Evaluation of the Ticket to Work Program Initial Evaluation Report

B.27
have to submit pay stubs twice - once to the PM and once to the local SSA office. A few of
IDR’s participants who were working full-time have unassigned their Tickets for this reason.
IDR staff feels that in the past year, the PM has successfully streamlined the Ticket
assignment and IWP process. The biggest communication problem today has centered on
the issue of pay stubs. IDR has supported and placed participants whose Tickets have been
assigned, but it is still unable to collect payments for them because the individuals are
unwilling to provide earnings documentation. At one time, the PM offered to intervene and
obtain pay stubs from the employer on behalf of the participants, but this never occurred.
Other participants have submitted pay stubs to the PM that were never processed. In one
case, IDR placed an individual, then had trouble obtaining pay stubs and the requisite
payment from SSA. The PM assured IDR that the confusion would be worked out but later
determined that the individual was ineligible for benefits, so IDR is unable to collect
payments for the services it provided to her.
Another issue involves a participant who reassigned his Ticket from another EN to
IDR. The original EN feels it is entitled to ongoing partial payments because of the services
it provided; IDR feels it unfairly must assume the entire administrative burden to receive
only half of the payment. If the PM will not grant IDR the full payments, the agency will
modify its screening criteria so that it will not accept Tickets that have been previously
assigned.
Finally, IDR is concerned that the PM has not maintained an updated list of active ENs.
It often refers beneficiaries to ENs that are no longer accepting Ticket assignments. IDR
also expressed frustration regarding the lack of Ticket holders’ knowledge about basic
aspects of TTW. IDR feels that recently the PM has been providing less thorough
information to Ticket holders, and IDR has begun to refer callers back to the PM for
additional information.
Concerns and Expectations Regarding Future Success. IDR plans to remain very
active in the TTW program for the foreseeable future. Agency staff point to many
outstanding success stories among the participants it has served, and can point to many
individuals whose lives have been dramatically improved through participation in the
program. However, the ongoing inability of SSA and the PM to address the earnings
documentation problem and other administrative issues will greatly reduce the number of
beneficiaries the agency will be able to assist. For example, IDR worries that the program is
becoming inaccessible to many Ticket holders, for example, those who require costly
services.
The most pressing change requested by the agency is a new, streamlined payment
system. At the very least, IDR would like a quick, accurate turnaround on the payments. IDR
staff suggested that SSA rely on administrative data to document earnings and pay ENs,
thereby reducing the excessive administrative burden on the providers. Elimination of the
pay stub requirement would make the ENs more willing to use the program, and as a result,
make the program more accessible to Ticket holders. ENs spend far too much time in
administrative tasks such as explaining the basic aspects of the program to beneficiaries who
are not interested in reducing their dependence on cash benefits, negotiating VR EN
Appendix B: Provider-Specific Case Study Summaries