Ticket to Work Program

1. Ticket to Work Program Sarah Wiggins Mitchell President/Executive Director NJ Protection and Advocacy, Inc. Chair, Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel

2. Ticket Program as Supplemental Funding Source • Congress should: • Develop statutory language that clearly articulates its original intent to provide additional resources. • Direct Commissioner to implement the Ticket Program as complement to traditional SSA VR Reimbursement Program. • Paying state VR agencies for up-front services. • Paying ENs for long-term employment outcomes.

3. Ticket Program as Supplemental Funding Source • Congress should: • Direct the Commissioner to conduct an assessment of the Ticket Program and the SSA Reimbursement Program. • Assessments should run in combination.

4. The EN Payment System • Commissioner should: • Move more of payment into first 12 months of employment and reduce difference between milestone and outcome payments. • Test two or three creative approaches that place more up-front financial risk on SSA.

5. The EN Payment System • Congress should: • Amend the statute to permit payments to ENs to be set at a level greater than 40% of average benefits for both SSDI and SSI beneficiaries. • Amend statute to permit the Ticket Program to increase the sum of payments available for serving SSI to a level equal to sum of payments for serving SSDI beneficiaries. • Changes should be implemented as quickly as possible.

6. EN Payment Claims Administration • Commissioner should: • Continue to pay EN on monthly basis once beneficiary has been certified as employed above SGA, as long as beneficiary remains in 0 benefit status and EN has not yet received 60 months of outcome payments, or until the beneficiary requests a new EN.

7. EN Payment Claims Administration • Commissioner should: • Ensure timely payments to ENs such as the accepted business standard of 30 days.

8. Marketing to ENs and to Beneficiaries • To date, no national marketing plan for Ticket Program. • ENs spend considerable time explaining Program and dispelling misconceptions. • Lack of marketing contributes to insufficient demand for EN services. • SSA recently awarded contracts to develop strategic marketing plan and EN recruitment.

9. Marketing to ENs and to Beneficiaries • Commissioner should create opportunities for the Panel. • To review the work plans and proposed activities under the strategic marketing plan contract. • To engage in dialogue with contractors and relevant SSA staff.

10. American Indian VR Program Eligibility • AIVR programs operated by Tribal Nations programs are not exempt from the Ticket Program EN application process. • They are excluded from the traditional SSA Reimbursement Program for state VR. • Congress should amend statute to permit AIVR programs operating under Section 121 to participate in equivalent manner.

11. Letter to SSA and OSERS • Transmittal l7 should be amended to end the current use of the signed IPE as documentation needed for assignment of a Ticket. • Panel urges SSA and RSA to formulate joint policy governing contents of agreements and dissemination for a model agreement. • Panel urges RSA to acknowledge problem with Title I VR services and to correct the misuse of the comparable benefits provisions.