Mary Lynn ReVoir March, 2014

 What level of detail are you sharing?  Who are you telling?  Is the information needed?

 Personal Choice vs Required by Law ◦ Need to self examine your values ◦ Need to research the situation  Consider the circumstance ◦ Applying for Employment vs Applying for Services  Access if environment is safe place to disclose ◦ Medical Clinic ◦ Movie Theatre ◦ School ◦ Job Center ◦ Pharmacy ◦ Employer ◦ Public Housing

Does disclosing your disability aid or hinder the situation?  One school thought: “leg up” “supports the law”  Other school thought: “should not be a factor” “ruins chance” “cause to be treated differently” “don’t want a pity”

 Research the business beforehand ◦ May have diverse recruitment and hiring plan. ◦ May be required to recruit / hire persons with disability such as Federal Contractors required under Section 503 of Rehab Act.  Research your position beforehand ◦ Individual may embrace the difference as an opportunity and sell it as such ◦ Aimee Mullins “The Opportunity of Adversity” portunity_of_adversity

 Is your disability visible or not?  Will you be requesting accommodation? If no, then not needed. If yes, need to evaluate the situation.  Do you want to sell your disability as one of your strengths to bring to the company?

 Cover letter, resume, application  Before interview  During interview  After job offer  After job begins  When performance difficulties arise  Never “Disclosure Decisions TO GET THE JOB

 Depending when during the process you choose to disclose may dictate how you will disclose  Excellent examples of how to disclose “Disclosure Decisions TO GET THE JOB  Critical points - Positive! Positive! Positive! ◦ Be honest but do not divulge details ◦ State how you have solved or how controlled ◦ State how you are today, if any impact to job applying for make positive statement

Two top attractions for hiring someone!  Qualified for the job ◦ Have the skill set ◦ Have the education  Asset to the company ◦ History of being a problem solver ◦ Able to embrace change ◦ Success in handling adversity

 Explain how you can do the job ◦ Offer to demonstrate  If an job accommodation is needed, be prepared to explain ◦ What is needed, what product, where to obtain, and associated costs  If you choose to offer benefits available to the employer, be prepared to supply information ◦ Researched public perception positive impacts bottom line ◦ Available tax incentives

 “The 411 on Disability Disclosure: A Workbook for Youth with Disabilities” ◦  “Disclosure Decisions TO GET THE JOB (working document and decision worksheet) ◦ ons.pdf ons.pdf  Aimee Mullins “The Opportunity of Adversity” ◦ of_adversity of_adversity  Tax Incentives for Businesses ◦

 Job Accommodation Network  Research “Workplace Accommodations: Low Cost High Impact” h=%22cost%20job%20accommodations%22 h=%22cost%20job%20accommodations%22  “A national survey of consumer attitudes towards companies that hire people with disabilities” o_siperstein.pdf

 AbleData Fact Sheet: Tips for Choosing AT Products for Yourself ◦ g%20AT%20Products%20for%20Yourself_PDF.pdf g%20AT%20Products%20for%20Yourself_PDF.pdf  Iowa Program for Assistive Technology ◦ ◦ (V) or (TTY)  Iowa Compass ◦ ◦ (V) or TTY

 Personal decision whether to disclose  Research information to determine if and when to disclose  Be prepared if choosing to disclose  Tap into resources

 Social Security Administration’s (SSA) support disabled beneficiaries who want to work.  If living on SSI or SSDI, living in poverty.  Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs have a number of employment support provisions commonly referred to as work incentives.  The Red Book ◦ Prepared annually as self-help guide for beneficiaries and professionals who support them ◦ Designed to provide a working knowledge of the disability benefits and related work incentives

Some Common Work Incentives Section 1619(b) Medicaid Buy-In (MEPD in Iowa) SSI Only Ways to keep Medicaid coverage if working over resources, even if your earnings become too high for an SSI cash payment. Earned Income Exclusion SSI Only The first $65 of the earnings you receive in a month do not count, plus one-half of the remaining earnings. This exclusion is in addition to the $20 general income exclusion. Student Earned Income Exclusion SSI Only If under age 22 and regularly attending school, don’t count up to $1,750 of earned income per month when figure Supplemental Security Income payment amount. The maximum yearly exclusion for 2014 is $7,060.

Some Common Work Incentives Impairment Related Work Expense SSI and SSDI The cost of certain impairment- related items and services needed to work are deducted from your gross earnings. PASS (Plan to Achieve Self - Support) SSI and SSDI A PASS allows you to set aside other income besides your SSI and/or resources for a specified period of time so that you may pursue a work goal. For example, you could set aside some of that money to pay expenses for education, vocational training, or starting a business as long as the expenses are related to achieving your work goal. Ticket to Work SSI and SSDI Provides employment support services to help get or keep a job. It is a free and voluntary service.

Some Common Work Incentives Expedited Reinstatement SSI and SSDI If you have stopped receiving benefits due to your work, SSA may be able to restart them again. This provision allows you to receive up to 6 months of temporary cash benefits while conduct a medical review to decide if benefits can be reinstated. Trial Work Period (TWP) SSDI only The TWP allows you to test your ability to work for at least 9 months. During your TWP, you will receive full SSDI benefits regardless of how high your earnings might be as long as you report your work activity and you have a disabling impairment.

 Certified professionals who ◦ Analyze an individual’s public benefits ◦ Provide guidance to the impact of increasing earned income  Increases knowledge to make informed decisions about employment  Disability benefits /work incentives are complicated and individual cases are unique  Services are available at no cost if use WIPA or when offered as part of the services of state VR or Employment Network (EN)

Critical points in time when to seek Benefits Planning Services: 1) When considering employment 2) When a change in earnings starting a job, increased or decreased wages, ending a job Required to inform local SSA office at these points.

 Iowa Work Incentive & Planning Assistance (WIPA) ◦ Call or Relay 711 ◦ Visit  Beneficiary Access and Support Services (BASS) Beneficiary Help Line ◦ Call (V) or (TTY) ◦ Visit  SSA approved service providers often provide expertise (State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, and Employment Networks (such as Iowa Workforce and others ) ◦