About the Report

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The U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL’s) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO), in collaboration with the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), contracted with IMPAQ International, LLC (IMPAQ), to investigate the public workforce system’s involvement in the Social Security Administration’s (SSA’s) Ticket to Work (TTW) program. The TTW program is designed to reduce or eliminate reliance on SSA disability benefits by increasing beneficiaries’ financial independence. The primary objective of the study as described in the report is to examine TTW program implementation and outcomes in the public workforce system. A key focus of the study was to compare TTW Employment Networks (ENs) operated by American Job Centers (AJCs), Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs), and other state and local labor agencies (Workforce ENs) with ENs that are not part of the public workforce system (Non-Workforce ENs). This report describes the results of this Study of Workforce Employment Networks in the Ticket to Work Program (TTW study), which builds on IMPAQ’s earlier study, Evaluating the Accessibility of American Job Centers for People with Disabilities (AJC Accessibility Study).

Research Questions

• What is the number of tickets assigned to Workforce ENs?
• How many milestone and outcome payments have the different types of ENs received over time? What is the amount of ticket revenue that the different types of ENs have received over time?
• How do ticket holders choose an EN for ticket assignment and how do ENs select which ticket assignments to accept?
• Are individual ticket holders served by multiple entities in their community, including public Workforce ENs, other types of ENs, disability service agencies, and VR? If so, how do the different entities collaborate with one another?
• How are services provided by Workforce ENs different from those provided by Non-Workforce ENs?
• How are the characteristics of ticket holders served by Workforce ENs different from those served by Non-Workforce ENs?
• How do beneficiary outcomes vary across different types of ENs?
• What lessons can be learned from current experience about strategies for improving services to ticket holders through Workforce ENs in the future?

Key Takeaways

• The average number of tickets assigned to Workforce ENs, not including NYESS, was 68.2. When including NYESS in the group of Workforce ENs, the average was 135.6.
• As of the end of FY 2016, 16,272 tickets were assigned to 120 Workforce ENs.
• Non-Workforce ENs received a higher number of milestone and outcome payments, on average, than Workforce ENs in FY 2016.
• In FY 2016, the Workforce ENs received payments for 3,360 ticket holders earning sufficient income to generate ticket payments for a total of $11,899,356 in ticket revenue for the year.
• Non-Workforce ENs had higher average ticket revenue than Workforce ENs for both milestone payments and outcome payments in FY 2016.
• According to both staff and beneficiaries at the ENs visited, most ticket holders learned about TTW when they received the letter from SSA informing them that they had a ticket and listing the ENs in their ZIP code that they could contact about it.
• Almost every EN visited mentioned that customers had chosen that particular EN from among their choices because, after calling four or five ENs on the provider list, this EN was the only one that answered the telephone or called them back.
• Regardless of whether the EN is a disability services organization, a community-based social service organization, or part of the public workforce system, the EN will welcome any SSA beneficiary who expresses an interest in employment.
• At every site, TTW staff said they were unlikely to deny a person a ticket assignment if the person was interested in working.
• Ticket holders often receive services from multiple providers.
• ENs that collaborate with other local agencies and resources are able to maximize the scope and fit of services that they offer to people with disabilities.
• The Partnership Plus program did not seem to be very effective for most ENs in this study.
• Both Workforce ENs and Non-Workforce ENs offered the same TTW services, including career counseling, skills assessment, resume help, job referrals/search assistance, benefits counseling, and post-employment support.
• The service delivery process at the ENs visited follows a similar path, regardless of whether the visited site was a Workforce EN or a Non-Workforce EN.
• Except for the type of disability, it did not appear that the characteristics of ticket holders were very different between Workforce and Non-Workforce ENs.
• The number of beneficiaries obtaining employment with sufficient earnings to generate ticket payments (achieving a level of income of at least the trial work level of $810 per month in 2016) was higher for Non-Workforce ENs and New York Employment Services System (NYESS) than for Workforce ENs.
• Workforce ENs that provide center-wide training on serving individuals with disabilities and accessing disability-related services through partner agencies were able to integrate ticket holders into their regular service-delivery process and provide full access to AJC services.
• ENs that train and certify one or more of their own staff members in benefits counseling are able to provide information about the potential impact of working on ticket holders’ SSA benefits from the initial orientation throughout their entire service process.
• This study appears to support a major lesson learned in the AJC Accessibility Study—that job seekers with disabilities benefit from interactions with a subject matter expert or disability specialist who stays current on state and federal programs and regulations, develops strong relationships with local disability services agencies, provides people with disabilities with benefits information and a positive center experience, provides training and support to other center staff, and provides hiring and job accommodation expertise to employers.
• The TTW program was reported by ENs staff to be somewhat burdensome administratively.
• Because of the time delay between providing employment services to ticket holders and receiving payments when milestones and outcomes are eventually achieved, ENs need financial support to help with start-up or scaling up.
• Even though ENs no longer receive disks from Maximus with lists of ticket holders in their area, that does not mean that outreach and recruitment are no longer viable.
• It is important to recognize that not every AJC may be well suited to be an EN or serve ticket holders.

Citation

Toms Barker, L., Magill, K. (2017). IMPAQ International. The Role of the Public Workforce System in the Ticket to Work Program for Persons with Disabilities: Final Report. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.