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The Illinois Benefits Education for Transition-Age Youth Project

by Deb Russell

The Illinois State Partnership Initiative, Putting the Pieces Together for Employment, is a five-year funded cooperative agreement between the Illinois Department of Human Services Office of Rehabilitation Services (IDHS-ORS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA), started in 1998. This systems-change project is focused on assisting youth with disabilities to better access employment after exiting school. The primary intervention of the project is providing benefits education and planning assistance to students and their families.

Through its three intervention sites – Chicago, DuPage County (near metropolitan Chicago), and Central Illinois – the students who are offered services are randomly selected from a list of all students meeting three criteria: 1) they are involved in IDHS-ORS funded work-experience programs as part of their Individual Education Plan; 2) they are between 16 to 21 years of age when enrolled; and 3) they are also receiving some form of SSA benefits. The youth and their families are offered the opportunity to receive benefits education and planning services in exchange for data collection. There is also a comparison group who are monitored via administrative databases. The families in the project have expressed great relief when offered these services; many parents and students have feared that being employed would prevent the student from continuing eligibility for income support benefit programs, and have been perplexed by the apparent inconsistencies of the programs. Often, even basic components of benefits programs are unknown to the youth and families.

When individuals are eligible for these benefit programs, many other programs become available to them automatically. These include access to funding sources for employment, residential and other support programs; tools and services that can assist with the pursuit of postsecondary education or postsecondary employment; and medical coverage. Federal policy supports schools informing families about the existence of these programs and how to apply for them. Unfortunately, few schools have staff with the expertise to assist families in understanding how to maintain eligibility and what eligibility can provide in addition to the specific benefit. The Benefits Specialists in the State Partnership Initiative meet with the families and explain the impact of employment on the benefit programs that the student is enrolled in. The Benefits Specialists also educate the family about other income-support programs for which the student may be eligible. Tools such as the Redbook on Employment Supports and Meeting the Needs of Youth with Disabilities: Handbook on Supplemental Security Income Work Incentives and Transition Students are provided to the families. At the initial meeting, data is collected, the purpose of the study is explained and needs outside of benefits education and planning are identified. From this point on, the Benefits Specialist provides information and assistance as needed. The types of information requested include: trust/estate planning, guardianship, IEP advocacy, housing assistance, transportation assistance and linking with local service agencies and advocacy groups who can further support the family.

With most of the families served in the project, the level of income earned by the student is not enough to endanger eligibility for disability income-support benefits. The students are still in school and therefore do not have large numbers of hours worked each month at high wages. Even with the low wages of the project’s participants, though, there are many instances of uncovering overpayments to Social Security either through a lack of reporting wages, or usage of work incentives. In some cases, information for the families is not sufficient and the Benefits Specialist needs to assist in working with the local Social Security Office to resolve the issue. The last service the Benefits Specialist provides to the family is to assist them in staying current with changes in existing programs and awareness of the creation of new programs.

Illinois will be one of the first states to implement the Ticket to Work and Self Sufficiency program (Ticket). Youth usage of this opportunity can be one of the greatest tools offered to students. In addition, an older SSA program is also a great tool for this population – Plan to Achieve Self Support (PASS). Although transition-age youth face more issues related to the complexity of disability income support programs due to the nature of their categorical eligibility changing at the 18th birthday, there are also more opportunities offered to this group. The Benefits Specialists inform the family of how to use PASS and Ticket to ensure the continuum of services to support the youth in his or her goal of employment with no financial loss to the family. With the education of the family regarding the impact of earnings on benefits, the family is given the tools to use the systems to the student’s advantage and leave the income-support roles when the student is ready. The ability to inform students, families, and educators about these opportunities and relieve their fears about accidentally losing benefits has been a most powerful opportunity to combat a large barrier to postsecondary success.

Deb Russell is Project Director with the Illinois Department of Human Services, Office of Rehabilitation Services, Chicago. She may be reached at 312/814-1479 or by e-mail at debrussell@mindspring.com.

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