Social Workers: How To Answer Your Clients’ Questions About Social Security Disability

Your clients trust you to help them. Even though you aren’t filing the paperwork on their behalf with the Social Security Administration (SSA), you need to know how to answer your clients’ questions about Social Security Disability

Some Questions You May Hear—And Answers You Can Give

Some of your clients with disabilities who are considering Social Security disability may ask:

Do I need an attorney? Yes. The majority of Social Security disability applications are denied on the first try. This leads to an unnecessary delay in getting much-needed benefits. An attorney can help make sure that a complete and accurate application is filed the first time. Additionally, Social Security disability attorneys’ fees are set by law and are affordable for many applicants.
When should I file for Social Security disability? Once there is a diagnosis that a complete disability is likely to last for 12 months or more or to result in death, an application may be filed. There is often no benefit to waiting or delaying an application.
What happens when I do file for Social Security disability? Disability Determination Services (DDS) will consider the application and issue a decision.

You don’t have to have all of the answers, but it is helpful if you know how to direct your client to the information he or she needs to make an informed decision about pursuing Social Security disability. To that end, we invite you to share our free book, Social Security Disability: What You Need to Know, with your clients and to share this blog post with other social workers who may have clients facing similar issues.

Comments are closed.