Library & Tools

Read our Q&A with a SOAR case worker from New York who has an appeals success story!

This toolkit will help you to develop a SOAR referral process for your community or agency that helps ensure that potentially eligible individuals are connected with SOAR-trained providers who are available to assist.

Find up-to-date information on the rates that SSA sets annually.

State and Local Leads spearhead and coordinate the implementation of SOAR initiatives. These leaders identify and engage stakeholders to participate in steering committees whose goal is to create and implement a SOAR action plan and process for adult SSI/SSDI and/or child SSI application submission. These committees meet regularly to collaborate, report on progress, and troubleshoot challenges.

The Social Security Administration now offers a video option for Administrative Law Judge appeal hearings.

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.

This toolkit combines articles from the SOARWorks website as well as other materials into one comprehensive resource about the Social Security Administration (SSA) appeals process.

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.

Once the Request for Hearing has been processed at OHO, both the representative and applicant will receive a notice indicating the case has been successfully transferred to the court’s Master Docket, where cases are screened. At this stage, representatives can request a Prehearing Case Review or an On-the-Record (OTR) review to avoid the need for a hearing. If the OHO office is not able to grant these requests, the applicant retains the right to a hearing. A request for an expedited hearing due to dire need can also be submitted.

Appointed Representatives assisting with ALJ hearings and Appeals Council level cases can obtain online access to applicants’ electronic folders by enrolling in Appointed Representative Services (ARS). There are also benefits to enrolling in ARS, even if you only assist with initial claims.