December 15, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The Ticket to Work Program Celebrates 15th Anniversary

The Ticket to Work Program is celebrating its 15 years of success. Reports on the startling rise of disability claims after the 2008 financial crisis have led service providers to develop effective strategies to assist Americans with Disabilities in returning to the workplace. These include the Ticket to Work Program, which provides a variety of employment services to beneficiariesreceiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)orSupplemental Security Income (SSI); the Work Incentives Planning Assistance (WIPA) projects, which enable beneficiarieswith disabilities to make informed choices about work as well as supports working beneficiaries in transitioning to self-sufficiency; and the Social Security Administration’s “The Faces and Facts of Disability Campaign”, designed to educate the public about SSDI.

The Ticket to Work Program was implemented in 1999 under the Ticket to Work and WorkIncentives Improvement Act of 1999 authorized by Social Security expand services and “serve beneficiaries with disabilities who wish to maximize their economic self-sufficiency through work opportunities.” It underwent major regulatory changes in 2008, allowing for expanded eligibility criteria and increased incentives for Employment Networks (EN), the organizations contracted to provide employment-related services.Longitudinal studies of SSDI recipients who enroll in Ticket to Work show continued improvement in the program, with 21,829 of those enrolled in 1996-2006 entering employment and terminating SSDI benefits. When tabulated by age, 46% of recipients under the age of 40 had worked at least one year by 2006, while 29% of those 40-49 and 20% or those 50-61 achieved similar goals.[1]

Magdelina (last name suppressed) is a case in point. She is one of the 9 million Americans witha disability as of 2012. No stranger to adversity, as a spinal cord injury at the age of 15 led to permanent paralysis in the lower half of her body. Despite Magdalena’s obstacles, she graduated from college and secured a job as a state employee. Then, at the start of the financial crisis in 2008, she lost her job. After two hospitalizations for recurrent kidney infections, Magdelina applied for SSDI. Six months later, she assigned her ticket to an eligible EmploymentNetwork’s Ticket to Work Program; after a year of searching, she found employment with the Federal government and ‘went off the rolls’. Today, Magdelina is forever grateful that Social Security was there for her “to provide a cushion when things went downhill” and to assist her with returning to work.

The most recent Evaluation Report of the Ticket to Work Program shows continued improvement among service providers, particularly Employment Networks. Participation rates grew from 2.15% in 2008 to 2.38% in 2010, while ENs with at least five tickets increased from 11% in 2008 to 30% in 2010. In addition, the WIPA projects shows an increase in employment rates among enrollees from 2010 to 2011, with an increase to 40% of participants as well as a 7% increase in beneficiaries actively seeking employment. Job tenure increased as well: 55% of the beneficiaries included in the 2010 National Beneficiary Survey report being at their jobs for more than two years.[2]

New federal regulations effective March 24, 2014 promise to have an even greater impact: Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Actcalls for Federal contractors to employ individuals with disabilities at a rate 7% of each job group or, for employers with less than 100 employees, 7% of their entire workforce.As specialists in workforce development for individuals with disabilities, Employment Networks are uniquely poised to assist SSDI and SSI recipients to transition to employment in favor of a life of independence and greater self-sufficiency.

About NENA: The National Employment Network Association (NENA) represents approximately 650 organizations called Employment Networks (ENs) with a contract to provide services designed to help SSDI and SSIbeneficiaries actually leave the rolls and stay off benefits long-term. NENA was created by members of leading Employment Networks (ENs) to support the needs of all Employment Networks and their partners in the Social Security Administration’s Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program. NENA is a non-profit 501(c)(3) association independent from SSA.

###

For more information, please contact:

Name

Title

Number or Email

The following are approved infographics from Booze, Allen, Hamilton you can download for the Ticket to Work anniversary:

Looking Back Logo

TTW 15th Anniversary Infographic

TTW 15th Anniversary Infographic Thumbnail

[1] See Su Liu and David Stapleton, How Many SSDI Beneficiaries Leave the Rolls for Work? More than you Might Think, Mathematica Policy Research, April 2010, Number 10-01.

[2] Gina Livermore et al, Executive Summary of the Seventh Ticket to Work Evaluation Report: Final Report, Mathematica Policy Research, July 2013, Number 08977.972.