Accessible Web-Based I Can Work Application that will Enhance Community Participation and Living for Individuals with Disabilities

This project produces a new, accessible, web-based I Can Work application that enhances community participation and independent living for individuals with disabilities. Individuals with disabilities who are receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) often need to work to supplement their disability benefits. Increases in earned income have an impact on both SSDI and SSI cash and healthcare benefits, and once an individual starts working, benefit overpayments are common. The I Can Work application, as a web-based application, offers beneficiaries the opportunity to better manage their wage reporting through a technology intuitive to meeting the needs of the population. The development and design of this accessible information technology provides beneficiaries, their families, and supports the ability to monitor their work effort and its impact on their Social Security cash and health benefits. Additionally, I Can Work serves as an incentive to beneficiaries who want to return to work but have not done so because of the fear of loss of cash and health benefits. The application assists in Social Security Administration efforts to reduce overpayments and provides incentives to work. Accurate, timely reporting saves taxpayers money in overpayments. A beneficiary’s ability to have a reliable reporting mechanism and an alert that they are being overpaid empowers the individual to work; to set aside funds that they are not entitled to; and to recognize that they are receiving a short-term, no-interest loan from SSA. Moreover, the application’s tracking capabilities provide proof of having reported to SSA; a critical component when requesting reconsideration of an overpayment.