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.

Social Security, the official website of the U.S. Social Security Administration.

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.

Access to Employment Support Services for Social Security Beneficiaries Who Want to Work

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. 

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.

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.