The Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission
THE TICKET TO WORK PROGRAM
[Click HERE
to Return to the RCEP Ticket To Work Page] The Social Security Administration ’s new Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program
(ticket program) will help people with disabilities become employed. It was created
through passage of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. SSA
will announce the remaining phase-in schedule (states and years) following the start-up and
ticket issuance in these first 13 states.
SSA ’s decision is final. In Ohio, ticket-users served by RSC can seek assistance from
the Client Assistance Program (CAP).
The Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission
The following summary of Ticket to Work isn’t meant as a comprehensive review.
For complete details, visit the Social Security Administration (SSA) Web site:
www.ssa.gov/work.
What’s the goal of the Ticket to Work program?
Its ultimate goal is to increase employment and reduce dependence on cash benefits
among people with disabilities who receive Social Security Disability Insurance
(SSDI)
and Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
When and where does the Ticket to Work program start up?
SSA is implementing it in three phases:2001,2002 and 2003.The first phase is projected
to start late during 2001 in 13 states: Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida,
Illinois, Iowa, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina,
Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Who ’s managing the program?
SSA has contracted with Maximus, Inc. of Alexandria, Virginia, to manage the Ticket to
Work program at a national level. Maximus has many responsibilities,
including providing information to beneficiaries and the public about the
program, maintaining records
of ticket usage and assignments, recruiting employment networks (ENs),
processing EN
requests for payment, and handling grievances between ticket users and ENs.
How will it work?
SSA will mail a ticket “package ” to eligible beneficiaries. It will include an explanatory
letter, a booklet describing the ticket program and a ticket document that can be used to
obtain services needed to go to work. The ticket itself doesn’t have any monetary value.
Once a person receives a ticket, he or she can:
• call SSA or Maximus for more information,,
• save the ticket for future use, or
• discard the ticket.
If the ticket-holder wants to use the ticket, he or she can obtain more information from
Maximus about approved service providers (the employment networks) in the geographic
area. The ticket-holder can seek out and choose an EN that best meets his or her needs.
When the ticket-holder and an employment network have together developed and signed
an individual work plan (IWP), the ticket-holder ’s ticket is considered to be assigned to
that EN. The ticket assignment is important because it means that the EN can obtain
certain payments from SSA when the ticket-user has achieved work-related outcomes.
What are the employment networks?
Employment networks are organizations approved by SSA to provide vocational
rehabilitation, employment and support services under the Ticket to Work program.
ENs can be single entities or an association of entities. Examples of organizations
that can sign up as ENs include state vocational rehabilitation agencies (in Ohio,
RSC), community rehabilitation providers, schools, one-stop centers and employers.
Who will receive tickets?
The majority of SSDI/SSI beneficiaries ages 18-64 who are receiving a cash benefit will
get tickets. More than 300,000 tickets could be issued in Ohio.
What rules govern ticket use?
A beneficiary will receive only one ticket per disability entitlement period, but there’s no
time limit on using a ticket. A ticket-user who ’s dissatisfied with an employment
network can choose to reassign his or her ticket to a different EN. A ticket-user can also
place a ticket in inactive status during the first 24 months of its use. The ticket will
terminate if the beneficiary ’s entitlement ends for reasons other than
employment, or if
an EN receives 60 months of outcome payments on the ticket.
Will a ticket-user be subject to continuing disability reviews (CDRs)?
No. As long as the ticket-user is making timely progress toward the work goal,
SSA
won ’t conduct a CDR.
Is there a work requirement for ticket-users?
A ticket-user must show timely progress in reaching employment-related goals.
There ’s
no work requirement within the first 24 months of using a ticket, but the ticket-user
must actively participate in his or her work plan. After the initial 24-month time period,
the ticket-user must work at a certain level of pay for a certain number of months
within a 12-month time period. If the work requirement isn’t met, the person will again
be subject to a continuing disability review.
Does a beneficiary have to use the ticket?
No. This is a voluntary program.
Is an employment network required to serve any and all ticket-holders?
No. Because this is a voluntary program, an EN has the option of not working with a
ticket-holder. An EN can choose whom to serve on a case-by-case basis.
Who pays for the services that an EN provides to a ticket-user?
SSA doesn’t supply up-front or advance funding for the ticket program, so employment
networks bear the cost of providing the services ticket-users need to return to work.
ENs cannot charge ticket-users for services.
What payment options exist for employment networks under the
Ticket to Work program?
When an organization first enrolls as an EN, it must choose between two types of payment -
outcome and outcome-milestone. SSA will provide opportunities to change the payment type,
but the change is prospective. The EN will receive the type of payment in effect for that EN at
the time of ticket assignment for a given ticket-user.
Outcome payment is payment for a month during which the ticket-user does no receive a
cash benefit because of earnings. Outcome payments can be received for a maximum of 60
months, which need not be consecutive. The monthly payment is 40 percent of the national
average monthly benefit for the previous year (SSDI or SSI, depending upon the ticket-user ’s
entitlement).
The outcome-milestone payment system consists of the outcome payment system plus two
milestone payments made when the ticket-user ’s gross earnings are at or above the
Substantial Gainful Activity 1 level for three and seven months.
Outcome-milestone pays out less
than outcome over the long run. The total payment range for outcome-milestone to outcome
for SSDI ticket-users is $14,000-$16,000;for SSI ticket users, it ’s $9,000-$10,000.
Is RSC required to participate in the ticket program?
Yes. RSC must enroll as an employment network in the ticket program and select a
payment type, but need not function as an EN. RSC can choose the type of payment
-
ticket or traditional reimbursement – on a case--by-case basis. The same ticket
payment rules that apply to other ENs also apply to RSC. The agency must continue to
provide services according to the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (as amended).
If a ticket-user has assigned his or her ticket to an employment network, can that EN refer the ticket-user to RSC?
Yes, the employment network may do so if it has an agreement with RSC specifying the
conditions under which referrals can be made.
How are disputes resolved between ticket-users and employment
networks?
The ticket grievance process has three steps:
• the EN ’s internal grievance process,
• Maximus ((the program manager), and
• SSA
1 Substantial Gainful Activity, or SGA, is the level of pay at which SSA considers a
person to be gainfully employed. During 2001,SGA is $740/month for people with
disabilities other than blindness and $1,240/month for individuals who are blind.
400 E.Campus View Blvd.
Columbus,OH 43235-4604
1-800-282-4536 voice/TTY
(614)438-1200 voice/TTY
www.state.oh.us/rsc
The Ohio Rehabilitation Services Commission does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, creed,
national origin, race, sex or type of disability. 9/4/01