Frequently Asked Questions

PRA develops customized Income+ curriculum for states and coalitions, drawing on nearly two decades of experience building national training that practitioners actually use. Reach out to talk through what your teams need and what a build would involve.

Bring the SOAR Online Courses to your state or coalition, customized with your DDS contacts, administrative rules, and local resources. More than 21,000 practitioners have completed this training nationwide, and PRA keeps every customized edition current as SSA and DDS guidance changes. Adult and child curricula are available, with seat plans sized to the number of practitioners you need to train.

No. Your progress saves as you go, so you can complete chapters over multiple sessions. Log back in and the course will pick up where you left off.

Yes. Recordings, slides, and any handouts are posted to the site after the event, usually within 5 business days. You do not need to have registered to watch a recording.

There are self-paced online courses that teach practitioners how to help people apply for and keep disability benefits, built on SOAR's proven model. References and Resources has practical tools, templates, and guidance practitioners can use to navigate disability benefits, health coverage, and income supports. Webinars & Presentations include expert-led webinars and presentations that keep practitioners current on policy, process, and what works. News & Updates helps you stay current on the policy shifts, program changes, and new resources that affect the people you serve. 

Most articles, tools, and news entries are open to everyone. You only need a free account for the online courses and to access your course certificates. 

Because income is where stability begins. A steady income helps people keep their housing, cover basic needs, and access health care, and for many people, qualifying for disability benefits is also the gateway to Medicaid or Medicare coverage. But income alone isn't enough. Without coordinated support, a single disruption, a missed Medicaid renewal, a benefits redetermination, or confusion about how earned income affects a housing subsidy, can send someone back into crisis. Income+ starts with income and weaves in the supports around it, so stability holds over time.

Income+ is an integrated, whole-person approach to stability. It starts with income, but it doesn't stop there. Instead of leaving people to navigate income, disability benefits, employment, health care, and housing one program at a time, Income+ weaves those supports into a single coordinated plan built around the person. The "plus" is the network of support around each person, and the connections between those pieces are what make stability last. Income+ is powered by SOAR and is a project of the Center for Income and Stability at Policy Research Associates (PRA).

SOAR stands for SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery. It's a model PRA built and refined over nearly two decades to help people who are homeless apply for and receive disability benefits. Trained case workers guide applicants through the process, gather the right medical evidence, and prepare complete, decision-ready applications, which leads to faster decisions and far higher approval rates. SOAR has helped more than 109,000 people apply for disability benefits, with an approval rate of about 65 percent compared to a national average of 31 percent, and more than 21,000 practitioners have been trained in the model. Income+ builds on that proven foundation and expands it.