Invitation to Participate and Consent Form – Participant Only (no Representative Payee

Thank you for being part of the Ohio Direct Referral Demonstration run by the Social Security Administration
(SSA) and Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities (OOD). OOD is the agency that houses both the Division
of Disability Determination (DDD) and the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation (BVR).
SSA and OOD asked you to join the demonstration because SSA is reviewing your disability record. This is
either because you applied for benefits, or because SSA must decide if your SSI benefits can continue under
the adult rules for disability. The adult rules for disability are different from the rules for people under age 18.
SSA calls this review an SSI Age 18 redetermination.
This demonstration has two groups of participants. One group is the usual services group, or control group.
Nothing changes for people in the usual services group. The other group is the program services group, or the
test group, because the group will test a change in SSA’s program. DDD will pick who goes into which group
randomly.
You are in the usual services group. That means SSA and OOD will not contact you again about this
demonstration.
SSA and OOD encourage you to contact =BVR if you are interested in working. To do this, you may go to
OODWORKS.com. On that website, you can find the number to your local office or complete an application for
vocational rehabilitation services. If you prefer calling, use 1-800-282-4536. You can learn more about services
or get the number to your local office. Once you apply, BVR will decide if you are eligible for their services.
KEEPING YOUR SSI EVEN IF YOU DO NOT MEET THE DISABILITY RULES AS AN ADULT
SSA and OOD asked you to join this demonstration because you have applied for benefits or you are
undergoing a review to see if you meet the adult definition of disability. If SSA finds that you do not meet the
disability rules for adults, you may be able to continue to receive benefits. SSA calls this rule “Section 301:
Continued Payment under Vocational Rehabilitation.” To qualify for continued payments under Section 301:
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You must have begun participating in a vocational rehabilitation program, using an Individualized Plan
for Employment (IPE), before the month your disability ended; and
SSA must review your plan and decide that it will make you likely to work at a level that would keep
you from returning to benefits.

Under Section 301, your benefits may continue until:
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You complete your program; or
You stop following the program; or
Social Security decides that your program would not lead to work that would keep you from returning
to benefits.

Thank you,
Brian Baumgartner
Assistant Deputy Director
Opportunities for Ohioans with Disabilities
Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation