I've got a golden chance to make my way.
And with a golden ticket, it's a golden day.
You can offer job seekers the golden ticket by simply providing a service you already do! You may have heard of the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work program. However, you may also have more questions than answers or have heard some concerns. Shared Solutions has information and answers!
What is the Ticket to Work?
The Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program provides choices, opportunities, and support to help people with disabilities obtain and keep a job. The program also supports the financial independence of participants—helping them reduce or even eliminate their reliance on government benefits.
People eligible to use a Ticket may not actually have a paper ticket. Social Security is letting some job seekers know they’re eligible and will mail them an actual ticket, but you can assure your job seekers that as long as they have a disability and are receiving either SSI or SSDI, they’re eligible to participate in Ticket to Work—even if they don’t have a paper ticket. (See more about eligibility later.)
Essentially, Ticket to Work allows any job seeker receiving Social Security benefits to choose certain employment providers, known as Employment Networks (more on Employment Networks later), to help them find successful employment. This is especially important now, since Indiana Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) is operating under an order of selection, which means that some job seekers may not be able to receive services through VR. Ticket to Work gives eligible job seekers the chance to prepare, search for, and work at a job even if they’re on a deferred list for VR services.
Who is eligible to use the Ticket?
People eligible to participate in Ticket to Work have a disability, are between the ages of 18-64, and receive monthly cash benefit payments through Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI).
How does it work?
In this program, ticket holders “assign” their ticket to an approved employment service provider. They can select an Employment Network (EN) or Indiana VR (if they’re an Indiana resident). If either VR or an EN accepts the Ticket assignment, they will provide appropriate services to help the Ticket holder find and maintain employment. Social Security says services can include education and training, resume development, benefits and career counseling, job development, job coaching, and any other ongoing support services necessary to achieve the work goals that the job seeker and EN agree to in the Individual Work Plan.
Ticket holders also agree to maintain a certain level of earnings over a specific period. They will be working toward a goal of self-sufficiency; however, that could be a long-term goal (up to 5 years).
What’s in it for the Ticket holder?
While participating in the program, Ticket holders can safely explore work options and find the right job without immediately losing cash benefits. They can also use various Social Security work incentives to maximize their income until they earn enough to support themselves.
A Ticket holder can:
- go to work without automatically losing benefits,
- return to benefits if he or she has to stop working,
- continue to receive health care benefits, and
- be protected from a medical Continuing Disability Review (CDR) while making expected progress with work or educational goals. (While other job seekers receiving Social Security benefits can also use work incentives, Ticket to Work participants have an advantage because their CDRs are suspended, so they can work without fear of a medical review.)
What is an Employment Network?
An EN is any qualified private or public entity that enters into an EN agreement with SSA under the Ticket to Work program. ENs and Ticket holders work together to create a written Individual Work Plan (IWP).
Why would a person choose the Ticket to Work program? Why would your agency think about offering this program? Here are a few reasons:
- The job seeker is not able to obtain VR services due to OOS.
- The job seeker chooses not to use Vocational Rehabilitation.
- The job seeker goes through VR but does not qualify for extended services. This could include people with mental health challenges or those with physical disabilities—job seekers you may not currently be serving.
- The EN receives “milestone/outcome payments” linked to the earnings of their now-employed Ticket holder. These payments give ENs a revenue stream so they can continue working with job seekers who are not MSD and who may be deferred for VR services.
Ticket partners
Indiana also offers Partnership Plus to Ticket to Work recipients. With this program, both VR and an EN can receive compensation for the same Ticket holder. The VR agency can accept a Ticket to provide services to the Ticket holder under their employment program until the VR successfully closes the case. Then, the EN accepts the same ticket to offer long-term supports.
The EN helps the beneficiary achieve Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level earnings, but Partnership Plus ENs do not usually provide pre-employment or job placement services. Instead, they provide job stabilization, retention, and career advancement supports. To ensure some savings to Social Security, Partnership Plus excludes Phase 1 milestone payments to the EN (see the table below) if the Ticket holder already has a job at the time of VR case closure.
Resources
Watch “Meet Ben!” an easy-to-understand introduction to the Ticket program for potential ticket holders. In addition, employment service providers can use the video to educate beneficiaries. It explains the key benefits of participation in the Ticket to Work program.
Keep in mind that Social Security selects ENs based on the services they can offer to potential Ticket holders, so you’ll want to answer the EN application questions carefully.
To learn more about Ticket to Work or about how to become an Employment Network, visit these websites:
- https://yourtickettowork.ssa.gov/about/index.html
- https://www.ssa.gov/work/overview.html
- https://www.iidc.indiana.edu/pages/ticket-to-work
You can also call the Ticket to Work information line at 866-968-7842.
The Center on Community Living and Careers can provide customized consulting to community employment providers wondering about how becoming an EN might help them reach more job seekers. For more information, call CCLC at 812-855-0169 or refer to our employment training and consultation webpage and flyer. 