Library & Tools

This issue brief provides guidance on how community agencies and local colleges/universities can collaborate to develop partnerships that integrate SOAR within the social work learning process.

Connecting Veterans with Social Security Administration (SSA) disability benefits is a critical step to increasing income stability for Veterans and their families, particularly for those Veterans whose work activity is limited by disabling conditions. The SOAR model helps individuals obtain SSA disability benefits while they are pursuing their vocational and housing goals through the GPD Program. 

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

The SOAR TA Center has released the outcomes of SSI/SSDI applications submitted using the SOAR process from 2006 through June 30, 2021.

The SOAR model’s culturally-sensitive engagement process and holistic approach to SSI/SSDI application assistance can be a critical support for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) community members whether residing on or off reservations.

Highlighted below are some of the ways peers from around the country have incorporated their lived expertise into their SOAR work.

The SAMHSA SOAR TA Center is proud to debut a new resource guide on practical ways that SOAR can be integrated into the peer-certification process. 

Maryland has long had a SOAR certification process for those who have had at least four out of five SOAR cases approved. However, knowing just how much work goes into undertaking each and every SOAR application, this year they decided to expand how they recognize individuals’ efforts. 

In an effort to better identify appropriate SOAR claimants, identifying claims which are more likely to have a favorable outcome is paramount. Social Security has developed Special Medical Vocational Profiles, which are rare combinations of adversities that combine, along with impairments, to result in a finding of disabled. 

SSA is now evaluating the long-term effects of COVID-19 when determining disability. On April 16, 2021, SSA issued an Emergency Message (EM) with guidance to its employees for evaluating adult disability cases that include an allegation or diagnosis of COVID-19. Here are the key points of the EM as well as tips for SOAR practitioners to effectively represent SSI/SSDI applicants whose functioning is impacted by COVID-19.