Labor and Employment

Disability and Employment

Issue Summary - May 2002

Ticket to Work: Connecting People with Disabilities to Jobs

People with disabilities face an array of obstacles when trying to find or return to work. One challenge is the lack of access to appropriate job training opportunities. This contributes to the unemployment of 72% of working age Americans with disabilities.

In an effort to assist more people with disabilities in finding employment, the United States Congress enacted the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (TWWIIA). Two important initiatives came from TWWIIA, an alternate method for creating a state Medicaid Buy-In program, and the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency program, commonly known as Ticket to Work.

People between the ages of 18 to 64 who receive Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits are eligible for the Ticket to Work program. The primary goal of the program is to help recipients receive training and support in order to find and retain employment.

The Ticket to Work program has options built into the program to give the beneficiary as much flexibility as possible. A federal government contractor issues voucher-like tickets to eligible beneficiaries, who can then turn their ticket into a service provider, known as an employment network, for training, job placement, and follow-up services. If an SSDI or SSI recipient chooses not to use the ticket, it will not affect his/her benefits. In addition, immediate use of the ticket is not mandatory. If ticket holders are not satisfied with services, they may seek another service provider.

The employment network (EN) can be any private organization (single entity or collaborative) or public agency (such as state vocational rehabilitation) that has agreed with the Social Security Administration (SSA) to provide services under the Ticket to Work Program. The private organizations' services, accessibility, resources, staff qualifications, and credentials determine eligibility. Public vocational rehabilitation agencies are required to participate in the Ticket to Work program and do not have to apply to become an EN. Other public agencies can participate at their discretion. SSA is encouraging a wide range of entities to consider becoming EN's, including public agencies, private rehabilitation providers, One-Stop Career Centers, schools and employers.

Disability advocates are concerned that EN's may be hesitant to serve every eligible ticket holder. Some hard to serve ticket holders (people with severe or multiple disabilities and older disabled workers) could be turned away from services under the Ticket program (although these individuals could be still be eligible for other publicly funded services). EN's select whom they wish to serve according to their individual program design. With the current payment options, an EN's compensation does not come until the worker successfully transitions into the workforce. However, the SSA regulations for the Ticket program do not prohibit Employment Networks from combining the resources of the Ticket program with other funding Streams, and EN's are exploring a variety of options in this regard.

By June 2002, eligible recipients in thirteen states should have received tickets. The rest of the tickets will be mailed to the other thirty-seven states and territories by late 2003. (To see a map of the ticket distribution click here.) As of August 30, 2002, over two million tickets have been issued, 398 employment networks contracted with Social Security (at least two are web-based, Ability Forum and AAA Take Charge) and 5749 beneficiaries signed with an employment network. For additional information, visit the Social Security Administration or Ticket to Work website.

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