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

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114about submitting virtually identical paperwork on different clients and having it accepted byone person but rejected by another. Some ENs complained about staff turnover at theProgram Manager call center and thought that new staff did not yet have enough training togive reliable responses. A few ENs expressed an interest in having a primary contact personthey could rely on “to develop consistency and a rapport.” Also, a few ENs thought that theProgram Manager had not done enough to explain TTW to beneficiaries—for example, thata Ticket does not entitle a beneficiary to a job. Similarly, a couple of ENs thought that theProgram Manager should provide Ticket holders with information about the types ofdisabilities or the specific area of a state an EN will serve. Some EN representativescomplained that beneficiaries did not have correct information about TTW in general andabout their ENs in particular. 2In response to these criticisms, Program Manager staff said that, although they try toassign one contact person to each EN, staff turnover makes it difficult to sustain such anarrangement. As a result, EN representatives may call and request to speak with theircontact or leave messages for specific staff members, but they may be routed to someoneelse if the person is busy or not on duty. Program Manager staff also asserted that callcenter staff can provide callers only with the list of national ENs or ENs in their states,although representatives of SSA’s Office of Employment Support Programs (OESP) assertthat it is possible for the Program Manager to provide lists of ENs by county or zip code. Inany case, the Program Manager representatives assert that matching beneficiaries to ENs isoutside the scope of their contract. It is up to beneficiaries, they said, to peruse the listcarefully to determine which clients and geographic locations each EN serves. The ProgramManager also said it encourages ENs to be honest about which clients they can assist andnot to “oversell” their services. At the time of our interview in September 2004, theProgram Manager planned to reassess call center staffing levels during October andNovember, when Tickets would be mailed to new awardees only. Program Manager staffmay be able to spend more time with each caller as the number of calls diminishes.D. MARKETING AND OUTREACHSSA and Program Manager staff are conducting a variety of marketing and outreachactivities to address the low EN and beneficiary participation rates.1. Outreach to ENsThe Program Manager began recruiting ENs for Phase 3 early in 2003 and continuedintensive outreach throughout the following summer. To date, the first wave of outreach toENs in all states and territories is complete. Since TTW was launched, the ProgramManager has conducted 91 recruitment fairs attended by almost 8,000 people across thecountry. In fall 2003, Program Manager staff attempted to boost EN participation acrossthe country by contacting about 50,000 organizations with the potential to provide TTW2 We will report on beneficiary perceptions of the Program Manager in the next evaluation report, basedon results of the beneficiary survey.VII: Recent Program Implementation
services, telling them about TTW progress, including changes in the payment certificationprocedure, and noting that 7 million people had Tickets and that many were looking forservices and jobs. Program Manager staff said that, to date, this intensive campaign hasgenerated only mild interest in TTW among those contacted.Current marketing efforts involve presentations at conferences and events hosted byother organizations; in total, Program Manager staff have presented at about 350 eventssince TTW was established. Those we interviewed noted that nontraditional providers,which are defined as entities whose services and programs are not targeted solely to peoplewith disabilities, constituted a majority of attendees at the conferences.SSA has contracted with Booz-Allen-Hamilton to develop recommendations fordrawing more service providers into the program and for supporting those who have alreadyenrolled. Based on the contractor’s recommendations, the Program Manager has developedoutreach materials tailored to specific segments of the provider population, such asgovernment services, disability- and nondisability-specific service providers, faith-basedorganizations, employers, insurance companies, educational institutions, and healthmanagement agencies. For example, Program Manager staff said that employers want toknow how TTW will affect the bottom line, whereas faith-based organizations are interestedin how the program will advance their mission.The dynamics of marketing and recruitment continue to be shaped by many of TTW’scontinuing problems. EN recruitment apparently continues to be hampered by perceivedflaws in the way TTW has been designed and operationalized, including high financial riskfor providers, a narrow definition of acceptable beneficiary outcomes, the potential forcausing providers to lose SVRA and other government funding, administrative burdens, fiveyearclient tracking requirements, and the general complexity of the program. Because TTWwas fully implemented in many states as of the Phase 3 rollout, word about the negativeexperiences of ENs, SVRAs, and Ticket holders had spread to Phase 3 states. ProspectivePhase 3 ENs from all sectors, including traditional disability service providers, told theProgram Manager that they are less inclined to get involved because of the “bad press” theprogram was getting.Program Manager staff have reported that negative reviews of TTW, low beneficiaryenrollment, and negative SVRA reaction during Phases 1 and 2 changed EN recruitmentefforts from “a hard sell” to “an almost impossible task.” By the Phase 3 rollout, they said,enthusiasm for TTW had diminished significantly. According to Program Manager staff,“TTW is a product that nobody wants to buy. Interest in TTW has absolutely fizzled.”Marketing strategies, no matter how well executed, have failed to persuade potential ENsthat know about the program to participate in it. For instance, Program Manager staffestimate that, in recruiting providers, it takes about 400 telephone contacts to get oneprovider to become an EN. They also report that conference organizers discouraged themfrom participating in conferences where they might meet representatives of potential ENs.In addition, EN representatives have told them not to call again until there is something newto report.115VII: Recent Program Implementation
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A CKNOWLEDGMENTSThe Ticket To Work
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viiiChapterVI(CONTINUED)PageF. SUMM
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xChapterPageAPPENDIX A: TICKET TO W
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xiiTableVIII.3IX.1IX.2IX.3IX.4IX.5I
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xivFigureIII.5III.6III.7III.8III.9P
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xviIX.3EARNINGS OF BENEFICIARIES WI
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xviiiMIENBSNPRMOAGPABSSPSUSGASSASSI
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xxIn Phase 3, which began in Novemb
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xxiigroups of beneficiaries that Co
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xxivimprove TTW, therefore, is to f
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2of disability beneficiaries, and i
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4country. Phase 2 began in November
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Page Is Intentionally Left Blank to
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8Only a few beneficiary characteris
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10Figure II.2.Participation Rate, b
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12Figure II.4.First Assignments at
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14before Ticket, it is perhaps surp
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16was selected for Phase 3. This ma
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18All of the statistics in this sec
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Table II.2. Beneficiary Groups with
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22In all Phase 1 and Phase 2 states
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24Figure II.8. Ticket Participation
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26Adjustments for all other charact
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28In general, provider and payment
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30next report, we will conduct more
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32Figure III.2.Living Arrangements
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34• Less likely to have reported
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36Figure III.7.Prevalence of Diffic
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38are more likely than all benefici
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40Table III.1.Income and Program Pa
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42coverage through their own employ
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44sizable percentage of TTW partici
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46Overall, 9 percent of working-age
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48leave the rolls in the next year,
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50next year and in the next five ye
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52in their characteristics, levels
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54percentage points to 3.7 percent.
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56Figure IV.2. Phase 1 Ticket Recip
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58situation described in the preced
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60the end of the follow-up period w
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62Figure IV.6. Average Monthly Bene
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Page 90 and 91: 66ENs were reluctant to expand serv
Page 92 and 93: 68As of July 2004, there were about
Page 94 and 95: 70But most EN representatives saw T
Page 96 and 97: 72Figure V.2. Number of EN Terminat
Page 98 and 99: 74received a total of just about $2
Page 100 and 101: 76Relatively few ENs have received
Page 102 and 103: 78According to their representative
Page 104 and 105: 80Five EN officials recognized that
Page 106 and 107: 82This was particularly true for so
Page 108 and 109: 84• Another EN representative fou
Page 110 and 111: 86• A third EN received 50 calls
Page 112 and 113: 88resolve administrative issues suc
Page 114 and 115: 90• Raise payments for SSI benefi
Page 116 and 117: 92Finally, the real and perceived w
Page 118 and 119: 94efforts to obtain Ticket assignme
Page 120 and 121: 96SSA payments to SVRAs under the T
Page 122 and 123: 98Figure VI.3. Total SSA Payments t
Page 124 and 125: 100assigning their Tickets to ENs (
Page 126 and 127: 102Table VI.1. SVRA Ticket Assignme
Page 128 and 129: 104case, the counselor selects the
Page 130 and 131: 106• Most of the agreements requi
Page 132 and 133: 108needs of SSA beneficiaries and,
Page 134 and 135: 110to the SVRA under the traditiona
Page 136 and 137: 112Tickets each month from November
Page 140 and 141: 116To make EN recruiting efforts mo
Page 142 and 143: 118E. EN ENROLLMENTThe Program Mana
Page 144 and 145: 120beneficiaries who have achieved
Page 146 and 147: 122quarterly basis if they have rec
Page 148 and 149: 124SSA’s approval of systems spec
Page 152 and 153: 128have accepted. But even at that
Page 154 and 155: 130For beneficiaries who express an
Page 156 and 157: 132rehabilitation counselors (Burea
Page 158 and 159: 134generated a payment to an EN gen
Page 160 and 161: 136the milestone-outcome payment ge
Page 162 and 163: 138system is used so infrequently t
Page 164 and 165: 140One option is for ENs to try to
Page 166 and 167: 142approximations. Our planned anal
Page 168 and 169: 144Figure IX.1. Ticket-Eligible Ben
Page 170 and 171: 146Table IX.2.TTW Participation Rat
Page 172 and 173: 148Figure IX.3. Earnings of Benefic
Page 174 and 175: 150Compared with other beneficiarie
Page 176 and 177: 152Like all other beneficiaries who
Page 178 and 179: This kind of mixed success in the e
Page 180 and 181: C. SVRA PARTICIPATION REMAINS STRON
Page 182 and 183: serving beneficiaries who are simil
Page 184 and 185: observe changes in their employment
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Mashaw, Jerry L., and Virginia P. R
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A-2Table A.1 (continued)Time Period
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Table B.1. DefinitionsB-2Variable D
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Table B.1 (continued)B-4Variable De
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Table B.1 (continued)Variable Defin
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B-8Table B.3. Participation Rate by
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B-10C. PARTICIPATION RATES BY BENEF
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Table B.6. Participation Rates by C
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Table B.6 (continued)Group Definiti
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Table B.6 (continued)B-16Group Defi
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C-2survey. Whenever possible, the i
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C-4given the large number of benefi
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C-6• Young SSI recipients who are
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C-8beneficiary may have had with EN
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C-10Table C.2. Overview of the Nati
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C-12Sample completes (n=1,178) and
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C.14Table C.3 (continued)AllIntervi
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C.16Table C.5. Final Weighted and U
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C.18Table C.7. Sociodemographic Cha
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C.20Table C.9. Health Status (Figur
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C.22Table C.11. Program Participati
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C.24Table C.14. Awareness of TTW (F
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C.26Table C.16. Employment Expectat
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D-2Table D.1. Selected Characterist
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D-4information from two pretest int
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