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

90• Raise payments for SSI beneficiaries. A few EN officials suggested thatpayments equal to those for DI beneficiaries would motivate them to serve SSIbeneficiaries.• Reduce payment processing time. EN officials believe that they should be ableto expect a payment 30 to 60 days after submitting documentation.• Develop ways to help ENs either collect employment documentation or obtaingreater cooperation from clients in the process of collecting pay stubs.It should be noted that the ENs’ suggestions for changes were not constrained byconsiderations regarding their cost to SSA, nor their ease of implementation; changes to thefundamental nature of the program, such as moving it away from an outcome-basedpayment system, would require Congressional action.F. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONThe following are the most important recent findings on the level and nature of ENinvolvement in TTW:ENs Are Not Widely Available. By mid-2004, about 1,160 organizations had enrolledin TTW as ENs, but in Phase 1 and 2 states, there was an average of fewer than two ENs forevery 10,000 Ticket-eligible beneficiaries. Also, the rate of increase in EN participation hasslowed throughout the rollout period, and a number of ENs have recently left the program.Low participation is most often attributed to an apparent lack of demand for EN services,beneficiary reluctance to pursue full-time work and leave the benefit rolls, insufficient fundsto pay for up-front services, and the financial risks inherent in the program.SSA Has Made Substantial Payments to ENs, but Those Payments Appear toFall Far Short of Expenses. By mid-2004, a total of about $900,000 in milestone andoutcome payments had been made to non-SVRA ENs. These funds went to just 157 ENs,representing about 35 percent of ENs with Ticket assignments and only 13 percent of allENs. About 80 percent of ENs receiving payments had received less than $5,000. Of thethree ENs we interviewed that reported over $5,000 in TTW payments, two believe thatthings were going well, but the third is losing money on the program and has decided not toaccept any more Tickets. The handful of ENs that had received some payments, but lessthan $5,000, all reported that revenues have fallen far short of expenses.Several Barriers Impede EN Success. Several ENs had trouble placing beneficiariesfor a variety of reasons, including client characteristics (e.g., level of interest in working fulltime and leaving the benefit rolls, and the nature of their disabilities) and othercircumstances (e.g., a slow economy or an internal shortage of resources for helping clientsfind jobs). When identifying challenges to success under TTW, some ENs also pointed toaspects of the payment system, particularly the difficulties associated with obtaining earningsdocumentation. Accordingly, most suggestions for improving the program have to do withrestructuring the payment systems and revising related processes.V: EN Participation in Ticket to Work