Library & Tools

SOAR (SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery) case workers assist eligible individuals who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness and have a serious mental illness, medical impairment, and/or a co-occurring substance use disorder to apply for Social Security Disability benefits. Due to the unique nature of the position, the following are helpful suggestions and reminders when supervising SOAR case workers.

Staff turnover while there are pending disability applications can confuse and concern the applicant, the Social Security Administration (SSA), and Disability Determination Services (DDS). This checklist helps agencies effectively transfer applications to a new SOAR case worker, resulting in a frustration-free experience for all.

This decision tree will help caseworkers determine whether they should complete a SOAR-assisted SSI/SSDI application for an individual with whom they are working.

This article explains how you can promote SOAR with your Social Security Administration (SSA) Office of Hearings Operations (OHO) office to help ease their backlog and workload issues, while at the same time, improving access to expedited decisions for SOAR applicants.

Is your agency looking to hire a SOAR Benefits Specialist?  Take a look at this Sample Job Description!

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

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

We’ve gathered examples of well-written, successful Medical Summary Reports (MSRs) from SOAR providers across the country for the SOAR community to use as extra guidance.

When you are preparing to appeal a denial of disability benefits, the first thing you should do is request the case file so that you can review key components of the file and decision!

It is important to find out whether someone has a pending initial claim or is waiting for a reconsideration or an appeals hearing before starting a new application.