Evaluation of the Ticket to Work Program Initial Evaluation Report

B.19
outreach program. As noted previously, this part of the firm’s business attempts to recruit
job candidates from clients of public and non-profit service agencies nationwide. Through
this program, the firm provides value to its employer clients by screening for appropriate job
candidates from among populations that will offer the employer tax credits for hiring such
individuals. In addition, the outreach program has demonstrated highly successful
employment retention rates. The primary change under TTW is that job candidates now
come to Glick and Glick unsolicited.
Another change under TTW is that case managers are now required to have a more
complete understanding of benefits and work incentive issues. Ticket holders frequently
require information about the impact of employment on their benefits. Initially, case
managers would refer clients to SSA or to their local Benefits Planning, Assistance, and
Outreach (BPAO) representative. After a bad experience with one BPAO, however, Glick
and Glick decided that all case managers would develop the knowledge necessary to counsel
beneficiaries on basic benefit issues, and that clients would be referred to SSA, and not a
BPAO, to address complicated issues. 2 Interviewees noted that it took considerable time and
effort to obtain the information they needed to understand all of the benefit and work
incentive issues. They had requested information from the Program Manager, but
interviewees indicate that they received the information piecemeal, and that it took some
time before they believed they had complete information.
Glick and Glick has not combined its Ticket program with its traditional outreach
program. Many of the agencies the firm uses to recruit job candidates through its outreach
program are state VR agencies and ENs. The only change in the outreach program since
TTW is that, when staff members receive a new job opening, they first check to see if any of
their Ticket clients qualify for the position before attempting to recruit more broadly
through the outreach program.
Glick and Glick has not signed any agreements with any state VR agency with respect to
serving TTW clients. EN representatives have considered the possibility of working with VR
agencies, but because Glick and Glick is a national EN, decided it would be a large
undertaking. Glick and Glick also wants to maintain a visible distinction between its
outreach program and TTW placement efforts. This is to avoid giving state VR agencies, and
other agencies it works with that might be ENs, the impression that it is attempting to steal
their TTW clients when doing job candidate recruitment under the outreach program. Such
perceptions could undermine the success of the outreach program.
b. Early Experiences
Beneficiary Outreach and Enrollment. At initial interview, Glick and Glick had not
actively marketed its services to Ticket holders. Call volume generated from Program
2 According to interviewees, one of Glick and Glick’s Ticket clients was referred to the
local BPAO because of complicated benefits issues. While counseling the client, the BPAO,
who was also a state VR agency, convinced the client to unassign the Ticket from Glick and
Glick and to reassign it to the VR agency.
Appendix B: Provider-Specific Case Study Summaries