Will: Beyond, ya' know, just general self care, there is this
toolkit called SOAR that really kept me in this line of work
and helped me feel more effective in what I did.
It sort of really saved my career. I don't think I would have been able to stay
in this line of work without, uh, without it.
Ashley: Man, I'm not looking forward to this.
Hey, Daryl.
Daryl: Hey, how're you doin'?
Ashley: How're you doin'?
Daryl: I'm doin' good, you?
Ashley: Hey Daryl, do you wanna get up and talk for a minute?
Daryl: Yes, ma'am.
Will: Hey Ashley, I might just stay here.
Ashley: OK
So, Daryl, I just wanted to let you know that I got a letter in the mail that said that you were denied.
Daryl: Denied? What you mean, denied?
Ashley: Yeah, um, they said that you are able to do other work.
Daryl: You told me I'm gonna get approved!
Ashley: Yeah, you see I don't make that decision, ya' know, I don't make the decision.
Daryl: I don't understand, I tell ya', I just, I just won't talk.
Ashley: I'm just so frustrated. Thirtieth time to tell someone, "no."
I just wish I could understand this process.
He is disabled, like I see how he's disabled.
I just, I'm so frustrated cause I don't know how to navigate the system, I guess.
Not like I thought I did. I just can't tell people no anymore.
I got into this work to help people, not to tell them no. It's just too hard on me I just take it home
and I just can't do it anymore.
Will: I think I lost a companion today.
I don't know, something's gotta change. I gotta talk to my supervisor about this, cause it's
it's wearing on me. It's obviously wearing on Ashley.
Dazara: Well, I just kinda wanted to take the time out and grab some coffee and just kinda
see where you're at and how you're feeling about losing our case manager.
Will: Yeah, thanks, Dazara. It's been a tough, a really tough week.
And I'm not sure, ya' know, where we're gonna go from here, but I have been giving it a little bit of thought.
Dazara: OK
Will: There's this thing called SOAR that I've heard about a little bit,
It's about expediting Social Security aplications.
Dazara: OK
Will: And I know someone who's really good at it, her name is Kristin.
She's getting all these approvals and they're going through in a couple months,
and it's like she's got some sorta, like, magic touch, or something like that.
Dazara: Maybe we could bring her in for an interview.
Will: That'd be great. I'd like to talk to her about it.
Dazara: With the limited knowledge I do have about SOAR,
it sounds like it's a process that's gonna take a lot more staff than I might
have, or it just sounds like it's a
bigger project than I'm able to fund to make it
as great as Will's presenting.
It's really difficult to understand and also
a little difficult to believe that the success rate is
as if, you know, it's been reported or suggested, because
the overall idea behind Social Security is that
you have to get denied the first couple of times.
Kristin: What SOAR does is it teaches you about, kind of, the process,
how things work, how an application goes through, the information that they need.
Dazara: But also understand that there has to be
quite an intricate collaboration between different agencies
and, can you talk to me a little bit about that?
Kristin: Yeah, that collaboration is really important and SOAR is much bigger than
just a training, and just information, it's really about
the community and key stakeholders coming together
to address, kind of, different issues related to the process.
So, having the Social Security Administration at the table, and
Disability Determination Services there,
representatives from the local hospital where a lot of people are getting
services and you need access to medical records there.
Will: Yeah, I know a lot of the people that Kristin mentioned and
and feel like, you know, we can bring them together.
I've known Kristin for a while. I think she's an incredible resource
and that we're lucky to even have her in for an interview.
Dazara: You're presenting as if she's walking in here with some kinda magic wand, like she's gonna fix the whole
homeless situation, and I'm not sure if all of this is gonna work.
I know that this is something that you really want
so, you know, I respect and value
your input to this agency, and I want to support you in any way that I can, so....
Will: Thanks, Dazara.
...I'll give it a chance.
Will: Hey, everybody thanks so much for coming today to our first SOAR Planning Meeting.
Dazara: I must be candid in saying
I'm still very concerned about the amount of time that you all are suggesting it's going to take
to implement the SOAR process.
Steven: One of the things that I found when I watched the processing between
social workers that have been trained in SOAR, versus those who have not,
is that there is a significantly shorter processing time.
Dazara: One thing that I keep hearing is the amount of time that's added to the process
because of consultative exams. Can anyone explain or help me understand that process?
Benita: Well, the whole point of the SOAR program in helping us out with this
is that when they do the application and they give us that complete
Medical Summary, as long as the records are current and complete
and that they provide the functional assessment and information that we need,
we do not need to schedule the consultative exam.
Dazara: The initial time that it takes up front with the outreach and the initial paperwork
that a case manager may have to put in,
decreases the time for Social Security and DDS to process the claim,
making it easier and faster for this person to get a check.
Female speaker: It is much faster than Joe Blow just walking in to the office and filing a claim
without medicals right then and there.
Whereas, under SOAR, you have that stuff and they are able to make a decision much faster.
And possibly, because of their income, have more access to resources - is that what you're saying?
Steven: Absolutely, and, one of the other benefits is that
once they've been approved, we can actually retroactively bill for any healthcare.
Will: Well, thank you guys for coming. I think we got a lot done today.