Evaluation of the Ticket to Work Program Initial Evaluation Report

them for employment. It was during this interview that the Director would decide whether
ABIL would accept the Ticket. She accepted the Tickets of most individuals who reached
the interview component of the process; however, in a few instances, she required them to
first address specific barriers to employment before she would accept the Ticket.
Outcomes and Claims for Payment. At initial interview, about 28 of ABIL’s clients
were working. Of these, about 67 percent were DI-only, 23 percent were SSI-only, and 10
percent were concurrent beneficiaries. Employment retention rates were higher among
ABIL’s DI beneficiary clients.
At initial interview, a major issue ABIL had encountered was the length of time it took
for the Program Manager and SSA to validate and pay claims. The interviewee said that
ABIL usually did not receive payment until 120 days after filing the claim. She believed that
four months was far too long to process EN payments, and thought it imperative that SSA
rectify this problem in order for TTW to succeed.
The interviewee noted that BPAO staff was very important to the success of TTW
clients and ENs, but funding was insufficient to meet the demand for benefits planning
services. Health insurance coverage was also important for TTW clients. About 75 percent
of the jobs obtained for ABIL clients included health insurance, but there was often a
waiting period before coverage began. Arizona’s Medicaid Buy-in program was not
operational at the time of initial interview, so ABIL sought assistance from drug companies
and local doctors in an attempt to obtain coverage for some clients. According to the
interviewee, 10 to 12 ABIL clients worked below capacity to maintain their Medicaid
coverage.
Program Administration. As noted above, ABIL developed a PC management
information system used specifically to administer TTW. The ABIL interviewee noted how
instrumental the database had been in managing the program, and how useful it had been,
given the potentially long client follow-up period, in tracking client earnings and EN
payment claim submissions.
ABIL tried to reduce the burden of the long-term earnings tracking with the automated
Access database, as well as by providing clients a $25 dollar stipend in return for submitting
their pay stubs each month. The interviewee said these factors greatly facilitated the tracking
of client earnings and that ABIL had not encountered too much difficulty tracking clients’
employment. During a follow-up contact with the interviewee approximately one month
after initial interview, however, she noted that ABIL recently had experienced problems
getting several clients to submit copies of their pay stubs. The interviewee said that the $25
stipend helped in most cases, but the earnings tracking was still a major administrative
burden.
B.7
Appendix B: Provider-Specific Case Study Summaries