Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS)
ADAP’s Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS) program serves Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) beneficiaries with disabilities who want to work by helping to remove barriers to employment.
Services offered under ADAP’s PABSS program include:
- Helping secure services from community agencies, including Employment Networks under Social Security’s Ticket to Work program
- Helping you understand work incentives and issues with your disability benefits
- Protecting your rights regarding conditions of employment
- Helping you understand and protect your employment rights, responsibilities, and reasonable accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act and other applicable laws
- Protecting rights to transportation
- Protecting access to housing assistance
- Obtaining vocational rehabilitation and employment related services and supports
- Helping youth in transition identify and remove barriers to employment and independence
ADAP does not assist persons in obtaining SSI or SSDI benefits.
Work Incentives and Planning Assistance (WIPA)
Do you want to go to work but are wondering how your income might affect your SSI or SSDI benefits or your access to Medicaid or Medicare?
Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) projects provide free in-depth benefits counseling to eligible individuals receiving SSI or SSDI benefits. WIPA can help you make informed choices about work.
Alabama has two WIPA projects:
Central and North Alabama
Ala-WIN at Disability Rights and Resources
South Alabama
Work Incentive Planning & Assistance Program at the Alabama Department of Mental Health
National Resources
- Protection & Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security – Social Security, the official website of the U.S. Social Security Administration.
- The Red Book – A Guide To Work Incentives – SSA Publication, (2023 Red Book). The Red Book serves as a general reference source about the employment-related provisions of Social Security Disability Insurance and the Supplemental Security Income Programs for educators, advocates, rehabilitation professionals, and counselors who serve people with disabilities.
- What is Ticket to Work? Access to Employment Support Services for Social Security Beneficiaries Who Want to Work
- Applying for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
- Applying for Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
Other Resources
Supplemental Security Income (SSI): The Bridge to Work (PDF)
Supplemental Security Income (SSI): The Bridge to Work (PPT)
This parent training curriculum from PACER Center was developed for Partners for Youth, a Minnesota Disability Employment Initiative project funded by a U.S. Department of Labor grant to the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development. It provides answers to common questions families have about Social Security benefits and highlights federal and state training programs and Social Security Work Incentives that can help transition-age youth reach their educational and work goals while receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI). The curriculum can be used by parent centers and other organizations or individuals offering training to parents of youth with disabilities in middle school or high school.
Social Security Disability Benefits in Transition Planning
This resource from VCU’s Work Incentive Planning & Assistance National Training Center provides a thoughtful discussion of factors that contribute to the fact that benefits counseling is seldom considered a part of the special education transition planning process–even when youth currently receive or are potentially eligible to receive them. It also offers strategies Community Work Incentive Coordinators (CWICs), educators, vocational rehabilitation professionals and others can use to help youth with disabilities and their families make informed decisions and strive towards youth employment goals. Benefit planners will appreciate the in-depth information; non-specialists will be able to find information to combat misinformation, reassure families, and promote high expectations.
How to Make SSI Work for You: Simply Said
This youth- and family-friendly video focuses on how to find help available to young adults with disabilities after they leave high school. Several federal government programs that help eligible youth work toward their post-secondary and employment goals are featured, including SSI, Social Security Work Incentives, and Vocational Rehabilitation. This video was also developed for the Minnesota Disability Employment Initiative Partners for Youth project.