BENEFITS PLANNING, ASSISTANCE, AND

OUTREACH (BPAO) PROGRAM

• The Social Security Administration (SSA), as authorized by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, awarded 116 cooperative agreements to a variety of community organizations called Benefits Planning, Assistance, and Outreach (BPAO) projects. These BPAO projects provide all SSA beneficiaries with disabilities (including transition-to-work aged youth) access to benefits planning and assistance services. Cooperative agreements were awarded throughout every State, The District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

• The goal of the Benefits Planning, Assistance, and Outreach (BPAO) Program is to better enable SSA`s beneficiaries with disabilities to make informed choices about work. Each BPAO Project has Benefits Specialists who will:
  
  
  • Provide work incentives planning and assistance to SSA`s beneficiaries with disabilities
  • Conduct outreach efforts to those beneficiaries (and their families), who are potentially eligible to participate in Federal or State work incentives programs; and
  • Work in cooperation with Federal, State, and private agencies and nonprofit organizations that serve beneficiaries with disabilities.

• SSA has contracted with Cornell University, Virginia Commonwealth University , and the University of Missouri-Columbia, to provide technical assistance and training to all BPAO Benefits Specialists on SSA`s disability programs and work incentives, the Medicare and Medicaid programs, and on other Federal work incentives programs.



• BPAO Program awardees must provide training and technical assistance to their Benefits Specialists about their own State and local programs and their effects on other programs` eligibility and benefits.

• For more specific information, visit the state-by-state contact list.

Contacting Social Security with Questions About the BPAO Program

If you have questions about the BPAO Program, you can write to:

Social Security Administration
Office of Employment Support Programs
6401 Security Boulevard
107 Altmeyer Building
Baltimore, MD 21235-6401

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