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 Disability Program Navigator: Training ;  2009: Social Security Administration (SSA)4 Part Training Series 


As part of ongoing technical assistance activities, NDI Consulting Inc, the national TA and Training Provider to the Disability Program Navigator Initiative, hosted a four-part webinar series to provide strategies and resources to help Disability Program Navigators learn how they can Serve as a Resource on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Work Incentives & Other Programs that Can Impact the Employment of People with Disabilities.

The purpose of this series was to provide Navigators with a working knowledge of some of SSA's employment supports and other work incentives, so that a Navigator can serve as a resource to the workforce investment system. As a systems change agent, the Navigator can pass on this critical information to One-Stop Career Center staff, so that they have a better understanding of available employment supports and provide job seekers with disabilities with information that can help in making informed decisions about work.

This four-part series included:



Part I: “Navigating the SSA Website and the DPNs Role as a Resource”

Recorded on:
Tuesday, March 17, 2009 - 3pm EST

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Part II: “General Overview of SSA’s Work Incentives and How to Use this Information”

Recorded on:
Tuesday, March 24, 2009 – 3pm EST

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Part III: “SSA Resources & Specialists to Know & Use—Nuts and Bolts”

Recorded on:
Tuesday March 31, 2009 – 3pm EST

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Part IV: “Other Resources--State Incentives & Programs that enhance Successful Employment”

Recorded on:
Tuesday, April 7, 2009 – 3pm EST

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Our Presenters

Sharon Brent - National Disability Institute, Director of Training and Technical Assistance

Is NDI ’s Director of Training and Technical Assistance, is a national expert on multiple Federal policy issues related to employment and self-determination that improves the economic status of youth and adults with disabilities. Her expertise is in youth and adult issues regarding employment, housing, health care, asset development, and Social Security programs. She provides training, technical assistance, and individual and family benefits planning and counseling.


Elizabeth Jennings – National Disability Institute, Program Associate

Her background includes creating collaborative agreements, building partnerships and executing grant allocations, assisting individuals in understanding the effect of work on Social Security, Medicaid and Medicare benefits, training individuals with disabilities on employability skills and assisting individuals in obtaining supported and competitive employment.

Ms. Jennings currently serves as an expert on asset building strategies for individuals with disabilities throughout the State of Florida, she provides training on the impact of work on Social Security benefits under Florida’s Medicaid Infrastructure Grant and she also provides technical assistance to the DPN Initiative on becoming an Employment Network through the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work program.

 

Michael Roush – National Disability Institute, Program Associate

Mr. Roush joined the NDI team in August of 2008 and is involved with the asset building projects in Florida including a new pilot project, Building Economic Strength Together (B.E.S.T.) Florida to increase the economic self-sufficiency of individuals with disabilities. He recently completed the required competency-based educational and assessment activities to be certified as a Community Work Incentives Coordinator through the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Initiative.

Prior to joining the NDI team, Mr. Roush was a consultant with the University of South Florida's Center for Inclusive Communities and served as a Disability Program Navigator with the Florida DPN project. As a Navigator, he worked with One Stop Career Center staff and community partners to incorporate the Money Smart Curriculum and asset building resources into their programs.