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I thought Social Security was like the lottery, too - impossible to win, and luck as much as anything else was in control.

And then I won my first Social Security case. And another. And I became very interested in figuring out how to use the bureaucracy of Social Security to get my HIV-positive clients approved on my first try.

I didn't even know that lawyers handle Social Security cases. I thought, like you might, that lawyers just go to court and handle problems that are too complicated, too scary, too big and too important for ordinary people to deal with on their own. I thought, like a lot of people, that you call a lawyer when you get arrested, and that being a grown-up means handling everything else yourself.

I found out just how big and complicated and scary Social Security is when I worked for an HIV legal services agency and a disability benefits case landed on my desk. After a hearing with a judge, I won that first case and my client won thousands of dollars from Social Security. I wanted to do it again, and help someone else just the same way.

As I prepared that first case for a hearing I realized how intimidating the Social Security disability benefits system seems. But the more rules and regulations and laws I learned, the more I realized that the second case is far, far easier than the first. And I learned that the most important advantage that I have over a person handling their own claim is not that I am a lawyer, it is that I have been through the process before. So I started to capture what I learned from each case so I could use it to win the next one. And I thought about how to set things up so that people who are not lawyers can use what I know and support an application themselves, and win without being denied.

I wanted a system. Before law school I was a computer programmer, so thinking in terms of repetitive steps to solve problems comes naturally for me. I am also a classic Type A personality, and a packrat, and I seem to have an amazing memory for concepts, like the law. As handy as all that is, please don't think this came easily to me. It became really important to me to simplify what I was learning, so that it would be easier to remember, easy to apply, easy to use again. Like a template, or a form letter, I wanted to be able to get going on a case without reinventing the wheel. And I wanted help from non-lawyer support staff on the cases, too, and I work best with social workers instead of paralegals.

I worked for HIV law programs from 1997 to 2004 when I started my own law firm, and I've helped over one thousand HIV-positive people with a variety of legal problems. I've learned a lot about HIV and its impact, even though I am not a medical professional or a social worker. More than anything, access to smart people has helped me help my clients.

In all that time I've worked with many great, experienced and compassionate people providing HIV-specific care and services. The people who understand HIV are the doctors, nurses, counselors, case managers and social workers who serve people living with HIV every day. The people who understand SSI and SSDI disability benefit programs are Social Security employees and decision-makers, but they often know very little about HIV or AIDS.

I started inventing ways to tell HIV service providers about Social Security and how to fill out the forms, and to tell Social Security decision-makers about HIV and what it means to live my client's life.

I've seen the vital difference that Social Security disability benefit payments make, when a patient can focus more on taking care of their health and less on taking care of their bills. I've also seen how long it can take for Social Security to make a decision that is obvious to me. I've had cases where the client died before the hearing, and I had to introduce the judge to the client's mother as a substitute. One of my clients died with an $18,000 check in his wallet that he had just received from Social Security. I'll never forget him. So I've invented ways to win cases as fast as possible.

I've kept things easy to understand, and easy to implement, and it has worked incredibly well. And when I explain these strategies to others, it helps them too. It is tough to help a sick client get through the Social Security process when it doesn't seem to make sense, nobody answers the phone at Social Security and the letters they send are unclear and unhelpful. I know, all anyone wants is information!

So I've worked out a way to teach some of what I've learned about Social Security disability claims. I wrote a little book called "Social Security Secrets," and built a workshop around that book to teach from it.

You may believe that Social Security cases are too complicated for anybody but lawyers to handle, and once the claim has been denied and the decision has to be appealed to a judge, I agree with you. But until that denial, from the first moment of the application process, an experienced case manager can make all the difference and get the application approved. Then the client never needs to hire me for an appeal, and believe it or not, I think that's great since I only take about 75-100 cases a year now.

You may believe that case managers do not have time to work on Social Security cases, and besides, maybe their funding comes from the state so they shouldn't work on a federal benefits program. But nobody likes to work on something they aren't good at and don't understand, so yes, people who don't understand Social Security will find 98 excuses not to deal with it. That was me - I put it off, too. But there's nothing like a little information to really help improve your outlook!

As for funding, watch this: Social Security disability leads to Medicare, which means the client doesn't need Medicaid (the state's safety net health insurance), so the state saves money for every person who gets qualified for Social Security disability. Every client who gets off Medicaid because they get on to Medicare improves the state's financial situation. (I don't know why states don't provide annual training on Social Security disability benefits for everybody working with Medicaid clients, at least those clients who are HIV-positive. But that's my mission, I guess.)

I teach clients and case managers how to handle and manage a Social Security application. I've seen the transformation that can take place during one of my workshops. Recently I taught "Secrets" at a conference in California, and one case manager left this note on her evaluation:

"I can't wait to help a client apply for disability - how messed up is that?"

Practical information about the nuts and bolts of dealing with Social Security is hard to find. For a federal agency that deals with the public and has a huge website, they don't go out of their way to make it easy to figure things out. Fine, they're busy. But my "Social Security Secrets" training (and book) is a resource that is available.

And so am I, because I know firsthand that access to someone with answers encourages you to not be afraid of questions. Among other things included with a "Secrets" training, I give each person in the audience permission to call me - for free and for life - with questions about HIV and Social Security. So the cost of the training not only covers the actual event but as many future questions as come up. This may be hard to quantify now, but in the long run it can be a really, really smart move for the continuing education of everyone who attends.

Now that I can focus my work just exactly the way I want, I handle only Social Security cases, nationwide. And I work only for people who are disabled by HIV/AIDS. I am a Ryan White CARE Act alumna, and learned what I know about HIV and HIV services while working for and running a CARE Act-funded agency. I know how hard it is to stretch those shrinking federal dollars while still helping all of the people who call.

I know that case managers have to be masters of many different programs and processes, and able to remember a zillion things at once including where they put some piece of information. The materials from a "Social Security Secrets" workshop fit into case manager real life: clearly written, fit in a file cabinet or a binder, and include my phone number. So if a case manager or client can at least find my book - or this website - then they can get answers at least on disability questions. (And if you can Google "hiv lawyer" or "Social Security HIV lawyer" you'll find me.)

I also know that when a client is denied for Social Security disability benefits, it often seems like there is no solution except to apply again once the client gets sicker. I know that there are clients who think that the way to get approved for benefits is to stop taking their meds and wait for the opportunistic infections to catch up with them. This is why my caseload is limited to disability appeals - so when there is a denial, there is always an answer. And I'll be "it."

I think that a typical case manager's workload is a problem, and that it leads to job stress and burn-out and lousy self-care and sometimes client service programs that are one inch from breaking apart. I still want to help, because I have not burned out yet and frankly, am not planning on it. So the only other thing I do, besides appeals, is teach what I know, the "Secrets."

I teach this workshop because I enjoy it, and I get a real kick out of watching people become energized and excited about applying practical, effective strategies to do their jobs better and with more confidence. That's "what's in it for me."

And I know, because I read the evaluations and I get the phone calls afterwards, that "Social Security Secrets" is different from other workshops or in-service trainings. Imagine putting this kind of information to work for your clients, leveraging these strategies and techniques. That's "what's in it for you."

Call me, and let's bring a Social Security Secrets workshop to you.

Best wishes,

Kendra S. Kleber JD

Attorney and Counselor

admitted to practice law in Michigan and New York

and to appear before the Social Security Administration nationwide.

Download a "Secrets" brochure to hand to your boss as you ask when this workshop can come to your agency.