What rehabilitation counselors should know to assist Social Security beneficiaries in becoming employed

Issue title: New Directions in Vocational Rehabilitation: Challenges and Opportunities for Researchers, Practitioners, and Consumers

Article type: Research Article

Authors: Marini, Irmo

Affiliations: Rehabilitative Services Program, 1201 W. University Drive, University of Texas-Pan American, Edinburg, TX 78939-2999, USA. Tel.: +1 956 316 7035; Fax: +1 956 380 6499; E-mail: [email protected]

Abstract: The 1999 Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act (TTWWIIA) has opened new employment opportunities for vocational rehabilitation professionals. The legislation minimized longstanding disincentives in the return to work efforts of beneficiaries collecting Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). Although some of these key disincentives have been eliminated, rehabilitation counselors working with this population will find some interesting new challenges posed by this population. This article will outline the Social Security Administration's SSI/SSDI programs and process for applying; characteristics of beneficiaries; and information regarding the psychological and physiological aspects of beneficiaries with psychiatric disabilities and musculoskeletal disorders.

Keywords: Social Security, job acquisition, mental illness, rehabilitation counseling

Journal: Work, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 37-43, 2003