Promising Practices: Massachusetts Association of Benefits Specialists

The Massachusetts Association of Benefits Specialists (MABS) was formed in 2001 by three SSA funded organizations in Massachusetts: Project Impact, BenePlan and the Disability Law Center. The Massachusetts Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach and Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security grantees banded together to provide efficient, high quality planning and legal assistance to disabled and blind social security recipients attempting to return to, or enter, the work force. MABS has allowed for cooperative training and resource development in a manner to allow the three participating organizations to stretch limited resources to provide services to a significant number of individuals. The hows, whats and whys are explored in this Promising Practice Brief