>> Good afternoon everybody. This is Ray Cibula from Cornell University's Employment and Disability Institute and I want to welcome you to today's national WISE Webinar. We're going to be talking about the Ticket to Work and spending a lot of time focusing on job accommodations today. Which is a great topic for those of you who are interested in beginning that journey to work. We've got an excellent presenter on that topic for you. Before we get started I want to talk a bit about the technology we're using so you'll be sure you'll be able to hear us and make sure that you can chat with us if you want to. You've been connected by default to your computer's mic and speakers. If for any reason you have trouble hearing us please know that you can click on the audio box. Click on the plus sign in the audio box in the Webinar console in the right hand corner of your screen and this box on the right will open up. if you just push that button by clicking on use telephone you'll see today's dial in information, access code and audio pin. And you'll be able to use the phone. And in a couple of seconds I will give you today's toll free number for that. We want to hear from you, we want your comments and your questions. If you do have a question today just click on the plus sign in front of the word questions and it's going to open up this box. You can type in your question, hit send, and it's going to magically appear on Jamie's desktop and Jamie will be tallying up the questions. We have a lot of people on today's call and it's very likely that we will not be able to get to all of your questions. We will, however, provide you with information so that you can get an answer to your specific questions. Now when we talk about Webinar accessibility we simply want to know if you're having difficulty accessing today's Webinar. And, you know, we want to know if you can see it, hear it, understand it. We want to know what's good and what's bad. So if anybody is having any issues out there participating today, please let us know. And more importantly than telling us about your issues, if you're aware of any computer programs or systems or steps that we might take to make your next experience better, please let us know about that as well. Now today's phone number. The toll free number is 1-877-739-5903. And the access code is 180106670. We also have a closed captioning link that's been put into the chat box so if you open your chat box Jamie has made that available to you but that is HTTP://www.ilr.cornell. edu/edi/captions.cfm?activity_id=3817. Again Jamie has put that into that chat box so you can access that in the chat box as well. She's also given you a Website to download today's materials as well in that chat box at http://cl.ly/1i201V270V1t. Again, that has been posted in the chat box as well. Now, the Webinar presentation and the transcript will be available in approximately two weeks. We like to get them up sooner but we do ask for that two weeks. So that if you want to download the presentation or access the entire session again later you can do that. That Website is www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/m-wise-webinars.cfm. And as always Jamie has got that one up and running as well. Now during today's session, as I said, we do want to hear from you. If you are not comfortable using the chat box you can email us at chooseworkquestions@gmail.com and if after today's session you realize that you have a question you can always email us at support@chooseworkttw.net. I'm sorry, that's support@chooseworkttw.net. All right and today you know who I am, I've talked to you about me. I'm going to presenting some information about the Ticket to Work Program today, talk to you a bit about Social Security work incentives and then we have Melanie Wetzel from JAN, job accommodation network who is going to give us some very nice information about your requirement or your decision to disclose your disability to your employer, how you want to do that, when you want to do that. And then I'm going to have some time for some question and answers. We're going to break after my session, take a few questions and then break after Melanie's session, take a few questions and then if we have anything to clean up we'll take care of it after that. Now we're about to give you some information but before we give you information of course I have some questions for you. We know we have some viewing parties out there so I want to say hello to everybody who is out there at a group activity today, but we do have some questions for you and if the leader of your groups or the individual can answer these questions we would be happy. How did you learn about today's National WISE event? Was it email, Facebook or Twitter? A website or a family or friend? I'll give you a few seconds to get that in there. [ background noise ] this information helps us with our future outreach efforts. All right, thank you for that. What do you hope to learn from today's session? Are you looking for information about the Ticket to Work Program, work incentives for SSI, work incentives for SSDI, employment networks and vocational rehabilitation or legal protection and advocacy? [ background noise ] Okay, thank you for that. That's some great participation. For you group parties this is going to be a bit awkward but whoever is pushing the button on the computer are you male or female? [ background noise ] Okay, thank you for that. And how about picking one of these age groups. 18 or younger, 19 to 25, 26 to 40, 41 to 55 or 56 and older. [ background noise ] and our final question, particularly for those of you with the parties, how many people other than yourselves are in the room with you? [ background noise ] This allows us to at least get an approximation of how many people are attending today. All right. Thank you very, very much. That information is always very helpful to us. And we are now going to have a welcome message from Bob Williams who is the Associate Commissioner of Social Security in the Office of Employment Support Programs. So Mike, if you would cue up Commissioner William's video. [ background noise ] >> Hello and welcome to today's Webinar. My name is Bob Williams and I am glad to be at Commissioner Employment Support at Social Security Administration. We will now take it to where we're at self sufficiency program which [inaudible] ages through 64 on SSDI or on SSI who want to improve their life and [inaudible] from [inaudible] becoming employed. By viewing my Webinar you will learn how you can achieve [inaudible] become employed and [inaudible]reduce [inaudible] on disability benefits and eventually earn a better living by becoming fully self-supporting whenever possible. What [inaudible] is now on [inaudible] everyone? This is why [inaudible] take advantage of yours and yours alone. I know firsthand that people with significant disabilities face many barriers to becoming and staying employed. This is especially true in today's economy, a major [inaudible] you receive disability benefit if the Social Security determined that you were at all able to work enough to support yourself but I also want you to know that having a significant disability no longer has to meet a [inaudible] prior to employment and greater financial security [inaudible] can offer you [inaudible] opportunities and support you need to go to work and gain financial independence. I hope today's Webinar will get your journey to a greater efficiency your life and future can be better. Thank you for joining us. [ background noise ] >> Okay, thank you Commissioner Williams. And we are now finally ready to start with our substance. What can you expect from today's presentation? Certainly we're going to let you have some great information about the Ticket to Work Program and some quick information about the Social Security work incentives. We are going to respond to the questions that we hear over and over and over again from people about what happens when somebody who is receiving benefits begins to return to work. Most certainly because we only have an hour and a half to talk with you today we're going to tell you where you can find more information and more importantly information that relates to you specifically. Because every return to work journey is different and every job has a very different impact on benefits. It's not going to be the same for any two people. We want to show you some success stories. Robert has shared a success story with us. He has used his ticket and is back at work and has a great story to share with you. Why choose work? Clearly earning more income is the main reason why most people work and why most people choose work. Regardless of the type of benefit you're receiving if the return to work is planned appropriately there will be more money at the end of the month. And more money means more opportunity, means more independence. Not only independence from the agencies that you now are required to report all of your activities to but allowing you more options, more choice in life and what to do with the time that you have and where to participate. Learning new skills. Every time you take a new job you're going to learn new skills. If you need skills to get to work whether it be hands-on skills which the technical tool box shows you there, or educational skills or technical skills. We can begin to use the Ticket to Work Program to get you those skills. And it may be that you're looking for a new job or a new career or it may be that you're looking for new ways to do your old job. Either is a possibility. Last but not least, meeting new people. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. This is the part that I like to call the other goodies that come with work. Meeting new people allows you more socialization, new circles of friends, parties, you know, the whole bit. You know, and I always tell everybody that I met my spouse at work. So work can really change your life. And we want everyone to be able to participate. Now Robert, who I mentioned earlier, is a veteran and he spent seven years in the US Army. After surgery in 2000 he sustained a spinal cord injury that left him with limited mobility. And the Ticket to Work Program helped him discover his passion for helping other veterans. And he's trying to help veteran navigate the transition from military back into civilian life. And Bob wants to share his story with you. So if you can cue up Bob's video? [ background noise ] >> Coming straight out of high school from Chicago I have a strong interest for the military. I joined the service and I went into the Army. And my job that I went in the service for was a communications and I was a communications specialist. I spent two tours in Europe, in Germany and I spent over -- about seven years total in the military. Once I completed my time in the service I continued to work for the government as a United States postal carrier. And after 13 years of this work it began to take a toll on me health wise and it led to some medical issues that I started to have. I became disabled from a surgery kind of mishap where a disc ruptured and it paralyzed me. The Ticket to Work program was introduced to me throughout my rehabilitation time period and the VA was assisting me. The even offered me the ideas about if I ever thought about going back to work. So they introduced me to a representative from Social Security board who told me about this Ticket to Work program. Well, as the representative explained the program it was obvious that there was some safety nets there. Some of the things that I was worried about I really didn't have to, there was no worry at all. Now it wasn't until the Voc Rehab representative for paralyzed veterans who again introduced me to the Ticket to Work program and I told them I had heard of it and I was aware of it but at this time as years had went by I felt a little bit more stronger about actually accepting it this time because I knew that I was at a level health wise and I thought it was time for me to make some serious decisions and not be living on a fixed income when I had such a desire to want to do much more. The program had told me all the things like, well, if it don't work out it was still enough of a security net there to say that you don't have to worry about that. They even gave me a year even while I was working that I was still covered under Social Security. They make sure that they are there to assist you and help you in all types of ways. Not only to put you back in the work force or give you the skills that you need to get there, but to follow you once you're there. After being part of the Ticket to Work program I started looking again into the availabilities positions for national service officer. At that time there just happened to be some available positions. >> He put in the ticket, the position that he had to apply for the position normally, that position came up and he shortly thereafter he was selected as a candidate to be a national service officer in the Chicago office. >> After the interview they immediately told me that I was very much qualified and I could prepare to just begin to come to work. I became a National Service Officer for the Paralyzed Veterans of America. Paralyzed Veterans of America of course is a service organization dedicated to helping those veterans with spinal cord injuries, spinal cord disease as we assist all veterans with VA benefits and we advocate for veterans health care. >> [Inaudible] The National Service Officer with the Paralyzed Veterans of America I greet and meet with especially the new veterans or new patient that had just come in and look for a sign. Coming back to work as probably built up my independency, the self pride and you know, I'm an achiever again. You know, I got something to offer society and, you know, it's almost like you're, you know, regaining a good portion of dignity back. It's even coming back to work and I was highly interested -- got interested in some of the disabilities sporting events. The wheel chair games. I used to participate in that every year and it was a big event for me. The Ticket to Work program, it helped open up the door and put me back to where, you know, it's almost like it put my life back on track. [ background noise ] >> Okay, thank you Robert and thank you Michael for cueing up those videos for us. Now let me get this set up again. When you're ready to go to work, you know, if you're thinking that you're ready to start, even if you're thinking about getting enough information together to help you make that decision, gathering up your resources that you're going to need is going to be very important. the Ticket to Work Program is one of those resources and the work incentives that Social Security provide when you begin working are another one of those resources and there are all kinds of ways to figure out what's going to happen and when it will happen before you begin working so that you'll feel really secure about that. Part of this effort is building your employment team. And it is going to take a team. You are going to be the coach of that team. The team is going to work because you wanted to work and you are going to give the team directions. How do you start building an employment team? Well we've got lots of options for you here. You can speak to an expert at the Ticket to Work help line and that number is 1-866-968-7842 or for TTY users 1-866-833-2967. You can use Social Security website at wwwsocialsecurity.gov/work and find out about the Ticket to Work, read the Ticket to Work blog and watch other success stories similar to Robert's to see how people made that journey a successful one. And employment network or the state vocational rehabilitation agency, the state vocational rehabilitation agency can also be the beginning of building an employment team. You know, we'll talk a little bit about what each of those is but there is no wrong way to start building your employment team. Any one of those doors is going to begin that. And it's up to you at that point to remain connected with your team. Because once again this team is directed by you. And you're desire to return to work is what's driving the team. So you need to keep on top of them and you need to keep connected with them to keep everybody who is working with you on the same page. Now when we talk about the Social Security disability benefits programs, there are two programs primarily that we're looking at. One is the Title Two program which generally is called Social Security disability insurance or SSDI. And this is an insurance program as you work and FICA taxes are withdrawn from your salary, your buying insurance from Social Security and once you become insured after working with significant amount of time, you can then draw on that insurance should you become disabled an unable to work. Now the other program that we have is supplemental security income. Title 16 or SSI and SSI is a very, very different program. It's a needs based program that provides benefits to people with low income and low resources who are either aged, blind, or disabled. So you have to be both categorically eligible and financially eligible for SSI. Now why we're explaining this to you is you need to know what type of benefit you receive. All of the notices you receive tell you what benefit it is in big bold letters at the top. So that's going to be a way to find out or you can call that Ticket to Work helpline that we gave you and ask them. They should be able to access your file and let you know. Or simply call the Social Security Office. Some people receive both SSI and SSDI and they are called concurrent beneficiaries because they're receiving benefits from both programs at the same time. Now the importance of knowing what benefit you receive is because the work incentives themselves vary greatly according to the program. SSDI work incentives apply to SSDI benefits. SSI program, work incentives programs provide to SSI benefits. Now people who receive both are going to have both programs and both sets of work incentives working at the same time. So all the more reason why that group of people might want to have an employment team involved. Now we've got three myths. Three of the most common myths that we have heard from thousands and thousands of people over dozens of years. And we want to talk about those. And the first one is, if I try to go to work I will automatically lose my Medicaid or Medicare. And I have to tell you that that is absolutely false. When the Ticket to Work Program began and the Ticket to Work Act was passed in 2000, the health care situation in this country changed dramatically. And the fact of the matter is, you have to work real hard to lose your health care. Medicare will be with you for a very long time and Medicaid as we talk about the work incentive program for Medicaid can literally be with you forever. It's a very, very long period of time so when I'm talking to somebody about going back to work I want to focus on the cash benefits and the work activity. I don't want anybody to worry about health care because what might happen to you five years down the road from now is not something you need to worry about now. We can deal with that after. It's going to be, again, very, very difficult to lose health care. You will not automatically lose health care because you return to work. Now the second myth, if I use my ticket to go to work, Social Security will perform a medical review and I'll lose my benefits. That can't be further from the truth. The matter of the fact is, it's just the opposite. If you use that Ticket to Work to try to return to work and you are making progress according to your return to work plan, Social Security will suspend all of those medical reviews. So they're not going to look to pull the rug out from under you. They're going to give you the support by removing the fear of a medical review as well as the chance of that medical review turning out negative until you are situated in a work situation. So nobody is going to be pulling the rug out from under you just because you tried to go to work. And lastly, if I go to work and have to stop working I have to reapply for benefits all over again. And since it took forever to be approved in the first place, I can't afford to wait that long again so I should not try to go to work. That's also false. The work incentives that Social Security provides extend for a five year period after you have been terminated from benefits because you go to work. Within a five year period after Social Security has said, you have been terminated you can call them if your work effort has to reduce or stop because of your disability and they will turn the benefits on immediately. Now by immediately, I have to explain what immediately means, it's July 25th, if I were to request what is call expedited reinstatement today, it is very likely that my first benefit check would be payable September 1st. Because we're too close to the end of the month to expect anything in August. If I requested benefits on August 4th I would likely get a benefits check September 1st. So it's real fast. And Social Security provides six months worth of provisional benefits while they are making a determination about whether you should be reinstated. So the safety net extends well beyond termination. And as you can see or you will see, when we talk about the work incentives, this period of time is years and years long. Now the Ticket to Work Program was part of the Ticket to Work Act so it's been around since very late 1999 and is growing every day. This is a free and voluntary program. Do you have to use your ticket? Absolutely not. Can you? Yes. If you want to go to work and need assistance or need education or need equipment, by all means, this may be the program for you. It's designed to assist beneficiaries from both the SSDI and SSI programs who have disabilities, who want to enter the work force for the first time or return to the work force or may be working now and are looking to increase those hours. Now most people with disabilities between the ages of 18 and 64 have a ticket. Now you don't have something that looks like a ticket. You don't actually have a piece of paper. You know, but know that there is a virtual ticket out there with your name on it. And the first thing that Ticket to Work hotline can tell you is whether or not you have a ticket that can be assigned. And if you have a ticket to be assigned the Ticket to Work Program is going to get you a lot of good support. So what can the Ticket to Work do? If you're ready to work? Are you ready to earn more money? That Ticket to Work Program can help improve your employment potential and your earnings potential by providing you with that extra education. With that extra on the job support that you need or with modifications to a vehicle so that you can get back and forth to work. Are you looking for personal fulfillment that comes with working? We can provide you with assurances through the Ticket to Work Program and the work incentives and the stability that you need to feel confident while you are pursuing employment. Or even after you begin to work. That ticket will provide those protections. If you want to be able to get your benefits back because your job doesn't work out, expedited reinstatement which we just talked about is going to put you back on benefits on a fast track in a period of up to five years after your benefits have been terminated. If you're overwhelmed right now, do not know where to turn, that Ticket to Work is going to allow you to connect with the people, the resources and the services that you're going to need to get back to work. Remember that employment team is working for you. And this is completely voluntary and all of the services are provided to you free of charge. Now if you're ready to explore work let's figure out some steps here. find an employment network. An employment network is a private rehabilitation agency. You can find them on the Social Security website at wwwsocialsecurity.gov/work. They serve different people with different disabilities in different locations. But that website will help you find the employment networks that serve your area. You can then look and see who, which agency will provide the best services to you. So you're going to want to do a little bit of comparison shopping here. Your state vocational rehabilitation agency is another option. Connect with them. They might be the place to start for you. And by all means, if you are ready to get started, you want to explore this, you want to talk to somebody about it, you want to find out if I'm crazy or not, call the Ticket to Work helpline at 1-866-833-2967 or for voice it's 866-968-7842. You can also, again, talk to the Social Security or use that website. The Social Security website is a very user friendly site and it has lots of great information. Now we talked about all of this so we're going to go through it real fast. Once again, there is no wrong way to begin building that employment team that you need to support you when you're returning to work. Call that helpline again, use the Social Security website that we mentioned, find an employment network by using the Social Security website or contact your state vocational rehabilitation agency. That's your choice, whichever agency has got to meet your needs best. And then stay connected with that employment team. Now, again, you're the coach. You are the team leader, these people will take instructions from you. Now I want to very quickly review some of the work incentives that Social Security has available to you. And they're complicated, I've got to tell you that straight out. But there people out there who can help you navigate these as well. And they are a bridge to success. They're a bridge to success in that Social Security is not going to count all of the money that you earn when their looking at your benefits. They're going to consider certain expenses and they're going to slowly allow you to move from cash benefits to earnings at a rate that's comfortable for you. so you see thins little figure holding that last piece of the bridge, that little figure is going to put the last piece of the bridge in when that figure is ready to and feels comfortable doing that. That's what this is all about. it's all about getting success at your own pace. Now the work incentives that we have can provide a safety net so that you can get training, if you need new skills, you can get training to improve the skills you already have or learn new ways to use those skills. Pursue your education. Lots of types of jobs, different jobs need some form of education. A certificate, an associate's degree, a bachelor's degree. Work incentives can help you get that education. If you don't quite know what you're interested in or what your abilities are right now, the Ticket to Work Program and the work incentives are going to allow you to try different jobs, to get some testing, to determine where your interests might lie. So there are lots of good things that this ticket can do. Start a career. What if you choose not to go to work as a cashier someplace but want to become a teacher? We can do that. We can help you do that at your own pace. Gaining confidence, that's what it's all about. Not only the confidence that you're going to build because you're out participating, meeting other people, but the confidence that comes from earning money and standing on your own two feet and slowly getting rid of those agencies that you need to report to all the time. You'll be gaining confidence in order to move forward. The work incentives are going to give you the security that you need to build that confidence. Now this chart, there's a lot of information up here, and it's got the common work incentives. Each one of these topics could take an hour and a half to explain but we're going to go through them fairly quickly to give you a taste of what's going on and just know that the members of your employment team will figure out whether or not these work incentives apply to your situation where you might be in the progression of your work efforts. And how all of these things work. Now the first one is the trial work period and as you can see we refer to that as the TWP. It's used by SSDI recipients only. and this is a nine month period during which you can work doing whatever you want, earning as much as you want to and it will have no impact on your cash or health care benefits. Now clearly you need to tell Social Security you're working but during that nine month period, and these months don't need to be consecutive but during a nine month period you can earn as much as you want doing whatever you want. And it will have no effect on your cash or health care benefits. Once you've finished that nine month period you immediately move into the extended period of eligibility or the EPE and this again is only available to SSDI recipients. This is a 36 moth period, it's just a consecutive three year period where Social Security pretty much allows you on and off benefits every month depending upon how much money you make. This year the magic figure, substantial gainful activity, is $1010.00. So if you're countable income is $1020.00 you're not entitled to your SSDI check. If your accountable income is $1000.00 you're entitled to your full SSDI check and your earnings. Now that can change every month and you need to report to Social Security. If your income is above substantial gainful activity they're going to withhold the benefits for a while. If your income drops below SGA the only way Social Security is going to know to turn the benefits back on is for you to tell them. So this is a period of three years where you can continue to try to work and if you're not successful your benefits are not going to be turned off because you can't be terminated during this period. So now we're up to 45 months where you can test your ability to work and not worry about termination. You know, it's not until after that period that somebody has to worry about terminated -- being terminated because they're earning too much and then, I told you, you have another five years. So Social Security is giving you these, almost eight years, more than eight years of time to firm up your work life before they're going to say, okay, we need to start from square one again. It's a very long period of time. Now, if we turn to the SSI program we have the earned income exclusion. Now this is a great work incentive. And I am not a professional mathematician but I can tell you that any SSI recipient who works at any amount will have more money at the end of the month. There is no other way for this to work. Because Social Security counts less than half of your earnings. If I earn $565.00 in the month of July Social Security subtracts the firs $65.00 and then divides the rest by two. So I have $565.00 in my pocket and Social Security is only worried about $250.00. So my SSI check will be reduced by $250.00. So I've got $565.00 bucks plus the rest of my SSI. That will always be more money. I can promise you that. Expedited reinstatement. We talked about that. That's a five year period. It works in both programs but will primarily help folks who are receiving SSDI. Social Security after you have been terminated because you returned to work, will allow you to be paid again very quickly if your work effort stops because of your disability. Now it either stops or goes below that SGA amount. You'll be provisionally paid benefits for six months and those benefits you never have to worry about giving back and during that six month period Social Security will determine whether you need to be reinstated and even if they say no you can't be reinstated the request would then be magically turned into a new application date. So you haven't lost any time. The fact of the matter is, over 99 percent of the people who apply for expedited reinstatement are allowed. So the vast majority of people are allowed. And of the one percent who are denied, half of those people found other jobs. So we're talking about less than one percent. Less than one percent of the population who might not get the XR. Now the protection from medical reviews applies to both SSI and SSDI. You all know that there are continuing disability reviews, they happen on a schedule, every three years, every five years, every seven years. if you have or have participated in the Ticket to Work Program, meaning you've taken that ticket that you have and it is assigned to an employment network or to the state vocational rehabilitation agency, Social Security will suspend all of those medical reviews. Meaning, they're going to let you take the steps you need to return to work before determining whether you are still medically disabled. And all you need to do is make progress with the return to work plan. So that's the great protection. Because not only does it remove the stress of the CDR but it removes the possibility that Social Security could say you're not eligible in the middle of your work plan. That does not happen. Again, when you're ready, start your employment team. That slide that we just showed you has a lot of information. And there are work incentives that we did not even talk about and you need to know what all of those are so build your employment team, contact an employment network, contact your state vocational rehabilitation agency. For every state, every state and territory has a PABSS program, the protection and advocacy for beneficiaries of Social Security. Now those programs are the legal arm and they're going to be able to get your employment team started or help you through a crisis that's related to your returning to work if something happens. And that might be a job accommodation request, or it might be a hiring issue. Anything like that. There are people out there to help you. And again, that's a free of service charge as well. So Jamie, I think we're ready to start taking some questions before I turn it over to Melanie. >> That's great. And we do have a few for you. Can you tell me again how much SGA is for 2012? >> Yes. For 2012 SGA is $1010.00 and that's countable income. You know, so all of those work incentives have to be applied to your gross wages before we determine whether or not you're earning $1010.00. That changes every January. >> Can you also give me an example of the work incentives that would impact my countable income? >> Sure. Let's talk about IRWEs, IRWE, I had to figure that one out. Impairment related work expenses. Let's say for instance that because of my disability I have to use a wheelchair. And I have some co pays from medications. The cost of the co pays that come out of my pocket, these are out of pocket expenses, as well as the cost of the wheelchair, the repairs, new tires, new brakes, the maintenance on that wheelchair and insurance on that wheelchair, are all out of pocket expenses to me that I need to go to work. So Social Security will allow me to deduct those out of pocket expenses that are related to my disability to reduce my income. So let's say for instance I am earning $1200.00. Now, Jamie, I just told you $1200.00 is more than $1010.00. Am I performing SGA? Well, not necessarily. Because if I just bought a new wheelchair and that wheelchair cost me $1000.00 I can take $1000.00 deduction or I can take $100.00 every month. So if I take $100.00 I'm down to $1100.00. If I then show you receipts for $100.00 worth of medications and other supplies that I need I only have countable income of $1000.00. So despite the fact that I've earned $1200.00 Social Security will only count $1000.00 and now I'm below SGA. >> That's great. Thank you. One more question on countable income. Say I made $580.00. does Social Security round that up to the nearest hundred and say I made $600.00? >> Nope. Social Security nowadays works with real numbers. So they will look at $580.00. And that's actually a very good question Jamie, because the next question that I would ask that person is what program are you on? And when did you earn that money? Because the SSDI program wants to know when you earned your income. Now you may have been paid $580.00 in the month of June but maybe you didn't earn it all in June. It might have been some income for May or some into July. Whereas the SSI program wants to know when you received the income. So, again, that's more reason. I'm not trying to confuse you, I'm just trying to make, to give you more reason for building that employment team so that you'll get quick answers for that or to keep that Ticket to Work helpline phone number handy. >> Great. Thanks Ray. So I would like to work from home. Can I use Ticket to Work Program or any of the work incentives? >> Sure. I'm sitting at home right now working. So you can work from home too and as a matter of fact self-employment and working from home is becoming more and more accepted by state vocational rehabilitation agencies, by Social Security and by private employment networks because of the economic times that we're in. I mean it's still, there are jobs out there sure, but it's still tough to find them. But if you've got an idea to start your own business or let's say you want to go to a medical billing school and get a certificate in medical billing, you can do that out of your home and the Ticket to Work Program can help you get the training you need, state vocational rehabilitation can help you get the equipment you need to set up a home office and the employment network can help support that work by proving you with some bookkeeping services for a while until you learn how to keep your own records. But that is most certainly a possibility. >> Thanks. Now you mentioned training. We have a lot of people out there wondering how they can get assistance in education or training. For example if they need to learn a new skill, is there anything that can help people with that? >> Yeah, that's really a Ticket to Work person. Somebody who needs some training, whether it's an associate's degree, whether its truck driving school, whether it's a certificate program or a bachelors degree is going to need some heavy hitters. So the state vocational rehabilitation agency is going to be a real likelihood for that. The other is a work incentive called the PASS plan. And this is for people who receive SSI or could receive SSI that allows you to save more money than the SSI program usually does, to help you pay for some of those expenses. So there are lots of ways actually where people can get education. Anything that's reasonable Jamie. If it's a reasonable request, you know, I want to be a truck driver, I have the ability to be a truck driver and I need to go to tractor trailer school. That doesn't seem to be an issue at all. >> Well, I think that's great news from some folks out there. With that I think I'm going to hand it back to you to introduce Melanie. >> Okay. Well, before I introduce Melanie we have to say happy birthday to the Americans with Disability Act, the ADA is turning 22 tomorrow and it's a grand time to talk about job accommodations and how they can work for you. And we have Melanie Wetzel from JAN, the job accommodation network which is a great, it's an exceptional resource for [inaudible] accommodations and so forth. And she's going to talk to us about all kinds of job accommodations and when you might choose to disclose. So Melanie, I'm turning it over to you. >> All right. Thank you, it's great to be here. I thought starting first with just giving an overview of the job actually network for those that aren't familiar with it, better known as JAN. We are the leading source of free expert and confidential guidance on workplace accommodations and disability employment issues. We work towards practical solutions that will benefit both the employer and the employee and we help people with disabilities enhance their employability and show employers how to capitalize on the value and talent of people with disabilities add to the workplace. Our consultants offer one on one guidance on workplace accommodations, the Americans with Disabilities Act or the ADA and related legislation such as rehabilitation act. We also can provide information on self employment and entrepreneurship options for people with disabilities. Okay, from Fortune 500 companies to entrepreneurs JAN has served customers across America and really around the world for over 25 years. We do have the most comprehensive job accommodation resources available. Our consultants are experienced, they're thought leaders and innovators on disability employment issues and have all earned at least one masters degree in their specialized field and those range from rehabilitation counseling to education and engineering. Our services are free, that's the first time you contact us and every time after that. We have people that call quite frequently with lots of questions and every call is free. And we are a national service although we are located on the campus of West Virginia University, we are a national service. And the most important thing probably is just how easy JAN is to use. There are several ways to obtain confidential personalized assistance anywhere anytime. You can get your questions answered by toll free phone calls that actually teach you [inaudible], you can visit the website for more than 200 disability specific publications as well as the searchable online accommodation resource for it's also name is THOR, and it enables users to explore accommodation options for different disabilities and workplace settings. We have an on demand online service that provides customers with individualized questions that they can answer and really help us to get the best information that we can for us to answer those inquiries. >> You can connect with JAN through Twitter, Second Life, Facebook and other social networks and we also deliver training workshops at events sponsored by corporations or organizations, federal, state and local government and then through Webinars just like we're doing here today. All right. Consultants at JAN answer questions and offer assistance to employers and individuals, service providers and others. Including a parent who might call with questions about a son or a daughter or a grandchild who might be calling to help assist a parent. Other family members, union representatives as well as medical professionals and attorneys. We really talk to whoever calls and offer as much assistance as we can in those situations. All right, our consultants specialize in specific areas and work on teams. When you call you will speak to a program assistant who will direct you to the appropriate team and team member for the particular disability and situation that you're calling about. We have the motor team that assist callers with disabilities such as back, neck, shoulder and leg impairment as well as other mobility issues. Arthritis, heart conditions and multiple scleroses. Our sensory team works with individual with hearing, vision and speech impairments as well as allergies, asthma and other respiratory impairments. The cognitive neurological team consults with callers on mental health impairments such as depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety and panic disorders as well as learning and intellectual disabilities, traumatic brain injuries, attention deficit and attention deficit hyperactivity disorders and autism spectrum disorders including Asperger's syndrome. And our entrepreneurship team assists callers who need information and resources on small business and self employment options. All right. JAN was established in 1983 as a national free service and continues to function that same way today. We specialize in job accommodation and employment provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Consultants can assist callers at any point in the interactive process. From explaining what the process includes to helping pinpoint and solve specific difficulties at specific steps. We can answer questions and get targeted technical assistance as well as provide comprehensive resources. All of our calls are confidential so callers can freely explore their options. And as I pointed out earlier there are numerous ways to get in touch with JAN. You can communicate with us using the phone, we have a chat, TTY relay, email and then social network. We offer live and archive training just like you're receiving today through this Webinar. And we can work with you as a partner with the employees or the employer to help employees look at getting a job or retaining a job. All right. I think now we're going to look at disclosing a disability. There are several reasons why you might want to disclose a disability to your employer. The first and probably the foremost reason would be to ask for job accommodations. The employer has a right to know if a disability is involved when an employee asks for accommodations. The next reason for the -- to disclose might be to receive benefits or privileges of employment. The ADA requires employers to provide accommodations so that employees with disabilities can enjoy the benefits and privileges of employment equal to those enjoyed by similarly situated employees without disabilities. Benefits and privileges of employment include but are not limited to employer sponsored training, access to cafeterias, lounges, gymnasiums, auditoriums, transportation and parties or other social functions. If an employee with a disability needs a reasonable accommodation in order to gain access to or have an equal opportunity to participate in these benefits and privileges then the employer must provide the accommodation unless it can show that it is an undue hardship. An example of this might be in a school where a public address system is used to make announcements. In order to make this information accessible to a deaf employee the principal arranges just to send in advance an electronic mail message to the deaf employee conveying the information that will be in the broadcast. The third reason an individual might want to disclose a disability is to explain an unusual circumstance. For instance, someone with temperature sensitivities due to MS may want to explain to his or her employer that it would be helpful to work from home while the office air conditioner is being repaired. Especially, you know, when it's really hot. Okay? Disclosure can be very simple. You can tell your employer that you need to speak to him or her about an adjustment or change that is needed for a reason related to a medical condition. Generally known that you put that in writing. Under the ADA there is no requirement for that but we recommend that because then you have documentation of what you asked for and when. If you do have a verbal conversation with your employer you can easily follow it up in writing. You can use plain English to request an accommodation, you cannot have to mention the ADA and you do not have to use the phrase reasonable accommodations. It can be as easy as saying to your supervisor, I need to talk to you about a problem I'm having with getting to work on time because of a medical condition. And that would be disclosure. Again, either verbally or in writing you can tell your employer, your supervisor and HR representative or another appropriate person. All right. And another thing about disclosure is when do you do that. And you can disclose a disability at any point. You do not have to disclose until you need an accommodation. And that can be during the application process or during the interview process, it can be your first week of work or it can be, you know, months or years down through time when something changes in your job or your medical condition changes. Now I'd like to share with you some situations and solutions. Some real life accommodation requests. Okay, this first one is a receptionist in a large office who had difficulty remembering faces and names and keeping track of the in and out status of the various case managers on staff. A Velcro in and out board was provided with the photo and name of each case manager. When you know you are leaving the building the staff member would prompt the receptionist and she would then move the photos from the in to the out column and vice versa allowing her to keep track of the status of the case managers and better serve the clients who are trying to contact them. All right. Our next example is a paralegal with a mild traumatic brain injury who found her greatest difficulty was staying on task while reading. And the accommodation that she was provided was screen reading software that would allow her to listen to documents as she read the corresponding highlighted text. The oral reading of the documents helped to keep her focused on the material she was reading as did the highlighted text and her reading comprehension substantially improved. Okay. After being cross-trained in all areas of a fast food restaurant a part-time employee disclosed that he had an anxiety disorder and working the drive-through window caused his anxiety level to rise significantly. The manager determined that if the employee could work fewer hours per day but work four days instead of three he could put him on the slower shift between lunch and dinner and assure him that he wouldn't have to work the drive-through window. All right. And our last example here is a retail employee with an intellectual disability who had difficulty remembering when to take his breaks and lunch and when to return to his position. He was accommodated by his job coach purchasing a programmable watch for him to wear. The coach helped the employee program in the time that he went on break in the morning and in the afternoon when he went to lunch and when it was time to return to the sales floor. The watch was set to vibrate so the employee knew exactly when it was time to leave and return to the sales floor for breaks and lunch. All right. Now we have some JAN tools and resources. We have on our Website over 200 employment publications. We have the SOAR which is the searchable online accommodation resource. >> Okay, and that SOAR can be found at www.askjan.org/soar/ >> Okay. And when using SOAR, that can help you, it kind of leads you through the steps where you can explore accommodation options on your own and we also have the ADA library that helps you locate the most up to date information about the ADA amendments act as well as other related legislation. >> And ADA library can be found at www.askjan.org/links/adalinks.htm >> Okay. Next we have our A to Z disabilities and that you can find these across the top menu and when you click on that it will come up with the A to A disabilities work topic. And that way you can find from, you know, arthritis, learning disabilities, all types of disabilities and then also information on topics such as service animals, medical forms, and accessibility issues. >> Okay, and you can find the A to Z directory at www.askjan.org/links/atoz.htm >> Okay, and then JAN on demand is a really helpful tool. It is. You can write an email to JAN and say whatever you would like but you can also use the JAN on demand feature which asks specific questions and then you can answer those and it gives us more specific information. For example, I got an email one time that was just simply said, I'm having problems at work, can you help me? And I answered back, probably, but I'm just going to need a little bit more information. And so we can give out much more complete answers when we have more information and that's why that's so helpful. >> Okay, and JAN on demand can be located at www.askjan.org/janondemand.htm It's also available in Espanol at www.askjan.org/Espanol/index.htm. >> All right. At the JAN update you can get -- you can subscribe to get the most recent JAN and ADA news. >> The JAN updates are available at www.askjan.org/new/index.htm >> And then we have the JAN chat that's available on the home page. [Inaudible] >> Okay, www.askjan.org. That was an easy one. [ background noise ] >> All right. And then we have a lot of different social networking sites that you can connect with JAN. We have the blog. >> Okay, that blog is at www.askjan.org/blog/ Again, all of these websites are being typed into your chat box by Jamie. >> All right. There's FaceBook. >> FaceBook. www.com/jobaccommodationnetwork one word. >> And there's Twitter. >> Twitter. www.twitter.com/jan@jan >> All right. You can also use LinkedIn. >> And this is the one I was dreading. Here we go. www.linkedin.com/groups? Homenewmember=&gid. 1989860&trk= &ut=3y8kneul5mzbk1 Whew. >> Oh, all right. That's a long one. Next is Second life. >> Second life, okay. I want one right now. www.askjan.org/sl/office/indes.htm >> And then YouTube. >> Www.youtube.com/user/janinformation >> All right. And here we have basic contact JAN our phone is 800-526-7234 and that's her voice. And you can call 877-181-9403 for TTY. On mine is www.askjan.org and you can email at jan@askjan.org. >> Okay, well thank you very much. It seems like there's no wrong door to get into JAN either. There's lots of ways to contact you. >> Absolutely. >> And some of which I'm not even sure about but that's okay. I still haven't learned how to Tweet. Okay. Jamie do we have any questions? >> I sure do Ray. Melanie, when can an employer ask for medical documentations on me? >> When you ask for an accommodation and it's not obvious that what the impairment is they can ask for medical documentation or if you have submitted medical documentation and for some reason your medical needs change, the accommodation need to change, they can ask for updated medical information at that time too. >> Thank you. If I have a visible disability and I go to a job interview can my prospective employer ask about my disability? >> Um, really, no. The most that they really should talk about is whether you can do the essential functions of the position. And they may even say, can you tell me how you would do this part of it or can you demonstrate how you would do that? >> Okay, great, thank you. Can I go to JAN and ask how much my accommodations may cost so I'll be ready to talk with my employer about it? >> You can. We have product listings and we can talk about that. You know, the majority of the accommodations that -- well particularly on my team, let me say that. I am the senior consultant on the cognitive neurological team and a lot of accommodations are free, or really no cost. But yes, we can look at what the accommodations cost, sure. >> Okay. And if my accommodation does cost something who pays for it? >> Um, usually the employer pays for that. They can claim undue hardship if it's too expensive and that really depends upon a lot of different issues, how big the employer is or overall resources, that type of thing. >> Okay, thank you. You've mentioned reasonable accommodations a couple of times. What do you mean by reasonable? >> Well, reasonable means that if something is exactly that. Going to be reasonable, not disruptive, not too expensive, not going to change the nature of the business. Something that could fairly easily be provided. >> Okay, great, thank you. Ray, at this point I'm going to turn it back over to you to talk about some extra resources. Thanks Melanie. >> Okay, Melanie, I just have, I guess it's a comment, just to see if you agree with me. But in my experience it seems when you say reasonable accommodation most employers get scared and begin to pack up their bags. But in fact as you indicated, most of the time reasonable accommodations can be very, very low cost or in fact no cost items. >> Right. You're absolutely right. And that's why you don't have to use the phrase reasonable accommodation if you don't want to. You can just say, you know, I need an adjustment or I need a change because reasonable accommodation has positive connotations and maybe some [inaudible] positive. >> Yeah. Yeah, I actually like that. Requesting an adjustment or a change to my work. I think that's better. All right. So let's talk about other resources. We've mentioned some of these and what I want to do is again, point out to you the Social Security website at www.socialsecurity.gov/work. You can use that Website to not only find out all of the information about the work incentives that might be available to you but to talk about that Ticket to Work Program as well as finding your local employment networks as well as the state vocational rehabilitation agency contact information. you can call that Ticket to Work helpline, we ask lots of the questions that came in, however if we have not asked your question this is where you want to call to get information about your specific situation. That Ticket to Work helpline is for voice 1-866-968-7842 and for TTY users 1-866-833-2967. You can also get -- we also have absolutely no wrong door here. So if you want information about the Ticket to Work Program you have questions, remember you can always email. Jamie, what was that email support? Give me the email where they can write again. Support@tickettowork? >> Support@chooseworkttw.net and I will also send it out via chat again. >> Okay, great. And we have a FaceBook page as well. Http://www.facebook.com/choosework. And you can follow us on twitter as well at http://www.twitter.com/chooseworkssa. And once again if we did not get to your question please give that Ticket to Work helpline a call at 1-866-968-7242 or for TTY users 1-866-833-9267 and once again we will have this Webinar posted to the Website in about two weeks time, maybe a little less. You will be able to download the presentation and access all of these links that way as well. And I just want to thank my co presenter today for her wonderful information. Thank Jamie for holding down the fort in the question box and getting all those nets out to chat and thanks Mike for making sure all of this stuff worked for us. Look forward to our next Webinar, watch your email or however you found out us the first time and I'd like to wish you all a very good afternoon. Thanks a lot.