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VCU Alert

Page Last Updated:
03/09/05 01:36 PM

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Benefits Planning, Assistance, & Outreach (BPAO) Program

Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999

The BPAO Program

• The Social Security Administration (SSA), as authorized by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, awarded 116 cooperative agreements to a variety of community organizations called Benefits Planning, Assistance, and Outreach (BPAO) projects. These BPAO projects provide all SSA beneficiaries with disabilities (including transition-to-work aged youth) access to benefits planning and assistance services.

The Goal of the BPAO Program

• The goal of the BPAO Program is to better enable SSA`s beneficiaries with disabilities to make informed choices about work. Each BPAO Project has Benefits Specialists who will:

  • Provide work incentives planning and assistance to SSA`s beneficiaries with disabilities

  • Conduct outreach efforts to those beneficiaries (and families), who are potentially eligible to participate in Federal or State work incentives programs; and

  • Work in cooperation with Federal, State, and private agencies and nonprofit organizations that serve beneficiaries with disabilities.

Training the BPAO Benefits Specialist on Social Security Work Incentives

• SSA has contracted with Cornell University, Virginia Commonwealth University , and the University of Missouri-Columbia, to provide technical assistance and training to all BPAO Benefits Specialists on SSA`s disability programs and work incentives, the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and on other Federal work incentives programs.

• BPAO Program awardees must provide training and technical assistance to their Benefits Specialists about their own State and local programs and their effects on other programs` eligibility and benefits.

BPAO Agencies by State

For more specific information, visit the state-by-state contact list.

Contact Social Security with Questions About the BPAO Program

VCU's Benefits Assistance Resource Center

Previous Articles on Social Security:

Social Security Recipients Warned About Potential Scams

What will happen to my Medicaid when I go to work?

Employment, Medicaid and Social Security: Collaborations at Work—A National Conference on Change

BPAO Customer Satisfaction Survey

Progression of Disability Benefits: A Perspective on Multiple Sclerosis