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TICKET TO WORK AND WORK INCENTIVES
ADVISORY PANEL PRIORITIES
August 2004 to August 2005
AOI: Eligibility for alternative payment system — Provide advice on categorizing disability beneficiaries according to whether they would be eligible for an alternative payment system because their employment supports are more expensive or they are considered “hard-to-serve.” What criteria should SSA use to determine whether someone would be “hard-to-serve” and will SSA incorporate this determination into its disability determination process? This topic should be included in ongoing progress reports from SSA.
Action Status – Monitor
BPAO and PABSS— Provide advice to SSA on the funding, scope, and authority for the BPAO and PABSS programs. Provide advice on evaluation issues related to the BPAO customer satisfaction survey.
Action Status – Monitor
Continuing Disability Review Protection -- Monitor progress on extending continuing disability review protections currently provided in the Ticket Program to any SSA beneficiary participating in an approved vocational rehabilitation program leading to employment.
Action Status - Monitor
Capitalization and Expansion through Blended Funding -- Provide advice on redesigning interactions between the Ticket Program and Federal/State programs including Medicaid to address issues such as the inadequate capitalization of ENs, increasing the number of ENs, and expanding resources to serve individuals with the most severe disabilities. Provide advice to increase the extent to which DOL field programs and One-Stops serve SSI and DI beneficiaries.
Action Status – Active
Coordination and Collaboration with Other Federal Programs - Provide advice to the Commissioner of SSA concerning coordination with other Federal agencies that provide support for people with disabilities receiving SSI/SSDI (including among others Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Department of Agriculture). Specific concerns to be addressed are the coordination and collaboration of applications, eligibility requirements, and benefit loss due to earnings.
Action Status - Active
Early Intervention— Provide advice on the extent to which early intervention—perhaps even as early as when an individual is still working—will minimize services needed and maximize continued employment. Does the Panel believe that the costs of providing early outreach will result in savings in the long run because fewer people will come on the rolls or because some will come on the rolls at a later point in time? Provide advice on the possibility that more people would apply for benefits just to obtain these services. Monitor related research. This topic should be included in ongoing progress reports from SSA.
Action Status – Active
EN Issues —Provide advice on the small number of ENs that are authorized and accepting Tickets, raising concern about consumer choice and the success of the Program. This topic involves consideration of changes in the EN payment structure and other factors affecting the number of ENs. Conduct research and provide advice on the partial benefits issue. Provide advice on how work incentives affect consumer choices to use ENs.
Action Status – Monitor
Health Care: Provide advice to CMS and the Congress as appropriate concerning the Medicaid and Medicare provisions of TWWIIA and their interaction with all existing policies. Specific issues to be examined include the direction of the Medicaid Infrastructure Grants, the lack of a definition of work in the Medicaid Buy-In and the lack of any evaluation component for the health care provisions of TWWIIA (To what degree have the buy-in provisions increased labor participation by individuals with disabilities). Create a set of principles regarding access to public and private health care for people with disabilities.
Action Status - Active
Implementation Budget.— Provide Advice on the extent to which SSA has devoted the necessary resources to assure successful implementation of new programs and projects under TWWIIA, including the budgets for TWWIIA and Ticket Implementation, the Program Manager, BPA&O and P&A Grants, demonstration projects, administration and operations. Provide advice on the possible use of designated appropriations for implementation by Congress.
Action Status – Monitor
Marketing .— Provide advice on the need for a National Marketing Plan to market the Ticket program to Employment Networks and Employers, covering topics such as EN diversity, level of effort, costs, other work incentives and Medicaid. Provide advice on immediate marketing, such as follow-up letters to beneficiaries. Provide advice relating to a National Plan on education and training for beneficiaries and families.
Action Status – Active
Mental Health -- Provide advice to SSA and other federal partners (e.g. Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Labor, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) on statutory, regulatory or policy issues regarding designing employment supports for people with mental illness.
Action Status – Active
Protection of Beneficiary Rights -- Provide advice to the Commissioner of Social Security to ensure that beneficiaries are informed of their rights to due process, Protection & Advocacy services and dispute resolution in simple language frequently and appropriately. Provide advice to SSA to ensure that the training provided to SSA staff (and contractors) regarding informing consumers of their rights is adequate and appropriate. Provide advice to SSA to ensure that the rights of consumers are protected during any disputes with SSA or an Employment Network participating in the Ticket Program. Monitor SSA mediation pilot services.
Action Status – Active
Post Entitlement Issues — Provide advice on a cluster of issues including overpayments and the management of earnings reports, SSA infrastructure and the extent to which the current SSA infrastructure (Area Work Incentive Coordinators, Work Incentive Liaisons, and workload) supports the successful implementation of TWWIIA. Should a higher priority be given to this work at the field level? Should a higher priority be given to how SSA could begin to implement a nation-wide change in operations, policy and mission to integrate RTW in all aspects of Agency operations, including 1300 field offices and 65,000 staff.
Action Status – Active
Regulations -- Advice to SSA regarding the issuance of NPRM (notice of proposed rulemaking) on the Ticket Program including:
- Provide formal response to proposed regulations on the Exemption of Work Activity as a basis for a Medical Continuing Disability Review (Section 111 of TWWIIA)
- Provide formal response to proposed rules on the Ticket Program, including Ticket Eligibility, State VR Partnerships, and Ticket Payment Options.
Regulations -- Notice of Proposed Rulemaking has been issued. Monitor for publishing of Final Regulations:
- Section 301 coverage
- Expedited reinstatement
- VR Referral (No NPRM will be issued – regulations to come out in final)
Action Status – Pending other action
Ticket Evaluation Requirements and Results— Monitoring the Ticket Program evaluation. Provide advice on the extent to which the overall design of the Ticket Program evaluation meets the requirements outlined in the statute. This topic should be i included in ongoing progress reports from SSA
Action Status – Monitor
Training— Provide advice on adequate resources for training, including costs, of field office employees, professional training in the field of employment services and rehabilitation, to SSA grantees, for Employment Networks, to State Systems, etc. Should there be a National Training Plan?
Action Status – Active
VR — Provide advice on concerns relating to communication between State VR systems and Employment Networks about the Ticket Program as well interactions between VR programs and SSI/DI clients, and rules for ticket assignment.
Action Status – Monitor
Youth -- Monitor progress on advice provided by the Panel to SSA and Congress on statutory, regulatory and policy issues affecting the labor force participation of transition aged youth who are SSI/SSDI beneficiaries. Monitor progress of Youth Demonstration projects.
Action Status – Monitor
$1 for $2— Provide advice on the relationship between the $1 for $2 demonstration and Ticket use. This topic should be included in ongoing progress reports from SSA.
Action Status – Active
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