Evaluation of the Ticket to Work Program Initial Evaluation Report

assist in the identification of individuals who have worked for subminimum wages or
otherwise had very low earnings once those SSA records become available to the evaluation
in 2004. 2 We will also use the survey data to develop more precise definitions. In addition,
although the groups identified in accordance with the preliminary definition are mutually
exclusive, it is likely that a more detailed analysis will find some types of beneficiaries who
are in more than one AOI group.
Despite the limitations of the preliminary definitions, they enable us start the analysis
and provide a basis for making some initial observations about the extent to which TTW
services are available to two of the AOI groups.
First, the preliminary definitions indicate that beneficiaries in the first two AOI groups
constitute a majority of all Ticket beneficiaries (Figure VI.1). Of the nearly 5.1 million
Ticket-eligible beneficiaries in the Phase 1 and 2 states, about 54 percent can be defined as
needing ongoing support and services, and another nearly 8 percent can be defined as
needing high-cost accommodations. As noted, the finding is not particularly surprising given
that the definition includes disabling conditions that account for a large share of SSA
beneficiaries. In particular, by including all beneficiaries with mental illness, mental
retardation, and other mental impairments in the group requiring ongoing support, the
definition places 38 percent of all beneficiaries in the first AOI group. Similarly, the
definition of beneficiaries in the second group includes all blind and deaf beneficiaries as
well as those with severe neurological impairments. Beneficiaries with these impairments
account for almost 8 percent of eligible beneficiaries.
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Figure VI.1: Ticket-Eligible Beneficiaries in AOI Groups 1 and 2, August 2003
All Others
39%
Need Accommodations
8%
Need Ongoing
Support
53%
2 The evaluation will not have direct access to FICA tax reports because of data
confidentiality rules, but SSA staff will assist the evaluation by using that information to help
develop more refined definitions of the AOI groups, and those definitions will be available.
VI: Adequacy of Incentives Study