Benefit Advisement for Mental Health Consumers Seeking Employment

Summary

The need for wheelchair ramps in public spaces was once questioned with the logic that persons in wheelchairs were never seen there. If benefit agencies such as Social Security and the state Medicaid agency continue to fail to train their personnel on the regulations regarding work incentives, then consumers will likewise not be seen using work incentives to make the transition to community employment. The TTWWIIA will fail to live up to its name if benefit agencies cannot implement the new regulations. The benefit advisor may provide the best practical training in work incentive regulations that benefit agencies receive.

The importance of a benefit advisor’s role in advocating for the consumer will continue throughout the first decade of the new century. Personnel from human services agencies, benefit agencies, consumers, and their families will require extensive education and support to adjust to the new work incentive legislation. Benefit advisors will also play an important role in advocating for work incentives such as Medicaid Buy-In that are optional for states.

Until TTWWIIA is implemented in the consumer’s state, the benefit advisor will need to protect the consumer’s rights to medical benefits, and provide accurate information for the consumer who is considering community employment. Well-trained benefit advisors can assist consumers in making the transition by limiting the uncertainty and fear the consumer may feel when dealing with benefit agencies. Benefit advisement is the cornerstone of vocational services for the mental health consumer, without which community employment may collapse.