Transcript - slide 6

I think that to be successful with parents the organization has to show as much concern for that benefit package and be as helpful to that parent as they can be.

Interviewer: One of the questions that you hear frequently from parents is what will happen to my son's or daughter's Social Security?

Suzanne: That is one of the hardest questions that we deal with. And, I think one of the hardest questions that the parents have to face and probably one of the trickiest questions that organizations face. We basically explain to the parent that working can in fact and will in fact over a period of time impact a person's Social Security. We ask the parent or the group home or the person who is responsible for that person’s living arrangements to work with us with Social Security. There is no "one size fits all". Get it in writing when you go to Social Security, because it really is a major impact on the person’s life. Our philosophy is that we are not as worried about the cash benefit, because if a person can work and replace that cash benefit with an earned benefit or with an earned wage that is good. However, we are very protective of that healthcare benefit if we need to be. If the employer offers benefits, then we feel very comfortable having that person potentially move to those benefits.

I think that the Social Security Administration is really taking a much stronger look at these issues than they used to. I am very hopeful that in the next few years that we will be able to look at benefits and change in benefits as an incentive as opposed to a disincentive. But now, I think that to be successful with parents the organization has to show as much concern for that benefit package and be as helpful to that parent as they can be. The real true answers that come to benefit issues have to come from Social Security. Make sure that the son or daughter is not in a payback situation down the road or that the son or daughter still has what they need in healthcare.

One of the other things that we learned along the way is that in many cases the parent is dependent on that Social Security cash benefit for actually paying their bills and the living arrangements in their home. So to them it is not simply an issue of their son or daughter going to work. It is an issue of loosing a part of their income that they are dependant on. I think that organizations have to be very conscious of that fact as well. Deal with the parent from a reality base. Help them truly understand that the wage that their son or daughter earns will continue as long as the parent provides the support. And, as long as the organization provides the support. The benefit question is critically important and has to be looked at from a whole lot of different views.