked me down and in three months was able to help her secure a job after not working for three years as a staff accountant and making $50,000 and she is Michigan. So, anything and everything; I take a look at what your experience is, jobs that meet that skill or how can you use that skill that knowledge that interest that you have, I think it's highly important to someone interested in a type of work that they do and then I do basic production, assist with finding production jobs, healthcare jobs, and restaurant jobs; if someone's interested in retail and such. >> Okay. Thank you very much. It sounds like there are jobs all over the place. >> Yeah. >> And a great variety of them. Okay, and I have to ask you this question. If I pick you as my EN and we do not get along can I change? >> Of course. If I'm not meeting your needs or your expectations, yes you have the option to un-assign your ticket and reassign with another employment network most definitely. >> Okay. Thank you. Okay, Kendra I've got another one for you. And this is about the premiums for part B. During that 93 months of extended Medicare, do I have to continue to pay those premiums? >> You would need to continue to pay those premiums and if your social security check [inaudible] they would continue to be taken out of that but if your check stops then you need to make arrangements to pay for the premiums for part B. You always have to the option to decline part B, but if you decline it and you choose at a later date to take it and have not had credible insurance then you would pay a higher premium. >> Okay, and can I assume since you're a WIPA and a CWIC and a benefits planner type person that you're going to make sure that this person who's asked that question is going to be working enough to make and have enough money to pay that bill? >> What we, when you contact your local WIPA what they'll do is they'll put together a report for you and if your goal is to work whether it's for 10 hours a week or 40 hours a week they'll do calculations for you and show you exactly what you're income will look like both before working with just your social security and bills and after working including the income that you're earning and how you'll be able to pay for things. So, contacting your WIPA is the best place to start so that you can understand what will happen to your benefits and how working will be beneficial for you. >> Okay, great that sounds like a good plan. Okay, and Sheriene. >> Yes. >> Do employers, do employers have any incentives to hire from an EN? >> Well, there's the work opportunity tax credit that allows employers to receive a tax credit by hiring individuals in certain categories such as veterans or people with disabilities, so yes there is a tax incentive. >> Okay, and I also just wanted to mention the new amendment of section 503 which sets a goal for employers who are federal contractors and there a lot of federal contractors out there. There is a goal that every federal contractor have at least 7% of their workforce made up of individuals with disabilities, so that is a goal. It's also an incentive for employers to be reaching out the disability community to look for workers. Let me see what else do we have. Okay, I'm going to back to Kendra. Kendra somebody's asking about a premium for part A. Is there one? >> No Medicare part A has no premium. Part A is the hospital insurance and it is free to SSDI recipients. >> Okay. Alright, what I think we're done with the questions that we're able to answer. There were a lot of very personal questions in the box and what we want to do is now give you information where those personal issues can be addressed. It's just not a great place when there are hundreds of people listening to answer questions of that nature. So, if you want to get a pencil handy or if you have this page in front of you you can contact the Ticket to Work Helpline at 1-866-968-7842 for voice or TTY 1-866-833-2967 and they will be able to spend some time with you and you can ask those questions that are related to your specific situation. Now, you might want to visit the Social Security website www.socialsecurity.gov/ work now this one website that I really am on every day. Everything you need to know about going back to work can be found there. You can find WIPAs, you can find the PABs the legal agencies that can provide you with assistance, you can find your state VR agency and you can find all of the ENs that serve your area; very, very user friendly website with some fantastic information and that might be a great place for you to start if you're not willing quite to talk to somebody, you're not ready to talk to somebody. Get on the website and you can search that site to see if you can find some information and then maybe give that Ticket to Work Helpline a call, again, I want to give that number again it's 1-866-968-7842 and for TTY users 866-833-2967. We also want to keep in touch with you, so like us on Facebook for those of you who Facebook www.facebook.com/ choosework. Jamie's tweeting all day and tweets are flying around to get information to you and sources of information to you, so you can follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/ chooseworkssa , and again, if you want to see more success stories like Megan's we have some success stories out there so watch our Ticket to Work videos on YouTube at www.youtube.com/ choosework. Now, we have one more favor to ask of you, as we sign off and we are minute overtime and I apologize for that, a survey is going to pop up on your screen. If you could take 30 seconds to fill it out it would be very helpful. If you don't receive that survey as we close the webinar down you can visit www.choosework.net/ surveys/wise and that survey will come up for you. So, I want to thank everybody today, thanks Sheriene, thank Kendra for being great presenters, thank Jamie in the background for getting those questions to me, thanks to Michael for making everything work and I want to thank Megan Riggs for sharing her story with us and being a great friend to us to help spread the word. So, thanks to everyone. Join us during our next webinar where we'll talk about youth and transition and moving students or young people from disability benefits into work. Everybody have a great afternoon. Take care.