PaTTAN: From Questions to Confidence: Connecting Students and Families to Benefits Counseling

Hosted by PA Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN).

As students with disabilities plan for life after high school, questions about how employment impacts public benefits can create uncertainty and hesitation for students and their families. Benefits counseling plays a critical role in helping individuals understand how work, earnings, and career advancement interact with benefits such as SSI, SSDI, Medicaid, and related programs—supporting informed decision-making and reducing fear around employment.

This session will combine a brief foundational presentation with a panel discussion featuring educators and partners who have implemented strategies to connect students and families to benefits counseling in their schools and communities. Participants will gain a clear understanding of what benefits counseling is (and is not), why it is an essential component of secondary transition planning, and the appropriate role participants play in sharing information and making referrals. Through real-world examples, panelists will share practical approaches, lessons learned, and strategies for helping students and families access benefits counseling while maintaining professional boundaries.

This session supports ethical, informed transition practice by increasing professionals’ understanding of benefits systems, appropriate referral processes, and strategies to promote employment outcomes while protecting client autonomy and informed choice.

Objectives

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Describe what benefits counseling is and is not, including its purpose within secondary transition planning.
•  Explain why access to benefits counseling is important for students and families when considering employment and postsecondary goals.
• Identify common questions, concerns, and misconceptions students and families have about working while receiving benefits.
• Clarify roles in sharing general information, supporting discussions, and making appropriate referrals to benefits counseling.
• Recognize practical strategies used by schools and partners to connect students and families to benefits counseling, informed by real-world examples.
• Identify next steps and available resources to support students and families in accessing benefits counseling in their local context.

Target Audience

Special Educators, Transition Coordinators, School Counselors, School Psychologists, Related Service Providers, Administrators, Rehabilitation counselors or professionals working in vocational rehabilitation/transition

Working with the Bureau of Special Education (BSE), Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE), PaTTAN provides a full array of professional development and technical assistance targeted to improving student results. This professional development and technical assistance takes many forms in order to meet the varied needs of PaTTAN’s constituents. Week-long summer institutes, ongoing professional development series, webinars, on-site assistance, and individual student or teacher supports are some of the means by which PaTTAN provides support to schools.