Program
Management
Social Security Administration
Ticket to Work Program Manager
for Recruitment and Outreach (PMRO)
The Ticket Program provides disability beneficiaries with
choices for receiving employment services and increases
provider incentive to serve these individuals. Under the
Ticket Program, the Agency is directed to provide disability
beneficiaries with a Ticket they may use to obtain VR services,
employment services, and/or other support services from
an EN of their choice and to establish agreements with
ENs to provide such services.
Under the Project, the PMRO staff ensures SSA meets its
objectives by implementing and managing a nationwide recruitment
and outreach strategy focusing on EN Recruitment and Beneficiary
Outreach. PMRO also assists SSA in facilitating
access of Ticket-eligible beneficiaries to ENs capable
and willing to serve them.
Recruitment of ENs
PMRO recruits and recommends potential ENs for selection
by SSA and develops recruitment strategies to ensure that
adequate choices of services are available to all SSA Ticket-eligible
beneficiaries. Core outreach categories include:
- Outreach to idle EN’s
- EN recruiting events
- Attracting new organizations to EN program via pilot
and model projects
- Promotion through conferences and partnerships
Outreach to Idle ENs
Initial efforts to reach out to idle ENs have been successful
in identifying those who are interested in continuing to
serve as ENs and may be willing to accept tickets from
beneficiaries they can serve. These activities continue
as indicated under this plan and are incorporated into
our target market activities to prepare the cadre of ENs
to respond to demand resulting from the beneficiary outreach
activities.
Additional efforts are also underway to implement proactive
steps that would encourage ENs to become active or engaged
in the TTW program.
When a registered EN goes 6 months without taking a ticket,
PMRO will contact them to determine if there are barriers
or problems that can be resolved to enable them to meet
beneficiaries and take tickets.
EN Recruiting Events
Outreach to date in target markets has helped PMRO identify
partner organizations and key linkages in these cities.
For each target market, PMRO staff are developing plans
to co-host an event aimed at bringing existing and potential
EN’s together for a presentation on the Ticket to
Work Program. The presentation, currently under development,
highlights benefits of becoming an EN, examples of successful
EN’s, how to enroll, and an explanation of how the
program could become even more dynamic upon passage of
the regulations. The “push” would be
to become enrolled prior to the regulations changing to
take advantage of an opportunity to move through the process
quickly and to begin taking tickets and ramping up services.
Upon regulation changes and greater demand for services,
existing EN’s will be up and running and have their
internal systems ready for greater volume.
Promotion
The PMRO team actively pursues a number of outreach mechanisms
in an effort to reach out to new ENs, both traditional
and non-traditional, to increase the number of ENs available.
Outreach includes but is not limited to ongoing media relations,
partnership development, conferences, meetings, and events.
The continued presence of the Ticket in community events,
target markets, and conferences offers assurance that the
delay in the regulations is merely a delay and that the
program is continuing to move forward.
Beneficiary Outreach
The cornerstone of the PMRO beneficiary outreach is the
Work Incentive Seminars (WISE). Through the WISE, we seek
to provide beneficiaries with not only awareness and knowledge
of the work incentives but also access to professionals
in their community that can help guide them through the
work continuum.
In addition to WISE, the PMRO is responsible for developing
partnerships (national, regional, and local) with organizations
that provide a trusted information dissemination source
to reach beneficiaries. Through local partnerships, the
PMRO builds community connections by attending meetings,
holding WI and TTW-focused events, and supporting local
activities and events where beneficiaries can receive the
SSA messages regarding work.
Facilitating Beneficiary Access to ENs
Finally, beneficiary outreach includes developing tools
and resources that help to engage beneficiaries in the
process. The voluntary beneficiary matching tool allows
individuals the option of providing background information
that will facilitate matching not only with ENs but also
with other service providers that can help them take the
first step toward work.
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