Library & Tools

Here are some frequently asked questions about obtaining SSI benefits for children in foster care.

This issue brief, developed by the SOAR TA Center, discusses the importance of connecting Veterans with SSA disability benefits how the SOAR model can help.

One of the most important tasks for you to accomplish is to make the link between diagnosis and functional impairment so that DDS can fully understand the applicant’s disability. This article discusses how to ask questions that elicit the information you will use to write your Medical Summary Report (MSR).

For applicants with mental disorders, DDS examiners look at a person’s ability to function in four primary areas. Your responsibility is to describe the functioning of the individual in as much detail as possible and to document how the person’s illness impairs his or her ability to function and maintain employment at a substantial gainful level.

Sandy Mishkin, SOAR Specialist in New Mexico, shares her experience submitting her first SOAR-assisted SSI application for a child.

In July 2018 and updated in March 2019, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) released a new tool for beneficiaries of Social Security Administration's (SSA's) disability benefits, which helps demonstrate how income from employment and/or VA disability benefits will affect Supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI).

Kristin Lupfer, Project Director of the SAMHSA SOAR TA Center, facilitated a workshop at the National Federation of Families' 2021 Virtual Conference titled, "Reducing Homelessness for Families, Children, and Youth with Disabilities Using the SOAR Model."

Here are examples of completed SSA and SOAR Forms using information from a fictitious SSI child applicant.

Based on interviews with Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) grantees, this report from the VA addresses challenges to serving Veterans in rural areas and proposes strategies and needed resources for overcoming them. 

A success story from Minnesota was featured in our February 2023 e-Newsletter.