42 U.S.C. § 1320b–20 — Work incentives outreach program

(a) Establishment
(1) In general. The Commissioner, after consulting the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel, must establish a community-based work-incentives planning and assistance program. Its purpose is to give disabled beneficiaries accurate information about work-incentive programs and related issues.

(2) Grants, cooperative agreements, contracts, and outreach. Under the program, the Commissioner must—
(A) create a competitive grant, cooperative-agreement, or contract program that provides benefits planning and assistance, including information about available protection-and-advocacy services, to disabled beneficiaries. This includes people in the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program, the program under section 1382h, and other programs designed to encourage disabled beneficiaries to work;
(B) directly, or through grants, agreements, or contracts, conduct continuing outreach to disabled beneficiaries and their families who may qualify for Federal or State^* work-incentive programs designed to help disabled beneficiaries work. The outreach must include—
(i) preparing and distributing information that explains those programs; and
(ii) working with Federal, State, and private agencies and nonprofit organizations serving disabled beneficiaries, including organizations focused on vocational rehabilitation and work-related training and counseling;
(C) create a group of trained, accessible, and responsive work-incentive specialists within the Social Security Administration^*. They must specialize in disability work incentives under subchapters II and XVI and give accurate information about work-incentive questions and issues to—
(i) disabled beneficiaries;
(ii) applicants for benefits under subchapters II and XVI; and
(iii) people or organizations receiving grants under subparagraph (A) or (B); and
(D) provide—
(i) training for work-incentive specialists and people who provide the planning assistance described in subparagraph (C); and
(ii) technical assistance to organizations and entities designed to encourage disabled beneficiaries to return to work.

(3) Coordination with other programs. The Commissioner’s responsibilities must be coordinated with public and private programs that provide rehabilitation services, independent-living supports, and benefits planning for disabled beneficiaries. This includes the program under section 1382h, the plans-for-achieving-self-support program (PASS), other Federal or State work-incentive programs, educational agencies providing rehabilitation information and help, school-to-work programs, transition services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a one-stop delivery system under section 3151(e) of title 29, and other services.

(b) Conditions
(1) Selection of entities.
(A) Application. An entity seeking a grant, agreement, or contract must apply to the Commissioner at the time, in the manner, and with the information the Commissioner requires to meet this section.
(B) Statewideness. The Commissioner must ensure that the planning, assistance, and information described in paragraph (2) are available statewide.
(C) Eligibility of States and private organizations.
(i) In general. The Commissioner may award a grant, agreement, or contract to a State or a qualified private agency or organization. It may not be a Social Security Administration field office or the State agency administering the State Medicaid program under subchapter XIX.
(ii) Agencies and entities described. Eligible entities include—
(I) a public or private agency or organization that the Commissioner finds meets this section, including a Center for Independent Living, a protection-and-advocacy organization, a client-assistance program under section 112 of the Rehabilitation Act, or a State Developmental Disabilities Council; and
(II) the State agency administering the program funded under part A of subchapter IV.
(D) Exclusion for conflict of interest. The Commissioner may not award a grant, agreement, or contract to an entity that the Commissioner finds would have a conflict of interest.

(2) Services provided. A recipient must choose planners who give disabled beneficiaries information, guidance, and planning about—
(A) the availability and relationship of Federal and State work-incentive programs for which the person^* may qualify;
(B) whether employer health coverage is adequate and what other health coverage may be available; and
(C) available protection-and-advocacy services and how to obtain them.

(3) Amount of grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts.
(A) Based on population of disabled beneficiaries. Subject to subparagraph (B), the Commissioner must base each award on the percentage of the disabled-beneficiary population in the entity’s State.
(B) Limitations.
(i) Per grant. An entity may receive at least $50,000 and no more than $300,000 for a fiscal year.
(ii) Total amount. All awards under this section for a fiscal year together may not exceed $23,000,000.

(4) Funding.
(A) Allocation of costs. Costs must be paid from amounts available to administer subchapters II and XVI, allocated between those amounts as appropriate.
(B) Carryover. Up to 10 percent of the amount obligated to a State or private agency or organization for a fiscal year may remain available through the end of the next fiscal year. During that next year, it may be used only to provide planning and assistance to people who were in the recipient’s caseload immediately before that year began.

(c) Annual report. Each grant, agreement, or contract recipient must give the Commissioner an annual report about the planning and assistance it provided.

(d) Definitions.
(1) Commissioner means the Commissioner of Social Security.
(2) Disabled beneficiary means an individual—
(A) who is a disabled beneficiary as defined in section 1320b–19(k)(2);
(B) receiving a cash payment under section 1382e(a) or a supplementary payment under section 212(a)(3) of Public Law 93–66, whether or not the Commissioner pays it under the agreement described there;
(C) considered, under section 1382h(b), to receive benefits under subchapter XVI; or
(D) entitled to part A subchapter XVIII benefits because of the penultimate sentence of section 426(b).

(e) Authorization of appropriations. Congress authorizes $23,000,000 for each fiscal year from 2000 through 2011 to carry out this section.