Library & Tools

Here is guidance on assisting beneficiaries with completing the SSA-455: Disability Update Report.

SSI/SSDI overpayments may cause undue hardship for beneficiaries who are experiencing or at-risk for homelessness. This article provides tips for avoiding overpayments and steps to follow in the overpayment appeal/waiver process.

Here are some FAQs about Continuing Disability Reviews (CDR).

The following resources have been created and/or revised to provide guidance and action steps that SOAR providers can implement in SOAR service delivery as well as resources that supervisors are encouraged to use to support them.

Here is some guidance from the SAMHSA SOAR TA Center and the Social Security Administration for gathering information about and documenting Long COVID for SSI/SSDI applications.

Learn more about the impact of Unemployment Insurance and Economic Impact (Stimulus) Payments on SSI/SSDI benefits.

This guidance document is a supplement to the Medical Summary Report Interview Guide and Template. It provides important considerations when working with individuals who are Deaf and hard of hearing. It includes helpful information about hearing loss, Deaf culture, and important accommodations. Finally, it includes sample questions that may be helpful in your interview.

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.

This article provides example descriptions for the areas of mental functioning. The “effective” functional descriptions clearly link the symptoms of the applicant’s illness with their limitations.