Center for Evidence-Based Practices (CEBP) at Case Western Reserve University

Benefits Planning

Case managers, employment specialists, and other service providers do not need to be full-time benefits counselors or experts in benefits planning to help people who have been diagnosed with disabilities—including severe mental illness—make informed decisions about their financial futures and prevent crises. Benefits planning begins with the following:

Developing trusting relationships with consumers (therapeutic alliances)
Knowing some basic information about benefits programs (e.g., eligibility requirements, income limits, work incentives)
Having the ability to refer people to full-time benefits counselors for more detailed information
Understanding how earned income from a paycheck and work incentives may complement benefits over time to promote long-term financial stability and consumer choice

Common benefits programs utilized by adults with disabilities include the following:

Cash benefits from the Social Security Administration (SSI, SSDI)
Work incentives
Medicaid
Medicare
Housing subsidies

CORE PRINCIPLES

A little know-how helps a lot.

People are likely to feel more comfortable talking about such personal matters as finances with service providers who they know and trust. Also, they are more likely to believe information from credible sources, namely, people who truly understand them—their circumstances, fears, hopes, and dreams. In this way, service providers who work regularly with consumers may complement the work of full-time benefits counselors and promote consumer health and well-being.

We have developed our Benefits Planning consulting and training with the following core principles:

The Value of Work

People diagnosed with disabilities—including severe mental illness—want to work, are capable of working, but often do not have access to services that address their specific needs.
Work is a part of the treatment process: it does not occur after treatment.
Work is a positive influence in people's lives and contributes to health and wellness.

The Value of Benefits Planning

It's an ongoing process, not just a one-time interview.
It's a relationship job, not just a numbers job that focuses on formulas and calculations.
It must be consumer-focused and address the needs of each individual.
It helps people make informed decisions about their personal circumstances and their futures.

MULTIPLE DISCIPLINES

It's not just a numbers job. It's a relationship job.

Benefits planning is one of the core components of the evidence-based Supported Employment (SE) model. It is also a core component of vocational-rehabilitation services and a variety of other interventions used by direct-service providers, supervisors, team leaders, and organizations in the following service areas:

Mental health
Substance abuse (addiction services)
Supported employment
Vocational rehabilitation
Residential
Housing
Healthcare for chronic medical conditions
Visual and hearing impairments
Cognitive impairments
Mental retardation

MAKING THE CASE

Many people diagnosed with disabilities who rely upon benefits programs to meet their basic needs and to acquire skills to achieve their personal goals often feel protective of these lifelines, and rightfully so. A decision about their benefits based upon myths or misinformation can have devastating financial consequences. Many individuals feel they will be taking a risk if they go to work and earn a paycheck, mainly the risk of losing medical coverage and other benefits. They fear that income earned from the job will make them ineligible. What many folks don't realize is that with a little planning, they can earn a regular paycheck and still retain benefits or choose to reduce and gradually leave benefits programs over time.

Change your service approach and the culture of your organization with basic and advanced benefits-planning abilities and achieve the following:

People with disabilities may earn money and maintain benefits.

Decrease

Consumer and family fears about loss of benefits
Unemployment and underemployment
Vulnerability to poverty
Dependence upon SSI & SSDI
Staff frustration with benefits issues

Increase

Consumer ability to make informed choices about employment
Family support for consumer employment
Positive employment & treatment outcomes
Job retention
Purchasing power, savings & quality-of-life
Happiness and health
Staff skills and satisfaction

PROFESSIONAL NETWORKS

Our consultants and trainers participate in a number of professional peer-networks for benefits planners to remain current with policies, practices, and advocacy initiatives nationally and in the State of Ohio. Their participation in these networks enables them to bring the most recent information and practice innovations to you and your organization.

CONSULTING & TRAINING SERVICES

Our consultants and trainers have many years of experience providing and supervising benefits-planning services as well as consulting and training about benefits-planning issues. They have worked in a variety of direct-practice settings, including vocational rehabilitation, mental-health services, and services for people with other disabilities (e.g., visual, hearing, or cognitive impairments; mental retardation; chronic medical illnesses).

Because we emphasize the importance of experiential learning, our consulting and training occur through a variety of methods and in many settings, including the following:

Role play
Team meetings
Supervision sessions
In-vivo/ community-based practice

Our goal is to help organizations become self-sufficient with using, evaluating, and supervising Benefits Planning. Therefore, we have developed the following services: