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Issue No. 1 The Ticket Ticker October 15, 2001 |
(This page is a mirror of The Ticket Ticker, an intranet publication of the Social Security Administration. It appears here with the kind permission of Walt McKibbin, of SSA)
Chicago
Center for Disability Ticket to Work Update
_________________________________________________________________________
The
Chicago Region is committed to assisting and encouraging our beneficiaries and
recipients who wish to work. The
purpose of this monthly issuance is to ensure that our staff receive timely
information about the implementation of the Ticket to Work provisions.
Ticket
Vocational Rehabilitation Program
Once
the final Ticket to Work regulations are published, there will be a 30-day
waiting period before they become effective.
Soon after this period expires, the tickets will be mailed in the 13
Ticket States. Illinois and
Wisconsin are the Chicago Region Ticket States.
Field office staff will be required to understand who is "ticket
eligible" in order to respond to inquiries from the public.
We will update Chicago Region staff on their responsibilities soon after
the regulations are published. Additional
information about the ticket program on the national web site at:
·
http://www.ssa.gov/work/ResourcesToolkit/ticketprogram.html
The
Office of Employment and Support Programs (OESP) is now posting the approved
list of Employment Networks on the national web site.
The address for this web site is:
·
http://www.ssa.gov/work/ServiceProviders/endirectory.html
Referral
of Disabled Beneficiaries and Providing Information to State VR Agencies
Until
the ticket program is implemented in a State, continue to refer Social Security
disability beneficiaries to the State Vocational Rehabilitation Agency.
Also, continue to provide information to the State VR agency without
requiring beneficiary consent and without charge for rehabilitation purposes.
OESP plans to notify everyone when changes to these policies must be
made.
DI
13501.020, DI 10005.030, GN 03310.015, EM-01084
Benefit
Planning, Assistance and Outreach Program (BPAO)
The
latest round of cooperative agreements were awarded in July 2001.
The Chicago Region is now being served by 18 Benefit Planning, Assistance
and Outreach organizations covering all counties in the 6-state region.
These organizations provide employment support services to SSDI and SSI
beneficiaries.
We
encourage our field office staff to contact these organizations and become
familiar with the services they provide to our beneficiaries.
These organizations are now part of the SSA regional family.
The work incentive liaison (WIL) should be the contact person for the
BPAOs and should provide their names and contact information to the
organizations serving the field office area.
The BPAO list is at the following intranet address:
·
http://chinet.ch.ssa.gov/crsdweb/DPT
Page/Work Issues/BPAO/NewRegiBPAO.doc
Benefit
planners from these organizations may need to obtain information from our
records in order to assist our
working disability beneficiaries. Although
they are required to have the consent of their client before we can furnish this
information, we must make every reasonable effort to assist them in obtaining
and understanding the information. The
information is for the SSA program purpose of assisting
disability beneficiaries to work (GN 03311.005B).
We should not charge these organizations for these requests.
Other disclosure issues that have been brought to our attention are:
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We should not require the beneficiary to
complete a SSA-1696U4 to disclose information to the benefit planners.
A release of information form such as the SSA-3288 or other release
document meeting our requirements is sufficient.
The benefit planners are not acting as representatives in these
situations. GN 03910.020B4, GN 03305.001 |
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We should not furnish an MBR or SSID
query in response to a request for information without explaining how to read
and find the requested information on the query.
We must furnish the information in a manner that is understandable to the
person receiving it. |
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If trial work period (TWP) information is
requested, we should not give out the months shown on the MBR in the "DIB
INV" fields if we have any reason to believe this information is inaccurate
or incomplete. Often these entries
do not reflect the correct TWP months because prior work has not been fully
developed. This is especially
likely where we have not yet made a determination that the TWP is completed.
Compare the trial work months posted on the MBR with the earnings posted
on a DEQY/SEQY and with information from the beneficiary about his/her past
work. Obtain the folder if there is
any doubt. If necessary, develop
and make a determination of the correct trial work months. Inform the benefit planner we will provide the TWP
information once we make our TWP determination.
We should point out that the cooperation of the beneficiary will help
expedite our development. DI
13010.010 |
Protection and Advocacy
Systems Awards
The
Social Security Administration has awarded Work Incentives Assistance Program
grants to each Protection and Advocacy (P&A) system.
P&A systems will assist individuals with disabilities who receive
SSDI or SSI benefits in obtaining information and advice about receiving
vocational rehabilitation and employment services.
The program will also allow grant recipients to provide advocacy or other
related services that beneficiaries with a disability may need to secure or
regain gainful employment.
SSA has
made awards to the designated P&A systems in each of the fifty States as
well as the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the United
States Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the
P&A system for Native Americans. The
57 grants total $4,500,011 for Fiscal Year 2001.
The list of Chicago Region Protection & Advocacy organizations can be
found at the intranet address below: http://chinet.ch.ssa.gov/crsdweb/DPT
Page/Work Issues/P&A Table (725).doc
Questions
About the Ticket??