9/6 - Why Your Employment Agency Should Have a Certified Benefits Planner

Why Your Employment Agency Should Have a Certified Benefits Planner

September 6, 2023

1:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. 

Location: Virtual

    Registration Fees: 

Members: $50      Non-Members: $100

If your agency provides employment services to people with disabilities who get public cash and medical benefits, you should absolutely consider having a certified Benefits Planner on your staff.  Benefits Planners provide one-to-one assistance to people with disabilities to understand the impact of different levels of earnings on the benefits they receive.  They help people use safety nets called “work incentives” that protect benefits when people work and ensure that individuals get ahead financially when they start paid work or increase their earnings.  People can get free benefits planning from a few sources.  Why should your agency consider having a Benefits Planner?

For several great reasons:

• Two funding sources can enable your agency to generate revenue to offset the cost of a Benefits Planner. 
• Having a Benefits Planner on staff enables you to provide this service quickly to people who are considering job offers or increased earnings so they’ll be less likely to turn down opportunities
• A Benefits Planner can help other staff learn the basics of work incentives so they can help encourage people to work or increase their earnings if they have concerns about losing benefits
• Benefits planning improves your agency’s employment outcomes, persuading more people to work, to earn higher wages and continue working
• Benefits Planners decrease the number of people you serve who quit or sabotage jobs for fear of losing benefits, sparing you the extra effort of having to find replacement jobs and train people to perform them

This training dives into the details of how to get one (or more) of your staff trained and certified as a Benefits Planner, how to get funding to support the position, and how a Benefits Planner will help the people you support and benefit your agency.  Hear not only from the trainer, but from an agency that has its own benefits planners. 

Facilitators: Michael Dalto is a big, old benefits geek. He has delivered presentations on benefits and work incentives to thousands of people with disabilities, family members, and professionals since 1989. He created state certification for Maryland benefits counselors and provided training and technical assistance for the certification. He oversaw benefits counseling for the PROMISE project, a research grant that served youths who receive SSI and their families. He also consulted with the Institute for Community Inclusion of the University of Massachusetts Boston on the SGA Project, a research effort that tested interventions to support vocational rehabilitation consumers in Kentucky and Minnesota to work their way off Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits. He has written training materials about benefits and provided technical assistance to Virginia Commonwealth University's National Training and Data Center. He now consults with Cornell University and the National Association of Blind Merchants.

Sandra L. Corbin, CWIPC Director, Benefit Counseling Services, Humanim, Inc. As a long-time Carroll County resident, Ms. Corbin received her degree from McDaniel College. Throughout her career she has provided services to adults diagnosed with behavioral health issues.  Early work experience includes a psychiatric day program in Carroll County and a psychiatric residential rehabilitation program in Baltimore.  Initially hired in 1986 by Humanim as a Case Manager for individual in the community with psychiatric disabilities she also assisted in the development of the residential program for adults with traumatic brain injury and the community support program.  She works closely with the Social Security Administration, the Department of Social Services, the Howard County Housing Commission, and other community resources to ensure the financial security of Humanim consumers.  In 2011 she received her certification as a Community Partner Work Incentive Counselor from Virginia Commonwealth University.  Working as part of the Social Security’s Ticket To Work Program and with the Division of Rehabilitation Services she provides benefit information and assistance to disabled individuals in the Baltimore Metropolitan area who are planning on re-entering the workforce.  Ms. Corbin was one of only four Benefit Specialist in Maryland to work on the Social Security Promoting Opportunities Demonstration Project. 

In addition to providing services to those with disabilities, Ms. Corbin also operates a Food Stamps outreach which coordinates the application for and maintenance of benefits for approximately 225 homeless individuals along the Route 1 corridor.