Dazara D. Ware, MPC

Dazara D. Ware is Senior Project Associate for Policy Research Associates (PRA) for SAMHSA’s SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access and Recovery (SOAR) Technical Assistance Center.  Ms. Ware provides technical support to 9 states and serves as the subject matter expert in implementing the SOAR model in criminal justice settings. Prior to joining PRA, she served as the state of Georgia’s SOAR Program Coordinator and State Team Lead at the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities (DBHD). While there, she led a pilot a program to implement SOAR in Georgia’s state hospitals, jails and prisons to promote successful transitions to community living. Under her leadership, the Georgia Department of Corrections employed multifunctional officers to assist offenders with Social Security disability applications prior to release and the Georgia DBHDD assigned a benefits specialist to each state hospital. The results include a statewide approval rate of 74 percent on initial applications within an average of 118 days.  Her past work as a police officer, prison counselor and program manager for individuals experiencing homelessness and mental illness helped to shape her career path.

Ms. Ware also serves as the Administrator of the Online Application System (OAT). She is responsible for contributing to the revisions of the current system used to track outcomes of SOAR providers across the country and providing technical assistance to its users. 

Ms. Ware earned her Master’s Degree in Counseling from Argosy University and her Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice from Georgia State University.