32 Miss. Code. R. 22-3.18.4
Service provision aspects of any SSDI/SSI case will follow the general guidelines of VR policies and procedures. This will be the same as or similar to service provision to individuals not receiving any type of payments due to a disabling condition.
Before beginning any work activity, the client is to notify the pertinent SSA District or Branch Office of his/her status. Although the counselor may wish to accompany the client to the SSA Office to notify them of the client's work activity, the counselor will not contact SSA for an individual.
VR counselors will maintain close contact with pertinent staff of the Mississippi Partners for Informed Choice (M-PIC) who can provide work incentives planning and assistance (WIPA) services to demonstrate the effect of wages on the recipients disability benefits and dispel any unjustified fears of benefit loss due to work. A listing of the M-PIC staff is provided on pages following this section.
Social Security work incentives are designed to encourage individuals with disabilities to return to work by protecting their benefit or recipient status and thus protecting their Medicare/Medicaid coverage until they can earn sufficient income to maintain a reasonable standard of living and purchase their own health insurance.
In the last several years, a number of new work incentive provisions have been instituted. These work incentives are discussed in a publication entitled "Red Book On Employment Support - A Summary Guide To Employment Support Available To People With Disabilities Under The Social Security Disability Insurance And Supplemental Security Income Programs" (the Red Book). Each district office should have a copy of this publication and a computer diskette explaining SSA Work Incentives. Counselors are urged to utilize these tools.
These items may also be obtained by contacting the Division of Selected Social Security Services. The Red Book may be accessed on the Internet at the following website:
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/redbook/
Clients receiving SSDI and/or SSI are often afraid of trying a work experience because they think that if they work themselves off benefits and their medical condition worsens, they will have to begin the lengthy disability determination process again. The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 included a new work incentive called Expedited Reinstatement of Benefits or EXR which says that within 60 months from the month of termination of benefits due to earnings from work, if the individual is unable to work because of the same medical condition, they can file a request for reinstatement of benefits without a new application. While Social Security is making a new determination, the individual may receive up to six months of provisional benefits, including Medicare and Medicaid, as appropriate, which will not have to be repaid even if the re-determination is not favorable.
SSDI and/or SSI recipients will be encouraged to report to their local Social Security office any payment made directly to him/her by VR, including income received while at AbilityWorks. Any payment made to a SSDI and/or SSI recipient may affect the amount of the benefit check.
One method of protecting the individual's SSI check when a client will be directly reimbursed for expenses incurred in a vocational training program at a school, college, or university is the development of a Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS). A PASS, which is developed and approved by appropriate Social Security offices, will classify all expenses related to an SSI recipient attaining a vocational goal as exempt from consideration as any form of income. This will prevent reduction of the client's SSI check. The "Red Book" contains a discussion of the PASS.
32 Miss. Code. R. 22-3.18.4