CareerSource Southwest Florida is an approved Social Security Employment Network provider with disABILITY friendly centers.
The Disability Program Navigator Initiative helps CareerSource Southwest Florida career centers improve the employability of, and increase career opportunities available to, job seekers with disabilities. We (Local Workforce Development Area 24) employ a Disability Program Navigator specifically to assist all individuals with disabilities, whether or not they receive SSDI or SSI.
Major Objectives of the Disability Program Navigator Initiative
- Increase employment and self-sufficiency for social security beneficiaries and individuals with disabilities; and help individuals understand how earnings may affect their social security benefits and other support programs.
- Create systemic change to transform the culture of how One-Stop Career Centers serve customers with disabilities.
- Facilitate linkages to the employer community so individuals with disabilities may access programs and services.
Choose Work
The Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work Program promotes self-sufficiency and financial independence for individuals receiving disability benefits interested in exploring work.
The Southwest Florida Workforce Development Board is committed to helping people with disabilities become self-sufficient and competitively employed. As an Employment Network, we can assist persons with disabilities who receive Social Security understand how to return to work while using current work incentives created by the Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999.
If you are currently receiving Social Security benefits such as Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and would like to return to work, we can help you become self-sufficient through the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work program.
The Red Book – A Guide to Work Incentives
One of the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) highest priorities is to support the efforts of disabled beneficiaries who want to work by developing policies and services to help them reach their employment goal. The Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs include a number of employment support provisions commonly referred to as work incentives. The Red Book is a general reference tool designed to provide a working knowledge of Social Security provisions. The Red Book is primarily for educators, advocates, rehabilitation professionals, and counselors who serve persons with disabilities. Applicants and beneficiaries can use it as a self-help guide.
Learn more information about the Disability Program Navigator Initiative by visiting the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity website.
For further explanation and assistance, please contact Jah-Mau Lambert, Region 24′s Disability Program Navigator, at 239-931-8255, extension 1150, or email him at JLambert@careersourcesouthwestflorida.com
