Evaluation of the Ticket to Work Program Initial Evaluation Report

working but are still receiving SSI or DI benefits. The low ratio of payments to placement is
a major source of program deficit, but ABIL is still accepting Tickets. The interviewee
believes ABIL has some extra capacity with its current staff and needs the revenue that
additional participants would generate.
According to the interviewee, two types of Ticket holders are hard to place. First, some
clients have expectations of employers that are too high; e.g., they expect accommodations
that are unreasonable, or expect to be hired for jobs for which they are unqualified. Second,
some clients have extensive qualifications and experience, but have been out of the labor
market for significant periods of time. Their high benefit levels and experience make entrylevel
jobs unappealing, and their time out of the labor force makes higher-level jobs hard to
obtain. ABIL is willing to work with both groups, but it is harder to find suitable
employment for these populations.
Program Administration. The most significant issue in program administration is
holding down costs. The interviewee stated that the program is “horrendously expensive.”
ABIL’s business plan over-estimated demand and under-estimated the administrative
difficulties and related costs, and predicted more Ticket assignments and more placements.
ABIL Employment Services has invested $500,000 in the last two years and has filed claims
for about $50,000 in payments. The interviewee estimates that ABIL needs $227,000 in
payments (on behalf of about 100 Ticket holders) to continue operating. ABIL has had to
supplement TTW revenues with about $200,000 in general operating funds. The interviewee
stated that ABIL will likely be willing to support the program for another 12 months, but
participation in TTW after that time is doubtful if the program does not produce more
revenue.
A significant problem has been obtaining the pay stubs from clients, which is necessary
to receive outcome payments from SSA. Although the $25 stipend for submission of pay
stubs has helped, this has been a “nightmare” for the organization and large financial losses
have resulted. Many of ABIL’s clients have psychiatric disabilities; these individuals find
keeping track of pay stubs and other paperwork extremely stressful. Rather than hassling
them about submitting pay stubs and potentially creating an issue at the beneficiary’s job,
ABIL has decided not to pursue payment for individuals who do not submit pay stubs.
Earnings documentation that ABIL does receive from clients is often missing information,
such as the pay period start or end date. These problems have resulted in significant financial
losses for the organization. The interviewee proposes a simple short-term fix: if a participant
turns in his first pay stub and is earning above SGA, then SSA should begin payments to the
EN. She believes that an ideal long-term solution would be for the IRS to submit the
earnings records of Ticket holders to SSA on a monthly or even quarterly basis.
Program Concerns and Expectations for Future Success. In terms of service
delivery to clients, the Ticket has been a positive experience for ABIL. The interviewee
stated that ABIL’s current level of success with its TTW services could be attributed to the
following:
! Other ENs in the area are not accepting Tickets so more Ticket holders are
bringing Tickets to ABIL;
B.9
Appendix B: Provider-Specific Case Study Summaries