Library & Tools

SOAR-trained providers: Submit your SOAR outcomes!

After completing the SOAR Online Course: Adult Curriculum, case workers assisting adult SSI/SSDI applicants should complete the following steps as part of a standard SOAR workflow. In many states and communities, there is an established SOAR Process for the submission and processing of SOAR-assisted SSI/SSDI applications. In other areas, the Social Security Administration (SSA) and Disability Determination Services (DDS) may not yet know about the SOAR initiative. Either way, case workers can use the SOAR model to submit quality and complete SSI/SSDI applications efficiently and effectively.

Tracking SOAR outcomes is a critical way to document successes and to target technical assistance needs. Using the SOAR Online Application Tracking (OAT) program, case workers can easily enter application outcome data and generate reports to use for local sustainability efforts.

SOAR seeks to increase access to Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits for people who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. To achieve this goal, collaborations with SSA and the Disability Determination Services (DDS) are absolutely essential. SOAR can provide invaluable assistance to both SSA and DDS and, similarly, SSA and DDS can help to streamline the process for SOAR providers and for the applicants they both serve.

This toolkit, updated and re-released in August 2019, contains extensive resources on how to integrate the SOAR model into community planning efforts, for serving both Veterans and non-Veterans.

The Medical Summary Report (MSR) is SOAR’s signature tool and key to a successful application. It provides a succinct, comprehensive summary of the applicant’s personal and treatment history and its impact on his or her life. It also clearly describes the factors affecting functioning and ability to work.

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.

There is no dedicated source of funding for SOAR programs. As a result, difficulty obtaining funds to pay the salaries of SOAR benefits specialists is a major reason that SOAR services in some areas are severely limited or nonexistent. Despite these challenges, communities have been resourceful in securing funding from a variety of sources.

What do medical providers need to know about SOAR and the Medical Summary Report?