New Grants and Programs
Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Project
Effective September 30, 2006, the Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) program was replaced by the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Program. The Human Development Center and the Advocacy Center have teamed up to continue the work of assisting Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients understand the effect that employment has on their benefits.
The collaboration means that the same quality assistance is available statewide. The Advocacy Center Community Work Incentive Coordinators (CWIC) will provide work incentive planning and assistance to beneficiaries who reside in Southeast Louisiana. The Human Development Center and an additional partner in the WIPA program, the Volunteers of America of North Louisiana, will provide services to beneficiaries who reside in west, central and north Louisiana.
Many individuals with disabilities who receive SSDI and/or SSI benefits want to work or increase their work activity. One barrier for these individuals is fear of losing health care and other benefits if they work. Valuable work incentive programs can extend benefits, but are often poorly understood and underused. The Louisiana Work Incentive Planning and Assistance Coalition (LAWIPAC) can help reduce these concerns. Community Work Incentive Coordinators provide services to all Louisiana SSDI and SSI beneficiaries age 14 and older with disabilities.
The ultimate goal of the new WIPA coalition is to support the successful employment of beneficiaries with disabilities. Benefit Specialists under the WIPA program are referred to as Community Work Incentives Coordinators (CWIC) and will focus on improved community partnerships.
If you, or someone you know, is receiving SSDI or SSI and wants to work or work more, but are afraid of what may happen to your federal or state benefits, a CWIC may be able to assist you. A CWIC is available to review and assess your employment and benefits history. The CWIC can help you make informed decisions about working or working more by creating a work plan that includes the use of Social Security work incentives that will ensure you maintain the benefit/subsidy programs you require.
One of the ways in which this will be done is by conducting periodic Work Incentives Seminars (WISE) to provide beneficiaries with disabilities the opportunity to meet directly with CWICs, Employment Networks (EN), and public and private community-based organizations. Each WISE is expected to last approximately 2 hours and will provide beneficiaries with information about available work incentives and job supports needed to either assign their Ticket or pursue other employment options.
Community Work Incentive Coordinators are available to meet with individuals who receive Social Security benefits and want to work. CWICs will:
• provide information about how work may affect benefits
• answer questions about starting or going back to work
• inform individuals of the many choices available and let the individual make the decisions
To contact a Community Work Incentive Coordinator, simply call, toll-free, 1-888-942-8104.
Louisiana UPHIL Project
The Louisiana UPHIL (United for Progress on Housing in Louisiana) Project was funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development as a collaborative project among the Advocacy Center and the Human Development Center of LSU Health Sciences Center. The goal of this one-year project is to raise awareness among people with disabilities and landlords on the federal, state and local fair housing laws.
The project’s objectives are: 1) to fully inform people with disabilities about their rights to safe, affordable, accessible housing under the Fair Housing Act, and other local, state and federal laws; 2) to inform landlords about their tenant's rights to safe, affordable and accessible housing under the Fair Housing Act, and other local, state and federal laws; and 3) to assist people with disabilities to file complaints with HUD and otherwise redress housing discrimination.
The project’s major activities target the following groups, recognizing that these groups may not be mutually exclusive: 1) people with disabilities; 2) family members and other interested parties; 3) landlords.
For additional information about this project, please contact the Advocacy Center via telephone at 1-800-960-7705 or email: advocacycenter@advocacyla.org.
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