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SOAR Planning Forum Sonoma County Continuum of Care Santa Rosa, California June 24, 2015

On June 24, 2015, 40 representatives of federal, state and local agencies met in Santa Rosa, California to learn more about the SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) Initiative and to develop plans for implementing SOAR in the Sonoma County Continuum of Care (CoC). Kristin Lupfer & Abigail Lemon of SAMHSA’s National SOAR Technical Assistance Center facilitated the one-day meeting.

Welcome: David Rabbitt, Sonoma County Supervisor . Mr. Rabbit thanked everyone for their attendance and stated that many work across the board to touch the lives of Sonoma County residents; the people in this room are improving their quality of life. . The Board of Supervisors has tried very hard to be supportive of programs while also being frugal with their spending; we are focused on getting good results for the money spent. Sonoma has been doing pieces of SOAR but now is the time to bring everyone together to move forward. . One of the main questions when working with people experiencing homelessness is how do we get them the wrap around services to be successful; to do this we are looking for programs that can make a difference. . SOAR can assist with the County’s 10 Year Plan to End Homelessness; it touches the benefits access, income and housing piece. . According to the Point – In – Time count, 63% of those experiencing homelessness in the county experience a disabling condition, but only a fraction of those are receiving benefits.

Community Strengths . Job link & TANF . Scrappiness . Benefit planning . Tenacity with vision . Healthcare for the homeless . Sonoma County General Assistance collaborative (GA) program (SSI advocate is SOAR trained) . 34 years experience . Longevity of relationships . SOAR Trainer . Outreach, SSI applications . County wide perspective . Work with everyone . Health outreach . Convening providers . Collaborative efforts, serving as a hub . Human services – sees 50,000 residents . Navigating resources . Housing . Severe and persistent mental illness advocates . Standing up – stomp in the pile, leaning in . Transition Age Youth outreach SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) Technical Assistance Center May 6, 2018 . SOAR trained – high success rate . Operationalize info and referral . Information systems – data oriented . SSVF- Supportive Services for efficient Veteran Families . With SSA 39 years . Adult Protective Services . Veterans . Strong communication skills Expectations . Access partner agencies . AWESOMENESS! . Enrollment staff (health center) . Interested in training staff on SOAR . Strategies for challenging applications (lack of medical evidence) . Networking, helping each other . SSA liaison! . Better access to resources & income for clients . How to support effort . Putting it into practice . Involving peers in process . PLAN Where We’ve Been & Where We Want To Go Local Perspectives Jenny Abramson, Homeless and Community Services Manager, Sonoma County Community Development Commission . Jenny Abramson . As the Continuum of Care coordinator for many years, we kept seeing SOAR on the HUD CoC applications and often wondered what it was. When the SOAR Train – the – Trainer came to Oakland we were able to send three staff, once they attended they were able to come back to the community and train many people. While the trainings were successful it was clear that more planning and structure was needed. . The state held a planning forum in the summer of 2014 which I attended and was surprised to hear that while Sonoma was active in SOAR they were not reporting outcomes. Overall, there still remains a lot of commitment to SOAR throughout the county and we hope to continue to grow through this planning forum. . Michael Gause, Continuum of Care Coordinator, Sonoma County Community Development Commission . When I came to Sonoma County SOAR was one of the first things on my plate; I was very excited about the process and to be able to apply for SOAR

SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) Technical Assistance Center May 6, 2018 technical assistance on behalf of the county. Some of the core highlights of the plan that I outlined in the application was to gather background information regarding who is currently doing SOAR applications and who has been trained in the SOAR process, create a SOAR working group and establish a SOAR steering committee. . Our county is very large and we need to look at how we can cover the area with SOAR trained case managers so that we can help all those in need. I will be attending the SOAR Leadership Academy in September and I believe after that the initiative will really begin to take off. After the Leadership Academy we will look to identify and train staff through the SOAR online course (in the cohort model). . We are looking to implement this plan over the next 9 – 12 months and incorporate peers and the coordinated entry process.

Social Security Administration Deo Santos, Public Affairs Specialist for the Northern Area Office of the Social Security Administration . The Social Security Administration is celebrating its 80th anniversary this month and the 75th anniversary of the first benefit recipient. To date the Social Security Administration is the #1 anti – poverty agency in world. . The Social Security Administration is also working to expand their suite of online services. An applicant can apply for SSDI, Medicare and retirement online. We are also trying to promote the MySSA account, which has replaced the yearly paper statements. An individual’s MySSA account has much more accurate numbers that will assist with retirement planning. If a person is receiving benefits you can also manage your account online, no need to wait in the queue at the local SSA office. The site also allows you to receive income verification, which will assist if the person is receiving benefits from the county or state. If a person needs to replace their Medicare card, that process can be started online.

Marv Mueller, Santa Rosa Social Security Office . Marv asked the group who has a MySSA account and encouraged those who do not to register. He stated that in the next year SSA also expects to be able to initiate a Social Security card replacement online. . He explained that Social Security is a partial replacement for income lost due to a disabling condition or retirement. The disabling condition(s) needs to be permanent, total and expected to last more than 12 months. For TERI (terminal) cases the disabling condition does not have to have lasted 12 months more it needs to be expected to last 12 months or result in death. . The question was asked, ‘is the SSI application expected to be online anytime soon?’ Deo stated that placing the SSA – 8000 online is still in development, features are being worked out. . Marv continued that when a person files for SSI the Social Security Administration also wants them to file for SSDI; we often find that people who are only receiving SSI may also be eligible for SSDI. Social Security is very well versed in working with dire need cases as well as Veterans – always be sure to flag cases

SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) Technical Assistance Center May 6, 2018 appropriately.

Disability Determination Services Division Alec Snelling, Sacramento DDSD . Mr. Snelling covers the Santa Rosa field office and will receive the claims from this area; then DDSD will develop the claim from a medical standpoint and determine if the person is disabled and medically eligible for SSI or SSDI. When working with individuals experiencing homelessness the biggest issue is staying in contact with the applicant, it is great when a SOAR case manager can be the point of contact. . A question was asked regarding substance use and how DDSD deals with the issue of materiality. Alec stated that DDSD tries to determine how the applicant would function is no substances were involved and we will try to identify a period of time when the applicant was not using. If there is no identifiable period of sobriety, we give the ‘benefit of the doubt’ to the applicant.

Key Issues . Need baselines . Education for medical providers . Educating SSA re experiences of homeless individuals . General Assistance needs outreach – lack of contact with clients . Increase confidence of trained staff . Missing/lack of documentation . Access to mental health and medical assessments . Organizations to collaborate . SSVF leadership -- Executive Director buy-in . Direct staff are already over worked – capacity issue . Housing access once approved – ongoing wrap around services . Identifying appropriate applicants

SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) Technical Assistance Center May 6, 2018