Disability Employment Initiative (DEI)

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Disability Employment Initiative(DEI)

• Ticket to Work Boot Camp
• Your EN Business Model Partnerships for Success

Hosted/Facilitated by Laura Gleneck, NDI
Technical Assistance Team Presented by Kevin
Nickerson, NDI Technical Assistance Team Karen
Davidson, Senior Account Manager, Region 9,
Operations Support Manager
April 17, 2012
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Disability Employment Initiative (DEI)

• DEI Projects at the state level and/or local
  level participating LWIBs are required to become
  Employment Networks under Social Security
  Administrations Ticket to Work Program.
• Training and Technical Assistance to DEI Projects
  in attaining Employment Network status and
  implementing effective EN operations is provided
  under U.S. DOLETA contract with NDI Consulting,
  Inc. and the National Disability Institute (NDI).
• Evaluation of the impact of the DEI Projects
  implementation and outcomes as Employment Network
  will be provided under U.S. DOL ODEP contract
  with Social Dynamics.

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Learning Objectives

• Upon completion of this training webinar, DEI
  grantees
• and participants and partners from the public
• workforce system will have the following
• Information on how to establish a successful
  Employment Network
• An understanding of the types of partnerships and
  partnership strategies to utilize for the benefit
  of your Employment Network.

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Agenda

• Establishing your Employment Network Business
  Model
• Partnerships that will help you develop a
  successful EN
• Logistics for the next Ticket to Work Boot Camp
  training

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Understanding your Employment Network Business
Model
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EN Business Model Basics

• An Employment Network is a business, and like any
  other small business, careful planning and
  forethought will increase your chances of success
• Your business model will set the stage for all
  subsequent steps you will take in developing your
  EN operations
• Examples
• Determining whether you will specialize in
  serving certain disability groups, or serve all
  groups, if they are a good fit for the EN
  services you offer
• What types of services you provide may be driven
  by an agency mission and/or the individuals
  within your One-Stop providing Ticket services

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EN Business Model Basics

• An Employment Network operates under contract
  with the Social Security Administration, and now
  requires you to be identified by your DUNS number
• There are various EN Models that exist
  Nationally, and new models continue to emerge
  (i.e. NYS Administrative EN Model)
• Basic EN Models of operation might include
• Local level operation
• Collaborative operation
• State level operation

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EN Business Model Basics

• Examples of Employment Network Models
• Local level Strategy A One-Stop/EN which has
  applied to become an EN based on a specific
  Workforce area, typically under the Workforce
  Investment Boards (WIB) DUNS Number
• Advantages
• All Ticket funds generated go to local EN
• Design of EN business operations is up to the EN
• One-Stops have the distinct advantage of having
  staff from partner agencies that should be able
  to contribute to the Ticket holders success
• Challenges
• Local EN responsible for all EN operations,
  including all service delivery (Career
  Counseling, Job Development, Long-Term follow-up
  supports, etc.), marketing, billing and tracking
  of all Ticket Holders
• No shared resources, therefore local EN must
  fully staff all operations and provide equipment
  and supplies necessary to support EN activities

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EN Business Model Basics

• Local Level with Collaborative Agreement Either
  a One-Stop or a partner agency is the EN of
  record and is partnering through a local written
  agreement. This increases the resources
  available to Ticket Holders that are served in
  this collaborative model as both the partner
  agency and One-Stop provide resources to the
  Ticket Holder.
• The local agreement guides the services and
  contributions that both the One-Stop and
  community agency provide through the
  collaborative EN.
• Advantages
• Sharing of resources
• Increased access for Ticket Holders (more than
  one site)
• Specific advantage when partnering with One-Stop
  Career Centers Access to a pool of Ticket
  holders who are already registered at the
  One-Stop, and would prefer to use a more
  mainstream job search approach
• Integrated Resource Teams
• Challenges
• Sharing of Ticket funds per written agreement
• Coordination of services between two sites, where
  shared staff may be utilized

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EN Business Model Basics

• State Department as EN State Department of
  Labor, for example, becomes the EN of record, and
  lists the One-Stop sites in the RFQ that will be
  serving Ticket holders. One application covers
  all sites included in the RFQ, and each site
  operates under the State DUNS number.
• Advantages
• Reduced administrative burden for local areas
• Additional resources at the State level to market
  the program state-wide
• Ongoing targeted marketing to Ticket Holders by
  the state and EN sites
• One application required, local areas need not
  apply to become EN
• Challenges
• Tracking of Ticket Holders at the State level
  would require dedicated staff time
• Tracking large volumes of Ticket Holders would
  require a coordinated tracking system
• Payments to local areas would vary, potential
  distribution challenge
• State would likely require an administration fee
  for time spent

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EN Business Model Components Contract Obligations

• Is your CCR registration up to date?
• A requirement for all ENs and for federal
  contracting, the ENs DUNS number must be
  registered at www.CCR.gov (visit
  http//fedgov.dnb.com/webform for more
  information on DUNS numbers)
• Which staff will be required to fulfill SSAs EN
  Security and Suitability Requirements?
• Any staff member involved in your EN operations
  that is receiving Personally Identifiable
  Information (PII) from Maximus, or who is
  providing PII to Maximus, will need to have
  security clearance in place
• Security and Suitability is also required to
  receive the Beneficiary Referral CD
• NOTE For a Checklist which will help you through
  this process, contact Emily Malsch at
  emalsch_at_cess.net.

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EN Business Model ComponentsStaffing Services

• What kind of services will your EN offer?
• Note SSA requires that ENs provide at least the
  following core services to Ticket holders
• Career Counseling
• Job Placement
• Long-Term Follow Up Supports
• You will likely provide additional services
  through your One-Stop EN, for example, Resume
  development, interviewing skills, workshops,
  funds for training (where applicable), subsidized
  wages (youth programs), Incentives to Employers
  (OJT, WOTC)
• Will you serve Ticket Holders pursuing
  self-employment?
• Note There are additional rules associated with
  Self-Employment, such as how SSA counts income
  (Net Earnings from Self-Employment vs. Wage
  Employment), and additional Work Incentives that
  apply

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EN Business Model ComponentsStaffing Services

• Will you serve Ticket Holders looking for
  full-time work, part-time work, or both?
• ENs will want to serve Ticket holders who are
  interested in work that will help them achieve at
  least Substantial Gainful Activity (SGA) level
  work, which in 2012 is 1,010/month (non-blind),
  and 1,690/month (blind)
• In order to achieve any payments beyond the
  initial Phase 1 Milestones, Ticket holder must be
  achieving SGA level employment, but remember, the
  goal of the Ticket program, ultimately, is to
  assist beneficiaries in becoming self-sufficient
• Per the new RFQ, Workforce ENs have the following
  options to consider for providing Long-Term
  Follow Up Supports, this in an important part of
  your EN Business Model you should consider
• EN will provide all agreed services for initial
  and ongoing follow-up supports (quarterly
  follow-up required)
• EN will provide agreed upon services for initial
  supports to assist in securing employment (Phase
  1), after which, Ticket holder will need to find
  another EN to assist with long term follow-up
  supports
• EN will partner with an agency for agreed upon
  services for both the initial AND long term
  follow-up supports

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EN Business Model ComponentsStaffing Services

• Which staff will assist with your EN efforts?
• While the DRC is the most likely staff person to
  be involved in serving Ticket holders, it is
  likely that many other One-Stop staff will be
  involved to some degree
• Here are some typical staffing needs you should
  consider
• 1. Ticket holder Assessment Assignment of
  Tickets (who will screen, and determine which
  Ticket holders you should serve, and submit the
  Individual Work Plan to Maximus)     
• 2. Benefits Advisement and Planning     
• 3. Job Development services for Ticket
  holders     
• 4. Long-term follow-up supports for Ticket
  holders  
• 5. Billing and Tracking of Ticket holders     
• 6. Who will be the Signatory Authority?      
• 7. Who will be the EN/Beneficiary Primary
  Contact, the EN staff member the Ticket holder
  will contact for more information on your EN
  services?      
• 8. Marketing and Outreach to Employers

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EN Business Model ComponentsMarketing Outreach

• How will you effectively identify potential
  Ticket Holders Your Outreach methods? For
  example
• Will registration for One-Stop services include a
  voluntary question about disability status?
• Will registration form include a question about
  SSA benefits?
• Will you use e-Data sharing? (A part of the
  e-Process)
• Will you use the Beneficiary Referral CD?
• Will you have training events that examine SSA
  Work Incentives as a way to draw beneficiaries to
  your One-Stop?
• What media will you use to market your new EN
  services? 
• How will you market your EN to community service
  providers, and other referral sources?

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EN Business Model ComponentsGoal Setting for
your EN

• Do you have a projected number of Ticket holders
  you expect to serve?
• Like any business, you should consider goals for
  your EN, including the total number of
  beneficiaries you expect to serve, in any given
  year
• One way to do this is to first determine how many
  Ticket holders reside in your service area, by
  accessing the Maximus web-site here
• https//yourtickettowork.com/web/ttw/en-beneficiar
  y-distribution

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EN Business Model ComponentsGoal Setting
Example Caseload size

• Our EN serves primarily Tompkins County, New York
• Total Beneficiaries 3007
• Our Goal To serve between ½ and 1 of all
  Ticket eligible beneficiaries in our primary
  service area
• 3007 X .01 30.07
• Based on this information, our goal is to achieve
  an average caseload of about 30 Ticket holders at
  any given time
• Remember, in any given month, you may have to
  un-assign a Ticket (for a variety of reasons), a
  ticket may terminate due to receiving all
  possible payments, etc.
• NOTE If you are serving a much larger area, you
  may have to adjust based on available staffing

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EN Business Model ComponentsGoal Setting
Example - Revenue

• Revenue projections for the Ticket program can be
  very tricky, based on the number of variables
  associated with each Ticket holder, and how the
  payment structure works
• You also have to consider that only part of the
  total Ticket payments available, will be received
  each year, for each Ticket holder
• Sometimes past performance is the best indicator
  of future revenue potential
• Tracking Ticket revenue can help you in
  subsequent years, in addressing revenue
  projections

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EN Business Model ComponentsReporting
Requirements

• Have you considered how you will track Ticket
  Holders for purposes of billing and case
  management?
• Organizing your Ticket holder data is an
  important administrative task every EN has to
  develop
• There are currently two different tracking tools
  that Maximus has been provided by ENs that can be
  adopted for use, if your EN doesnt want to
  create a system from scratch
• Ticket Data Manager (NY, Challenge Workforce
  Solutions)
• EN Ticket Tracker (Iowa)
• NOTE These tools will be provided on a future
  training, and reviewed in detail.

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EN Business Model ComponentsReporting
Requirements

• Who will maintain Ticket Holder files, and what
  information will they contain?
• At a minimum, your paper file will need to
  contain the Ticket holders signed IWP
• There are other documents you may want in a
  Ticket holders file, although not required, such
  as
• Wage Data
• Benefits information
• 18-Month Prior Earnings Worksheet
• Billing submissions
• Pertinent medical documentation
• Lastly, each year every EN must complete an
  Annual Performance Outcome Report (APOR), which
  is why managing data is important, to make this
  task fairly easy
• You should consider, in advance, who will be
  completing the APOR, and examine the information
  that is collected in this report, so you are
  prepared

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Conclusions Preparing for EN Operations

• Developing your internal operations prior to
  accepting Ticket holders for services will allow
  you to provide better customer service to all
  customers involved (i.e. internal staff, Ticket
  holders, businesses)
• While you can plan in advance for many of the
  components of your EN operations, you will
  continue to streamline your business operations
  as you mature as an EN, dont expect to have
  everything go smoothly from day one, even with
  excellent planning

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Conclusions Preparing for EN Operations

• Addressing EN operations internally first will
  provide you a platform to then market to Ticket
  holders, and other key stakeholders
• There is no teacher like experience, therefore,
  you should connect with other successful ENs
  whenever possible to learn from, and to
  collaborate with, in order to continually improve
  services you offer
• An EN Business Model Checklist Planning Guide
  has been developed to assist you in taking next
  steps in your planning process, available at the
  conclusion of todays webinar

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25 Essential Tools for Ticket Startups

• Karen Davidson, Senior Account ManagerTicket to
  Work Operations Support Manager

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OPERATIONS1. Goals and Timelines

• Set goals performance benchmarks
• Break them down monthly
• Set them for individual staff members
• Motivate staff to take ownership of the program

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2. Know SSA Rules

• Know SSA Ticket rules, Work Incentives
• SSA Red Book www.socialsecurity.gov/redbook/
• (Pub. No. 64-030)
• Know enough to guide Ticketholders through
  effect of work on disability medical benefits
• WIPA support good, but need in-house knowledge,
  too.
• Know enough to navigate SSA billing process

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3. Interest Form

• Tired of sticky notes from Ticket phone calls?
• Handy form to track new Ticket calls
• Use this form for initial data entry to database
• Track monthly calls and who referred them for
  marketing purposes and staff work flow.

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4. Database

• Track clients, services provided, employment
  outcomes, other pertinent data
• Include fields needed for Annual Performance
  Outcome Report required by SSA
• Track staff progress Ticket program goals, save
  staff time

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TICKET TO WORK DATA BASE FIELDS EXPLANATION
Last Name First Name Soc. Sec. Street
Address City County State Zip Home Phone No.
Cell Phone No. Email Address Site Office
location most convenient for client visit 1st
Contact Date Date client first contacted
office/phone or in person SSI/SSDI SSI, SSDI,
or SSDI/SSI if on both Cash Amount Total amount
of monthly cash benefits Impairment Nature of
their disability Age Birthdate M/F Ethnicity
A Asian B Black C Caucasion H
Hispanic HSS Hispanic, Spanish Speaking
only/limited English O Other VET Military
Veteran? Yes or No Referred By Who referred
them to our office, name of agency, friend, etc.
If they saw our flyer, indicate where. If they
called from list of ENs, put Maximus) Staff
Rep Job Developer assigned to them
Status Interested, Assigned, Employed, Closed,
Nonpar (Assigned but not participating),
Unassigned, Inactive - Change status as situation
changes.
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TICKET TO WORK DATA BASE, continuedFIELDS EXPLA
NATION Employment Goal From the IWP Last
Contact Date of the last contact made with the
client Comments Put any helpful info. here not
covered elsewhere Assigned Date of Assignment
Same date as IWP Assessment Date assessment was
completed Activity Job Search, GED Classes, AA
Degree, etc Current Employer If more than one
job, put current employer Job Title Industry
Use Industry types from TTW Annual Performance
Outcome Report 1st Day/1st Job If someone
changes jobs, retain this date to help track
payments Pay/Hr. Convert all pay to hourly
Hrs/Wk No. of hours expected to work each week
Est Monthly Estimated monthly pay Weekly pay
times 4.3333 Med. Coverage (1) Group Ins.,
Medicare, Medicaid, VA Coverage, etc. Med.
Coverage (2) If covered by more than one, list
2nd one here. TWP? Yes or No. Yes means they
qualify for the trial work period Mos How many
trial work period months they have left
Placement Notes. Info. on employment, next
milestone due, changes in job, hours, etc.
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5. Benefits Planning Query

• BPQY has wealth of information about clients
  case
• Clients sign both BPQY releases SSA-3288 when
  they sign Individual Work Plan (IWP)
• To get BPQY, fax release forms to SSA field
  office, ask them to fax BPQY back to you (takes
  2-5 days)
• Handbook Website
• www.ssa.gov/disabilityresearch/.../BPQY_Handbook
  209-16-09.doc

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Thisrelease allows you to get IRS data
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Thisrelease isforallotherSSAdata
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6. Release of Information - Employer

• What if clients dont give you their pay stubs?
• Get Employer Release of Information Form signed
  up front, same time as IWP.
• Use this form to fax to employer, request
  earnings information, but dont divulge any
  information relating to their disability or
  Ticket to Work

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AUTHORIZATION TO RELEASE INFORMATION I,
_______________________________________________,
authorize my employer to release any and all
pertinent employment information (start date,
salary, ending date, etc.) as well as current
address and phone number to any Your
Agency Name staff person who
calls/faxes to verify employment. I understand
this information is required to assist in keeping
accurate data regarding job services. By signing
below, I give my consent to the Release of
Information and will receive a copy of it upon
request. This authorization shall be valid for
five years from the date signed.
_______________________________________
______________________ Signature

Date
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7. Checklist for Client File

• Simple list of functions to do on all cases
• Check them off as you go
• Before fine-tuning list for your agency
  needs,establish flow-chart of Ticket functions.

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8. Staff Training

• Use Maximus resources
• EN Training Modules, Forms, and Manuals
• Ticket Training Tuesdays
• www.yourtickettowork.com
• Conduct regular staff training
• SSA/EN Monthly Teleconferences

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MARKETING9. Free Advertising

• Free ad on EN Directory at www.yourtickettowork.
  com
• Text box shows up directly below EN Name
• Say anything useful, up to 270 characters
• To get ad, use BPA Change Form at
  www.yourtickettowork.com.
• Attract Ticketholders most suited to your
  program

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10. Ticket Website

• Incorporate info about your Ticket program on
  your organizations website.
• Consider using an online interest form
• Add a link to your Ticket website to the service
  provider directory.
• To add website, use BPA Change Form located in
  the forms sections at www.yourtickettowork.com

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11. Appropriate Name

• Does your Agency or Ticket program name give away
  too much info, breach client confidentiality or
  mislead people as to what you do?
• What first impression does a potential client get
  when they see your name?
• You can set up a Doing Business As and attach a
  name to your Ticket program. To add DBA, use the
  BPA Change form located in the forms section at
  www.yourtickettowork.com.

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12. Press Release

• Use Press Release to promote program tolocal
  news media.
• Launching or expanding Ticket program
• Include a success story of a clients
  improvedlife or enjoyment of work news media
  love a feel good story.

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13. Script for New Calls

• Does your staff know what to say when a person
  makes that first call about his/her Ticket?
• It helps to have a script or talking points, so
  the callers first point of contact answers their
  questions
• Benefits of signing up for Ticket program
• Services that your agency provides

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14. Network with Local SSA

• You want to establish a good relationship with
  local SSA field offices. Ways to do that
• Get to know local managers and staff
• Do in-service trainings for local field office
  staff
• Give staff your marketing brochures to add to
  their list of providers in the area.
• Share your accomplishments success stories.
• Ask for a telephone directory of Claims Reps.

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15. Network with Providers

• Do all service providers (who are not ENs) in
  your area know about your Ticket program?
• Offer to be guest-speaker at in-service events
• Make sure they know you can co-enroll
  participants who may be completing training or
  receiving other services from them.
• Network with your local VR agency to establish a
  Partnership Plus arrangement for retention and
  follow-along services.

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16. WIPA

• Get to know your local Work Incentives Planning
  Assistance (WIPA) agency.
• Call them, introduce yourself, invite them to
  visit your office or visit theirs.
• Collaborate on outreach events and community
  functions
• Refer consumers to them as needed for more
  in-depth work incentive planning
• Let them know youre actively taking tickets and
  what services you provide.

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17. CD Referral List

• Great marketing tool
• CD has all the SSA disability beneficiaries in
  your requested region, with age and history if
  worked ever, last 5 years, last 18 months.
• Data for targeted marketing, such as age group.
• To sign up for this monthly CD, instructions can
  be found in the forms section of
  www.yourtickettowork.com.

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GETTING PAID18. Paystubs

• Ticket is performance-based, must
  documentearnings to bill for EN payments.
• Paystubs are primary (best) earnings evidence.
• Fax all client paystubs to local SSA monthly
• Fax to local SSA first, then bill for Ticket
  payments
• This also helps avoid overpayments to
  Ticketholders

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19. The Work Number

• What if client wont provide paystubs?
• Sign up for The Work Number Social Services
  www.theworknumber.com/SocialServices/index.asp
• Can verify employment earnings from
  participating employers
• Has helped ENs get thousands of dollars in
  revenue
• There is a small charge for the Express Service
• SS Search is also available

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20. Earnings Flow-Chart

• Track Milestones, months of Trial Work Period,
  Substantial Gainful Activity, and Outcomes to
  ensure you bill for all revenue earned.
• Handy one page chart for each Ticket client..

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21. IPP System

• Dept. of Treasury system provides online
  verification of direct deposits (EN payments).
• Save time sorting out payments, esp. if deposit
  account receives funds from other programs.
• You get email notification of direct deposit
  withweb access to each deposit with details.
• Sign up at http//www.ipp.gov

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22. Income Chart

• Handy chart to quickly calculate weekly hours
  pay to reach Trial Work Level for Phase 1
  Milestones, and Substantial Gainful Activity to
  reach Phase 2 Milestones
• Useful in discussing employment goals planning
  schedule for billing purposes.

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23. EN Payment Status Report

• Track your billing and payment activity.
• This goes out approx. every week by email,
  usually on Friday. Notifies you current status of
  each case.
• You should automatically receive this report once
  you submit your first payment request.

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24. Association for ENs

• National Employment Network Association.
• Indispensable peer-to-peer support, industry
  voice for providers to government agencies.
• Sign up for listserve for free or to become a
  member, visit www.nenaticket.com
• Interactive community The only interactive site
  for ENs in the U.S. www.community.nenaticket.com

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25. DUNS

• All Employment Networks will need to use their
  DUNS instead of their EIN on all forms and
  communication with Maximus SSA.
• All ENs must be registered with CCR at
  www.ccr.gov. Keep your registration current
  they do expire every year.
• Changes in your bank must be made at the CCR site
  in order to receive your direct deposits from SSA

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Summary

• Today we covered the following
• Information on how to establish a successful
  Employment Network
• Partnerships and partnership strategies that will
  benefit your Employment Network.

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Questions

• If you have a comment or question you can
• A Submit it to the host in writing via the Chat
  or QA Box to the right, or
• B Click on the raise hand icon to have your
  line un-muted and ask your question/make your
  comment.

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Contact Information

• Karen Davidson
• Senior Account Manager
• Workforce Team, Operation Support Manager
• [phone]
• karenedavidson_at_maximus.com
• Kevin Nickerson
• Program Associate
• NDI Technical Assistance Team
• [phone] Ext. 136
• knickerson_at_ndi-inc.org