Evaluation of the Ticket to Work Program, Implementation ...

organization that provides job training and career services. The other is a modest-sized, forprofitorganization operating in a Phase 1 state.The nonprofit EN has seven local contracts with federal agencies under the JavitsWagner O’Day (JWOD) program, 4 which pre-dated TTW. Under these contracts, the ENhires individuals, including Ticket holders, who provide janitorial, cleaning, and cafeteriaservices in local military installations. Of its 15 Ticket clients who are employed, 14 obtainedtheir jobs through these employment contracts. Because these employees are paid throughthe EN, the EN had no trouble acquiring earnings documentation necessary for receivingpayments. A representative of this EN said he was “totally amazed” by the amount ofrevenue generated by TTW clients. Although it took a year to generate the first payment,the EN had reportedly received more than $10,000 in total payments on behalf of nineclients at the time of the interview.An official at the for-profit EN reported that TTW revenue has “kept me in business.”EN staff have chosen clients selectively, looking for highly interested, skilled beneficiarieswho wanted to work full time. The EN did not advertise because it felt that clients whotook the initiative to seek out the organization would be more of an asset. Eight of the EN’sclients were working above SGA, and twice that number were looking for jobs. Staff tellclients that they are doing themselves a favor by submitting their earnings documentationbecause this proves to SSA that they are working, which will facilitate administration of theirbenefits and expedited reinstatement, if that is necessary. According to one official, clientshave responded favorably to this approach, and aside from making some reminder phonecalls, the EN had had no problems getting pay stubs. At the time of the interview, theorganization reported having received 12 to 15 payments, and more were expectedThe third EN that received over $5,000 in Ticket revenues had a substantially differentexperience than the other two; it had lost money on the program. At the time of theinterview, the organization had decided to enter “hold” status in the program, meaning thatit would not accept any new Ticket assignments even though it would continue working withbeneficiaries whose Tickets it had already taken. The TTW coordinator reached thisdecision after she realized that payments from SSA covered only 25 to 30 percent ofprogram costs. She also said it was more lucrative for this organization to work with itsSVRA under the traditional reimbursement system, which was established pre-TTW.ENs with Modest Payment Revenues. Six of the 23 ENs that accepted at least oneTicket generated total payments of less than $5,000. All six of them, however, had spentsignificantly more on TTW than they had received in payments. In the words of onerepresentative, “We’re like a charity. We’re interviewing people, taking calls, handling allthis, yet there’s no money.” These six ENs had two main complaints about the process forcollecting payments: (1) it was difficult to obtain the earnings documentation required forpayment claims, and (2) payment processing time has been slow.774 The JWOD Program is a federal initiative that offers organizations that employ people with severedisabilities priority in obtaining service contracts with federal government agencies.V: EN Participation in Ticket to Work