Courses must be structured and be provided by an accredited college or university, a State bar association, an organization accredited by a State bar, a governmental agency, or a professional organization that (in whole or in part) specializes in representing claimants before governmental agencies (e.g., the American Bar Association, the National Organization of Social Security Claimants’ Representatives, and the National Association of Disability Representatives, Inc.). Generally, SSA will defer to the organization providing the course as to the subject matter, if the material is current, the requirements for receiving credit for an hour of instruction and the qualifications of the instructor, although SSA reserves the right to reject specific courses or instructors if they determine that the course or the instructor is unacceptable.

SSA has determined that participants in the demonstration project will be required to complete at least 12 hours of qualifying continuing education courses in the 18-month period beginning 6 months prior to the month in which the individual is notified that he or she has passed the examination. After this initial 18-month period, the representative will be required to complete 24 hours of instruction in each subsequent 2-year period. For example, if an individual is notified that he or she passed the examination in July 2005, the initial 18-month period begins January 1, 2005, and runs through June 30, 2006. The first 2-year period begins July 1, 2006, and the next begins July 1, 2008.

In each continuing education period, participants must take at least one hour of continuing education on each of the following:

• ethics and professional conduct representing claimants;
• eligibility for or entitlement to disability benefits.

All courses must be designed to enhance professional knowledge in matters related to disability under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act. Participants are otherwise free to determine the mix of course hours from these two categories to fulfill demonstration project requirements.

If a participant is the instructor in a qualifying continuing education course he/she may receive credit as both an attendee and an instructor when teaching the course. However, the credit can not exceed 6 hours. This credit applies only with respect to a course hour during which the participant was an instructor. For example, if the participant was an instructor during 2 hours of a 3-hour course, the participant would be credited with 5 continuing education hours (3 hours for attendance and 2 hours for teaching). A participant can receive credit for teaching the same course more than once up to a maximum of 6 hours but cannot receive attendance credit for the same course more than once during each continuing education period. For example, you teach a qualifying 1-hour course three times during a continuing education period. You can receive 4 credits for this course, 1 credit for attendance and 3 instructor credits.

Continuing education is credited on the day the course is completed, and is credited to the continuing education period in which the course completion date occurs, unless it is used to complete an unmet continuing education requirement from the prior period, to end a suspension. For example, a non-attorney representative who became eligible to participate in June 2005 is in the initial 24-month continuing education period beginning July 1, 2006. All of the hours in an 8-hour class that begins on June 30, 2006, and ends on July 1, 2006, would be credited to the 24-month period beginning July 1, 2006, unless one or more of those hours is used to complete an unmet continuing education requirement for the period ending June 30, 2006. Hours earned in one continuing education period may be used to satisfy an unmet requirement for the prior period only for the purpose of ending a suspension that has gone into effect, not to prevent the occurrence of a suspension. Hours used to meet a requirement from a prior period will not be counted toward the requirement for the ongoing period. For example, if 1 hour of an 8-hour course completed in the current period is used to satisfy an unmet continuing education requirement for the prior period, only 7 of the 8 education hours from the course would be credited toward satisfaction of the continuing education requirement for the current period. Participants will not receive demonstration project credit unless the course has been completed.

A participant in the demonstration project who fails to timely meet any of the continuing education requirements will be suspended from receiving direct payment of fees in the demonstration project until SSA determines that all the requirements have been met and ends the suspension.

Participants may submit continuing education information online through their web account at www.cps.ca.gov/tlc/ssa/signin.asp or by submitting documentation to CPS by fax, e-mail or mail. Participants who submit their continuing education information online will not be required to submit supporting documentation, unless specifically requested by CPS or SSA. It is strongly recommended that participants keep all supporting documentation on file should further verification ever be needed. When submitting online, be sure to complete one entry for each individual course/session attended.

A participant who chooses to submit documentation to CPS for review rather than submitting online, must attach a letter documenting the following required information for each individual course/session attended.

• Whether the credit hours are being reported for the current or a prior CE period;
• Title of the course;
• Description of the course;
• Date the course was completed;
• Number of course hours;
• Were you the instructor for this course (Yes or No);
• Did you receive a certificate for the course (Yes or No);
• The course category (e.g., ethics and professional conduct representing claimants; Eligibility for or entitlement to disability benefits);
• The type of organization that provided the course (e.g., Accredited College/University; State Bar Association; Organization Accredited by a State Bar; Professional Organization that (in whole or in part) specialized in representing claimants before Governmental Agencies; or Governmental Agency);
• If applicable, the Name of the College or Institution;
• Name of Instructor or Contact Person; and
• Phone number of the Instructor or Contact Person

You must provide enough information about the organization that provided the course to allow CPS and/or SSA to validate the continuing education source, your attendance, and the course content. Be sure to spell out the name of the provider rather than just providing initials.

Courses involving personal enhancement, general business practices and networking WILL NOT receive demonstration project credit. Some examples of CE hours that DO NOT qualify for demonstration project credit involve:

• Office administration, practices and/or procedures;
• marketing of your firm;
• discussions with vendors who attend CE conferences;
• repeating the same course more than once during the same CE period, except for teaching purposes as previously outlined;
• ethics or professionalism courses not involved with representing claimants for benefits based on disability under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act;
• introductory remarks or conference business meetings;
• conflict mediation,
• keynote/mealtime speeches;
• entitlement to or eligibility for Medicare; Veterans Benefits or public benefits other than Social Security benefits under titles II or XVI of the Social Security Act;
• Attorney fees under the Social Security Act.

Remember, failure to provide complete information about the course to the extent that it prevents SSA/CPS from verifying the information provided including the participant’s attendance may result in the participant receiving no demonstration project credit for that course.

Courses specifically involved with programmatic issues, processes or procedures under titles II and XVI of the Social Security Act will receive demonstration project credit. Also, legal or quasi-legal courses involving advocacy before the Social Security Administration, such as the effective oral argument before an administrative law judge are also acceptable. Some examples of CE hours that qualify for demonstration project credit are courses that involve:

• Understanding SSA’s electronic disability folder;
• Worker’s compensation as it relates to receipt of Social Security benefits;
• Evaluation of the medical aspects of a claim for disability benefits under titles II or XVI;
• Effective communication before SSA;
• Representative conduct before SSA;
• Preparing for the ALJ hearing;
• Effective cross-examination of a vocational expert;
• Res judicata, administrative finality and reopening;
• Technical rules of entitlement to disability insurance benefits under the Social Security Act, including auxiliary benefits.