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BENEFITS PLANNING, ASSISTANCE, AND
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. Cooperative agreements were awarded throughout
every State, The District of
Columbia, and the U.S. Territories
of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
The
Goal of the BPAO Program
- The goal of the Benefits Planning, Assistance,
and Outreach (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 their 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
Contacting Social Security with
Questions About the BPAO Program
If you have questions about the BPAO Program, you can write to:
Social Security Administration
Office of Employment Support Programs
6401 Security
Boulevard
107 Altmeyer Building
Baltimore, MD 21235-6401
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