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| Understanding Section 301 (Refresher Region VI) |
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Presenter: Lucy Miller Description of training: The term “section 301” refers to the continued payment of Social Security benefits to disabled or blind individuals who have been medically ceased but are permitted to receive benefit payments because of their participation in an approved program of vocational rehabilitation (VR) services, employment services, or other support services. These continued payments are often called "section 301 payments" because the authority for such payments is contained in section 301 of the Social Security Disability Amendments of 1980. Unfortunately, section 301 is relatively unknown in the vocational rehabilitation community and many people who would be eligible for continued benefits under section 301 miss this unique opportunity. The Social Security Administration published new rules for section 301 in June of 2005 and these rules took effect as of June 25, 2005. One of the most significant changes was including individualized educational programs provided under the IDEA as an approved program for section 301 eligibility. This offers a powerful incentive to students with disabilities to remain in school and to complete their educational program or vocational skill training. This web cast will provide a historical overview of the section 301 provisions and will offer a detailed description of the most recent changes SSA has made to section 301 eligibility and procedures. Topics will include eligibility for section 301, how extended benefits through section 301 work, and the advantages of the new section 301 rules. This training will be useful for Benefits Specialists, VR agency personnel and special education professionals. Presenter Bio: Lucy Axton Miller currently serves as Trainer and Technical Assistance Liaison for SSA Region 4 with Virginia Commonwealth University's Benefits Assistance Resource Center. In this capacity, Lucy provides work incentive training, technical assistance and consultation to all SSA funded Benefits Planning Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) projects in the southeast. Before joining VCU BARC, Lucy served as the Vice President of Development for Career Resources, Inc., a nationally recognized leader in One-Stop and Welfare-to-Work services in the greater Louisville metropolitan area. Prior to this, Lucy worked for over 10 years at Seven Counties Services, the regional planning authority for mental health, mental retardation and chemical dependency services. Lucy has over 16 years of experience in supported employment implementation and management for adults with the most severe disabilities in both urban and rural settings. A dynamic public speaker, Lucy has presented on diverse career and workforce development topics including job development strategies for persons with severe disabilities, strategies for serving persons with disabilities in One-Stop centers, and Social Security benefits management and work incentives. |