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April 28, 2004
The Honorable Jo Anne B. Barnhart
The Commissioner
6401 Security Blvd. Room 100 Altmeyer
Baltimore, MD 21235
Dear Commissioner Barnhart:
I am writing on behalf of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel (the Panel) to urge you to send follow up letters to current ticket holders who received their ticket as part of the Phase I or Phase II rollout of the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (Ticket Program). Many of these ticket holders received their tickets over two years ago and have received no further communications from SSA regarding the Ticket Program or the use of their tickets. The Panel strongly recommends that SSA notify beneficiaries at least once every year until SSA has fully implemented public education and marketing campaigns that operate continuously.
Ticket holders who have not used their tickets and have not heard from SSA in the past year or two should be reminded that their ticket is still valid and that the Ticket Program is available to them to support their work effort whenever they attempt a return to work. The letter should also include information on interactions between the Ticket Program and related work incentives and support programs. In addition, it should cover: how to contact the Ticket Program Manager, MAXIMUS; how to find local Employment Networks and State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies; and how to locate and use both Benefits Planning, Assistance, and Outreach services and Protection and Advocacy services.
The Panel understands that such high volume mailings are costly. For this reason in our Annual Report to the President and Congress for Year Four we recommend that funds be designated to cover SSA's costs for on-going marketing and public education.
The Panel looks forward to a continued partnership with you and your staff and to the successful implementation of these important new programs. On behalf of the Panel, I am requesting a written response to this letter. If you have any questions, please contact Marie Strahan, Executive Director for the Panel at (202) 358-6430, or me. Thank you for your cooperation and support.
Sincerely,
Sarah Wiggins Mitchell, Chair
cc:
The Honorable Charles E. Grassley
Chairman, Committee on Finance
The Honorable Max Baucus
Committee on Finance
The Honorable Rick Santorum
Chairman, Subcommittee on Social Security and Family Policy
The Honorable John B. Breaux
Subcommittee on Social Security
and Family Policy
The Honorable William M. Thomas
Chairman, House Ways and Means
The Honorable Charles B. Rangel
House Ways and Means
The Honorable E. Clay Shaw, Jr
Chairman, Social Security Subcommittee
The Honorable Robert T. Matsui
Social Security Subcommittee
Martin Gerry, Deputy Commissioner
Office of Disability and Income Security Programs
Marianne Daley,
Acting Associate Commissioner,
Office of Employment Support Programs |
