Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST)

The Benefit Eligibility Screening Tool (BEST) is a tool that you can use to find out if you could be eligible for benefits from any of the programs Social Security administers.

California State Disability Insurance

California State Disability Insurance (SDI) is a partial wage-replacement insurance plan for California workers. The SDI programs are state-mandated, and funded through employee payroll deductions. SDI provides affordable, short-term benefits to eligible workers.

Disability Benefits 101
Disability Benefits 101 (DB101) helps workers, job seekers, and service providers understand the connections between work and benefits. DB101 brings together rules for health coverage, benefit, and employment programs that people with disabilities use.

One-Stops Information = The National Center on Workforce and Disability/Adult (NCWD)
The National Center on Workforce and Disability/Adult (NCWD) provides training, technical assistance, policy analysis, and information to improve access for all in the workforce development system.

Plan for Achieving Self-Support (PASS)
Plan for Achieving Self Support (PASS) program can help you advance your career. It lets you set aside money to spend on a career goal while SSI cash benefits pay for essentials like food and rent. If you have a disability and a clear goal in mind, the program could be a very good deal for you.

Paid Family Leave Insurance Program

In 2002, historic legislation was enacted to extend disability compensation to cover individuals who take time off of work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner, or to bond with a new minor child. Senate Bill 1661 established the Paid Family Leave insurance program, also known as Family Temporary Disability Insurance program, to be administered by the State Disability Insurance (SDI) program.

Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) Information
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) provides monthly disability benefits based on an insured worker's earnings.

Social Security Local Office Search
If you live in the United States and you want information and directions to the Social Security office that serves your area, just enter your U.S. Postal Service five-digit ZIP code below and select Locate. You’ll get information about your local Social Security office and other agencies in your area that may be able to help you.

Social Security Online
The Social Security Administration's mission is to advance the economic security of the nation’s people through compassionate and vigilant leadership in shaping and managing America's Social Security programs.

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Information
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides a minimum monthly income for individuals who have limited income and resources.

Ticket to Work

The Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program is an employment program for people with disabilities who are interested in going to work. The Ticket Program is part of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 – legislation designed to remove many of the barriers that previously influenced people’s decisions about going to work because of the concerns over losing health care coverage. The goal of the Ticket Program is to increase opportunities and choices for Social Security disability beneficiaries to obtain employment, vocational rehabilitation (VR), and other support services from public and private providers, employers, and other organizations.

Medical Information:

California Medicare Information
California Medicare gives you accurate, unbiased information about Medicare benefits for people who live in California. Medicare, the federal health insurance program, covers most people age 65 or older, some people younger than 65 with disabilities, and people with end-stage renal disease.

Healthy Families Program
Healthy Families is low cost insurance for children and teens. It provides health, dental and vision coverage to children who do not have insurance and do not qualify for free Medi-Cal.

In-Home Supportive Services
The In-Home Supportive Services Program (IHSS) provides people who are blind, disabled, or over the age of 65 with personal assistance and in-home support services so they can remain in their homes or maintain employment safely. Services range from assistance with household chores to personal care and paramedical services.

The Major Risk Medical Insurance Program (MRMIP)
The Major Risk Medical Insurance Program (MRMIP) provides health insurance for Californians unable to obtain coverage in the individual health insurance market because of their pre-existing conditions. Californians qualifying for the program participate in the cost of their coverage by paying premiums. The State of California supplements those premiums to cover the cost of care in MRMIP.

National Consortium for Health Systems Development (NCHSD)
The National Consortium for Health Systems Development (NCHSD) is a technical assistance partnership providing flexible, state-tailored technical assistance to states developing comprehensive health and employment service systems for people with disabilities who want to work.

Orange County Resources & Partner Agencies:

American Red Cross, Orange County Chapter
Humanitarian organization which provides relief to victims of disasters and helps people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies. Includes information about educational programs, CPR/first aid training; blood and tissue donation.

California Relay Service
California Relay Service (CRS) provides specially-trained operators to relay telephone conversations back and forth between people who are deaf, hard of hearing, or speech-disabled and all those they wish to communicate with by telephone.

California Telephone Access Program
The California Telephone Access Program (CTAP) distributes telecommunications equipment and services to individuals certified as having difficulty using the telephone. CTAP is a California State mandated program, under governance of the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). Equipment and some network services are available at no charge to eligible consumers.

Dayle McIntosh Center
The Mission of the Dayle McIntosh Center is to advance the empowerment, equality, integration and full participation of people with disabilities in the community. The Dayle McIntosh Center exists to enable persons with disabilities to succeed in every area they desire to fulfill every dream they have and to provide equal opportunity!

Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program
The Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP) is a public program mandated by the California State legislature and administered by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC). The DDTP has two components: the California Relay Service which includes Speech to Speech and the California Telephone Access Program which provides assistive telecommunications equipment. Their purpose is to provide access to basic telephone service for Californians who have difficulty using the telephone.

Department of Rehabilitation
The California Department of Rehabilitation (DOR) administers the largest vocational rehabilitation program in the country. They have a three-pronged mission to provide services and advocacy that assist people with disabilities to live independently, become employed and have equality in the communities in which they live and work. The Department of Rehabilitation provides consultation, counseling and vocational rehabilitation and works with community partners to assist the consumers they serve.

Department of Rehabilitation Orange County Offices

Orange County offices are located in Laguna Hills, Orange and Santa Ana.

Disability Resources in California
The Resource Directory is designed to link Disability Resources Monthly subscribers and others with disability organizations and agencies in their own states or communities.

Families Forward
Families Forward is a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1984 by a group of dedicated community members working with the City of Irvine and the Irvine Company who shared the same vision of providing supported housing programs for families in crisis. For over 23 years, Families Forward has addressed the needs of low-income and homeless families in Orange County. The comprehensive array of services offered at Families Forward empowers families to regain stability and self-sufficiency. Our homeless prevention services include career coaching, life-skills education, and food assistance.

Goodwill of Orange County
OC Goodwill mission is to provide people with disabilities and other barriers the opportunity to achieve their highest levels of personal and economic independence. Assisted Technology website: www.ATEC-OC.org

Mental Health Agency in Orange County
The Mental Health Association of Orange County is dedicated to improving the quality of life of Orange County residents impacted by mental illness through direct service, advocacy, education and information dissemination.

OCTA ACCESS service

ACCESS is OCTA's shared-ride service for people who are unable to use the regular, fixed-route bus service because of functional limitations caused by a disability. These passengers must be certified by OCTA to use the ACCESS system by meeting the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) eligibility criteria.

Orange County 211

2-1-1 Orange County's mission is to provide a comprehensive information and referral system that links Orange County residents to community health and human services and support.

Orange County 211 Resource Guide

A comprehensive resource guide that has referrals/telephone numbers to alcohol and drug services, child abuse, disability services, domestic violence, education, employment services, financial assistance, health care, housing, legal services, mental health/counseling, refugee/immigration social services, safety net services, senior services, shelters, shower facilities, transportation, veteran services, and victim assistance.

Orange County Housing
OC Housing offers affordable housing opportunities for renters and homeowners; community revitalization for homeowners and unincorporated communities; and community services for special needs populations such as older adults, veterans, victims of domestic violence or hate crimes, the unemployed, and the homeless.

Project Independence
Project Independence’s mission is to promote civil rights for people with developmental disabilities through services which expand independence and choice. Project Independence provides supported employment and independent living services for the developmentally disabled in Orange County, California as well as disability benefits planning, and an opportunity for disability travel and recreation through its Access to Adventures Program. Project Independence also has services available to businesses interested in employing developmentally disabled individuals and has a special program promoting healthy living with a disability.

Regional Center of Orange County

Regional Center of Orange County is a private, not-for-profit corporation contracting with the State of California for the provision of services to persons with developmental disabilities pursuant to the Lanterman Act. The center is the first stop for persons with developmental disabilities and their families seeking help to obtain local supports and services.

Working Wardrobes
Working Wardrobes provides at-risk men, women and teens with a new start to help them attain self-sufficiency and dignity. They offer professional wardrobing and grooming services, career-readiness and image workshops, and a comprehensive career development center to increase our clients' confidence and success in the workplace.

Employment Information:

ABILITY Jobs and JobAccess
The goal of ABILITY Jobs and JobAccess is to enable people with disabilities to enhance their professional lives by providing a dedicated system for finding employment. By posting job opportunities, employers not only exhibit an open door policy but also demonstrate their responsiveness to affirmative action by genuinely recruiting qualified persons with disabilities.

Business Tax Credit and Deduction
The Internal Revenue Service provides information and appropriate forms for tax code provisions that can assist businesses in complying with the ADA, including a tax credit for small businesses (section 44 - IRS Form 8826 - See IRS Publication 334) and a tax deduction for all businesses (section 190 - No Separate IRS Form - See IRS Publication 535) The IRS also provides the form (IRS 8850) that employers must complete when filing for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit.

California Disability Access Information
The purpose of this site is to provide information and links on the major laws, regulations and areas of interest regarding disability rights and access for Californians with disabilities and other interested persons.

California Governor’s Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities

The California Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities is responsible for providing leadership to increase the number of people with disabilities in the California workforce.

Center for Workers with Disabilities
The Center for Workers with Disabilities is a technical assistance center for states enhancing or developing employment supports programs for working persons with disabilities

Disability Disclosure: To Tell or Not to Tell

When you're seriously engaged in finding a job in this competitive market and you have a disability, you have some soul-searching to do. If you have a physical disability that will be obvious as soon as you meet someone, the question is: At what point in the job-seeking process do you address the disability? If your disability is outwardly invisible, the question is: Do you tell or not?

Enforcement Guidance on Reasonable Accommodation and Undue Hardship

This Enforcement Guidance clarifies the rights and responsibilities of employers and individuals with disabilities regarding reasonable accommodation and undue hardship.

Job Accommodation Network
The Job Accommodation Network (JAN) is not a job placement service, but an international consulting service that provides information about job accommodations and the employability of people with disabilities. JAN is a free service that provides information on how to accommodate specific functional limitations, with a database of more than 16,000 specific accommodations.

Small Employers And Reasonable Accommodation
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires an employer with 15 or more employees to provide reasonable accommodation for individuals with disabilities, unless it would cause undue hardship. A reasonable accommodation is any change in the work environment or in the way a job is performed that enables a person with a disability to enjoy equal employment opportunities.

Tax Highlights for Persons with Disabilities
Information on various tax credits for people with disabilities.

Tax Incentives Packet on the Americans with Disabilities Act
Information on various tax credits for people with disabilities.

The 411 on Disability Disclosure Workbook

Information on the pros and cons for disclosing your disability.

Work Opportunity Tax Credit
The WOTC is one tool in a diverse toolbox of flexible strategies designed to help move people from welfare into gainful employment and obtain on-the-job experience. It joins other tax credits, education, and job training programs that help American workers with barriers to employment prepare for good jobs; ease their transition from job to job; benefit from the creation of effective regional economic development strategies; and create high performance workplaces.