Library & Tools

SSDI is an insurance program. Therefore, no information about living arrangement or resources is required. Instead, the SSDI application will ask questions about past earnings and entitlement to other benefits. People over 18 years of age who have worked and contributed to the Social Security Trust or others who became disabled before the age of 22 whose parent is deceased or receiving retirement or disability benefits may be eligible.

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

The Social Security Administration (SSA) may ask the applicant to complete an SSA-821 Work Activity Report if he/she continued to work after the alleged date of onset. This article provides additional information and tips for assisting applicants with this form. 

SOAR extends beyond accessing SSI/SSDI and also encourages employment as a means to increase individual income and further promote recovery. This issue brief explores Individual Placement and Support (IPS), a model of supported employment that has been developed over the past 25 years specifically for people who have behavioral health needs.

The SAMHSA SOAR TA Center has created a toolkit to provide helpful suggestions and key considerations when hiring and supervising SOAR case workers.

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.

SOAR Leaders can use the SOAR for Children: Process Intercepts Infographic when marketing SOAR for Children to new audiences or to identify areas for engaging new stakeholders.

This issue brief, developed by the SAMHSA SOAR TA Center, discusses best practices for integrating benefit options with community reentry strategies for people with serious mental illness and co-occurring disorders to promote post-release success.

Based on interviews with Supportive Services for Veteran Families (SSVF) grantees, this report from the VA addresses challenges to serving Veterans in rural areas and proposes strategies and needed resources for overcoming them. 

The SOAR TA Center has released the outcomes of SSI/SSDI applications submitted using the SOAR process from 2006 through June 30, 2019.