Meet Your Employment Team: WIPA Projects and PABSS Organizations

The Ticket to Work (Ticket) program offers people with disabilities who are age 18 through 64 and receive Social Security benefits (SSI or SSDI) free access to a variety of service providers who can help them reach their employment goals. If you are starting your journey back to work or working for the first time, there are resources to help you succeed. In our two-part Meet Your Employment Team blog series, we look at who makes up your employment team and what each provider offers. This week, in Part 1, we introduce you to WIPA projects and PABSS organizations.

Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Projects

A Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) project is a great stop on your road to employment. Community Work Incentive Coordinators (CWICs) are benefits counselors who work at WIPA projects. They are trained and certified by Social Security to help you make informed choices about work. This includes understanding the impact of earnings on all of the benefits you receive, knowing which Social Security Work Incentives you’re entitled to, and making a successful transition to financial independence. They can also dispel myths about benefits and working to make sure you have the right information for success.

Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS)

As you consider work, while you’re in training, or when you have a job, you may encounter what seem to be barriers to success. Maybe you need help requesting job accommodations, protecting your rights to housing and transportation to and from work, or understanding conditions of your employment. Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) organizations are funded by Social Security and offer free legal help and other services to make overcoming these types of barriers easier. Some other services that may be available through your PABSS organization include:

• Help accessing services from community agencies, including State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies and Employment Networks
• Guidance on overpayments

Next Week: Part 2

Next week, we’ll look at how Employment Networks and State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies can help you on your journey. Remember to join us on Wednesday, February 22, for our free WISE webinar, “Choosing the Service Provider that’s Right for You!” Register now!