Derek Shields >> If you're just joining us, welcome to today's Work Incentive Seminar Event, or WISE webinar. We'll now cover Ticket to Work: Choosing a Service Provider That's Right for You. My name is Derek Shields, and I will serve as your moderator today. And I'm also joined by our presenter, Ray Cebula. It is now my pleasure to introduce Ray. Ray received his law degree from the University of New Hampshire's Franklin Pierce School of Law. He then spent 23 years providing legal services to individuals with disabilities in their interactions with Social Security and then became part of Cornell University's Work Incentive Support Center. And in 2005, he joined the staff of Cornell's K. Lisa Yang and Hock E. Tan Institute on Employment and Disability in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. He now serves as the program director of YTI Online, that is Cornell's Work Incentives Practitioner Credentialing Program. I will now turn it over to Ray. Ray?

Ray Cebula >> Thank you, Derek. It's good to be with you again, and good afternoon, everybody. As Derek mentioned, we are talking about putting together your employment team today. And our agenda is we're going to talk a bit about that Ticket to Work Program and that pretty much created the availability of your employment team. 

Identifying your employment team. We have several different options for you, and you can choose to work with all of them or you can choose to work with one or two of them. This is up to you. And again, choosing your provider. What are some good ways to find out who you really want to work with during your journey to work?

So let's start at the beginning. What is Social Security's Ticket to Work Program? The Ticket to Work Program is a free and voluntary Social Security program. Free and voluntary. You do this if you want to, and there is no cost to you. It offers free career development for people ages 18 through 64 who receive Social Security disability benefits and want to work. Qualifications are pretty simple. There are two Social Security disability programs that the administration administers. SSDI or Social Security Disability Insurance, sometimes called Title II. This is an insurance program. As somebody works and pays FICA taxes, you're paying into the Social Security system. As you move along in your working career, you eventually become insured for benefits. At that point, everything is good. You're insured for both retirement and for disability benefits, should that be necessary. This is the program that has no income limits and no resource limits. The only thing you need to look at income is that if it comes from a job, if it's work wages, then we have some limitations as to whether or not you remain disabled as income increases.

The other program, SSI or Supplemental Security Income, Title XVI, is incredibly different. It uses the same definition of disability as SSDI, but this does not require you to be insured. In fact, it might cover you even if you have never worked at all, provided you meet that disability standard. This is a needs-based program, and it does have income and resource limits. That current resource limit is $2,000 for an individual, $3,000 for a married couple, and very, very basically, as your earned income increases, your benefit will decrease. 

How can the Ticket Program help you? Lots of ways. It's almost exciting to talk to you about this, because there are so many good options for you.

The Ticket to Work Program connects you with free employment services to help you if work is right for you, you have to make that decision. You know, what are those qualifications that you want to work? So the program itself can help you decide if this is the time for you. And if you decide that it is, we can move forward.

Preparing for work. What do you need to go back to work? You know, this could range from some intensive physical therapy, or rehabilitation services, or educational services, to, I just need a new resume. I need to explain what was going on during that gap of work when I was receiving benefits. I need help locating jobs. I might need a reasonable accommodation. My resume needs to be prepared, and if I'm going to go on interviews, I haven't been on an interview for a very long time. Practice interviewing. We can do all of that for you.

And then find a paid work opportunity. You know, some of the Work Incentives that we talk about in different sessions have great options for you to be able to test your work. And with the help of a benefits planner, you can work and work and have no impact on your benefits, until you're ready to say, this is the job I want. I can work more than I think I can, and we can work you towards financial independence.
You know, work opportunities come in all kinds. They come as jobs, they come as internships, they come as apprenticeships. All of which allow you to test things. The internships and apprenticeships could let you test several jobs before you decide what you want to do. 
And then succeeding at work. We're not going to just get you a job and say, bye, good luck. We are going to work with you while you are working. It may not be until you're on the job that you decide, maybe I do need a reasonable accommodation. How do I get that? Well, your benefits planners, your Employment Networks, and the VR agency will all be able to help you determine what accommodation is right for you, how much that's going to cost, and either prep you for that discussion with your employer, or potentially do that discussion, have that discussion with you and your employer. So we're not leaving you at the door of your employer. We want to see you succeed. You can learn more about these processes and these players available to you at What is Social Security's Ticket to Work Program? And the self-guided tutorial, both of them are in your Web Links pod.

The Ticket to Work Help Line. You know, we often say in this program, there's no wrong place to start. Well, the Ticket to Work Help Line is a really good place to start, because you can talk to these folks without any obligation while you're making up your mind to see what resources might be available to you. The Ticket to Work Program offers a toll-free Help Line to answer questions and support you on your journey to financial independence. That Ticket line is open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The number is 1-866-968-7842. And for TTY users, 1-866-833-2967.

Now, identifying your team. What is this team? This team is made up of professionals who are there to help you on your journey to work. Beginning, again, with that discussion, is work right for me at this moment? Achieving your work goals with the Ticket to Work. As you think about returning to work and possibly changing jobs or careers, you might have questions and need some support. You know, the same may be true if you're thinking about working for the first time. Connecting with the Ticket to Work Program provider can help you develop achievable goals and establish steps to find and maintain employment. The Ticket to Work service providers can help you identify the type of job or career that you might enjoy and any transferable skills that you have.

Now, a transferable skill is something that you can bring with you to the job. You may have worked in the past. Are there any of those job skills that you developed in that job transferable to a new job? Transferable skills even occur when you have that gap between employment. When you stopped working and then were receiving benefits and now going to work. What did you do when you were receiving benefits? Did you learn how to knit and become an expert at the types of yarn you need to make a scarf as opposed to a sweater or something more delicate?
Those are skills. Organizing things. You know, if you were working, you know, with your children or your grandchildren and providing care for them. You certainly built patience, but there are other skills that you develop while you're doing things like that, and we want to explore all of that, so that we know what you can bring to a new position. And it might inform us as to what types of positions you really want.

So who can help you achieve your work goals? You'll have access to a variety of service providers. Again, they're all available to you, and it's up to you to choose which type you want and who amongst the available team members you want to work with. We're going to talk about Employment Networks. We're going to talk about workforce Employment Networks. These are located at American Job Centers. It used to be called One-Stops if you've been around for as long as I have. They're a workforce Employment Network and are very, very helpful.
State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies. There's one in every state. This is the program that you'll be looking for if you need some serious rehabilitation. Some schooling. They're the people who have the most resources to spend on things like that. Now, the Work Incentive Planning and Assistance or WIPA providers. These folks are benefits planners. I'm sure that one of the questions you're going to have when you go to work and start earning is, what's going to happen to my benefits?

And that benefits planner can tell you that. Particularly if you now have a job offer, know how much you will be making. A benefits planner can tell you when your benefits will be affected and how much will be protected. I'm sorry. As well as the various safety nets that are provided by the Work Incentives. Now, the Work Incentives of both SSI and SSDI are different, but they're really, really good. And I wouldn't want you to step into a workplace and start working and earning money without having benefits planning services.
And last but not least, this was my last job before I joined with Cornell. The Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security or PABSS. The Protection and Advocacy agencies are available in every state. If you want to find yours, Google Protection and Advocacy New Mexico. Protection and Advocacy California, and you'll find that agency. They are provided with funds from Social Security to help you with barriers to employment.

What do you do if the employer says no to your request for a reasonable accommodation? Do you need an advocate to help you with that? If you do, the Protection and Advocacy agency is available for you. So let's get into the down and dirty of all of these players. Employment Networks, or ENs as we call them. They're private or public organizations that have an agreement with Social Security to provide free employment support services to people who are eligible for the Ticket to Work. And remember eligibility is you're 18 through 64. You have a cash benefit and you want to work. They're really easy. Many state public workforce systems, such as the American Job Centers are workforce ENs. The change in title doesn't really matter. They're all there to help provide you with some support.

Where ENs can help you, an EN service area may cover local communities or they may be statewide. They might cover a couple of states and some of them cover the whole country. You know, the wonderful thing about today's technology and Zoom and whatever else we're on today, it allows you to get services anywhere in the country. But if you choose to work with somebody local, you find somebody in your community.
An EN may offer its services in person, virtually, by phone, online, or via email. Now we know all of those things work. They all work equally well, both in person and virtual. If you really want to talk to somebody, you're going to want to do that in your community. So, make sure you're searching for an Employment Network who does in-person work close to home. If you decide that the best EN that you can find who might be able to help you is in California and you're living in Arkansas, you can do that virtually just as effectively as you can do it in person. Whatever you are comfortable with is what we want for you.

How can working with an EN help? Services and supports are designed to help you on the path to financial independence through work, and may include helping you identify your work goals. There are many times people want to go to work and they're just not sure. What can they do? What kind of jobs are available? Let's talk about it. Write and review your resume. You know, I like to tell people that I haven't interviewed for a job in 26 years. If I needed to get a new one, I need help preparing a new resume. I would like some help with that. So that's one of my needs.

Preparing for interviews. Even interviews now are done on Zoom. And does that make a difference? No, I think that does make a difference. Talking to some people in person is a little less awkward than talking to a potential employer online. But that's up to the employer really. I want practice. If I know I'm going to have an online interview, I want practice to help prepare for that interview. If I'm going in person, I might think I'm okay, but did I make up a list of questions?

At the end of an interview, your employer, your prospective employer, says, do you have any questions for us? And I've learned that if you don't, that may be something on the negative side. You want to be invested in your employer. You want to know what they do and ask informed questions.

If we're doing x, y, z, how do you approach this problem? So it gives the employer some kind of feeling that you're interested and you've at least done your research. Employment Networks and help. Request reasonable accommodations. We've already talked about that. Again, what accommodation is best for you? How much is it going to cost so that we know it's reasonable when we make that request? And helping with the request or preparing you to have that discussion along. Whatever you want to give. And receiving benefits counseling.

You know, many Employment Networks have benefits planners in-house. You're free to use those. If you don't want to use those, they'll give you a list of people outside. There's no issue with using a benefits planner that is housed in the EN you're working with. And that benefits planner is going to help plan, so that you know in nine months what's going to happen. You know, so that you can predict when your benefits might be suspended, because your income is high. And know the protections. That if your income drops, maybe it's just a phone call to get back on to benefits. Very, very important stuff.

State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies, VR. We call them VR. Many of them have different names, but generally speaking. A State VR agency provides a wide variety of services to help people with disabilities return to work, enter new lines of work, or enter the workforce for the first time. A State VR agency may offer benefits counseling and may also help you with vocational rehabilitation and training and education. If you have some very involved rehabilitation that needs to be done, we need to get you in touch with VR. If you need a two or four-year degree to do the job that you want to do. That is also the bailiwick of the larger state agencies.
Now how can working with a VR agency help? Usually, again, they work with individuals who have more significant needs. More expensive services. In some states this includes intensive training, education, and rehabilitation. They're also available to provide career counseling and job placement assistance, as well as counseling about how earnings from work may affect your benefits. They can do a wide variety of things.

The WIPA programs, the Work Incentive Planning and Assistance providers, these are your benefits planners. They call themselves Certified Community Work Incentives Coordinators or CWICs. Yeah. And they are part of the provider team. If you're working or self-employed and receive Social Security Disability benefits, CWICs can provide free benefits counseling to help you understand how earnings will affect your SSDI, SSI, Medicare, Medicaid, and other public benefits that you may have.

You may have SNAP benefits, you may have public housing benefits. You're going to want to know what's going to happen to those benefits when you go to work. They can help you understand the Work Incentives that Social Security offers and how they apply to you. They can also explain the potential benefits for employment and dispel the myths about working. We have a whole session on those myths that you might want to tune in to. They're just really a bit outrageous.

So, Work Incentives. You know, Work Incentives make it possible for you to work while still receiving benefits. They're designed to help you succeed. You know, how many and what kind of Work Incentives you may be eligible for depend on the type of benefits you receive. Some of these Work Incentives include keeping your Medicaid and Medicare. I've often talked with clients who say, well, I'm not very worried about the cash, but I need my health care. That's my primary concern. We can take care of that.

Having access to individualized services and supports. The Ticket to Work is one of those places, but again, we need to look at the Work Incentive to see what they will provide on top of all of these other things. And keeping some or all of your benefits as you transition to work. Social Security has made it possible for you to be completely comfortable with this transition and slowly build up your income before anything happens. And then when it does happen, we'll explain to you all of those safety nets.

So, for general information about Work Incentives, if you are working to be referred to a WIPA service center in your area, call the Ticket to Work Help Line. Again, that number is 1-866-968-7842 or for TTY users 1-866-833-2967. Who is eligible to be referred to WIPA? The Ticket to Work Help Line will refer you to your local providers if you receive SSDI, SSDI related Medicare, SSI, SSI related Medicaid, and you're currently working or self-employed.

You've been offered a job. You're actively interviewing for jobs, which means you've had an interview in the past 30 days or expect to go on an interview within the next two weeks. If you are ages 14 through 25, we can give you benefits planning. That transition age group is wonderful and they need help to avoid remaining on benefits forever. And instead of focusing on those benefits, focus on what they want to do in the workforce.

The P&As, the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security, the PABSS staff, provide free legal assistance to people who have received, or who receive, I'm sorry again I'm talking too fast. The PABSS organizations provide free legal assistance to people who receive Social Security disability benefits and who have disability related barriers.

Now, that service can be legal support, it could be advocacy. A good example of that advocacy is helping you ask for that reasonable accommodation. You may need legal support if your employer says no. And then information to help beneficiaries resolve employment related concerns with employers, Social Security, Employment Networks, VR agencies, or WIPA providers, or anyone else that you consider to be a barrier to your employment goal. PABSS services can also help with navigating organizations and services to support your effort to work and to protect your rights.

Requesting reasonable accommodations in your college classes, in your training courses, in any licensing programs, and then in your workplace that help will all be available to you. And addressing other disability-based legal issues that are barriers to employment.
The path to success. Everyone's path to financial independence through work is different. Once you decide to pursue employment, a Ticket Program service provider can help you create a plan to achieve your goals and set timelines for the steps that you need to take. Understand your responsibility for reporting work and earnings to Social Security. That's very, very important. You need to report your earnings to Social Security in a timely manner. That's your obligation to Social Security.

I'm sorry I did that one. And helping you follow your plan. This plan is taking the steps. Well I need to get my GED before I can work. Okay, let's get you into a GED class and we're going to talk to you, talk you through that class. Is everything going well? You're getting ready for the test, do you need any support for that? Do you need a reasonable accommodation while you're taking that test? And then once that's done, we're going to start developing your resume. And then we're going to start sending you out for interviews. Then we're going to select, or you're going to select, the job that you want. Question and answers. I'm sorry Derek, I finally got there.

Derek >> Ray, this is Derek speaking. No need to apologize, it's good to be back with everyone. And thank you so much, Ray, for the content and reviewing all the service providers that are on the employment team. And also thanks everyone for your questions and comments in the Q&A pod. We do encourage you to continue submitting them. And we'll be starting our first Q&A now, but we'll have two of them, so keep them coming in.

Ray, several questions to start out with. The first one comes up with, you mentioned at one point, State Vocational Rehabilitation for more in-depth training. Can you talk a little bit more, there's questions about, I need training for a new career. Can you talk about where they can go through Ticket Program resources as a beneficiary who's seeking support through training? What the VRs can offer versus what the Employment Networks can offer?

Ray >> Sure, I'll give it a shot. Again, the VR agency is able to help people who have more in-depth needs. Maybe you need physical rehabilitation, maybe you need some mental health counseling. The VR agency is there to help you get ready to go to work, and that could take a long time. It could take a year, it could take two. That's what VR can do. Buying you equipment, making your automobile accessible for you to drive, so you can get to and from work. All of that is the bailiwick, again, of the State VR agency.

Now an EN, if we're starting out, I'm going to go back to the GED. If we're starting out trying to get you a GED, the EN can provide you program information about what's available in your local area. Some of those may have a cost to them, some of them may be free. Many states have free programs to help get a GED, and that does make you more employable. An EN can do that. If you decide after the GED that the job you want, I want to be a teaching assistant, requires a two-year degree, that means we're going to look to the state VR agency.
You know, ENs can be very small organizations and they're not equipped to pay for tuition and expenses. They could certainly help you get loans and get grants, but they're not going to outright pay for it where the state VR agency may do that. So it really it's depending on what you need. If I need assistance to get ready from work and assistance to get ready from work when I come home, an EN is not going to be able to provide that. VR might be able to. You know, but asking for accommodations, both the VR agency and the ENs can help you with that.

So we're looking at a lot of this is based on the cost, right? We're looking at how expensive the services are that you need, and we know that physical and mental rehabilitation services are very, very expensive. Durable medical equipment to get you to the point where you can use it and use it on the workplace is very, very expensive. So that's the type of services we're looking at from the state agency. You know, the ENs can do everything else.

You know, if you want to work with me, I'm not an EN, but I'm just using me as an example. You know, I could sit down with Derek and say, okay, you need a two-year degree. Santa Fe Community College is in town. They have a teaching assistants degree after two years. You're a New Mexico resident. We could apply to go to school there. You'd have a reduced tuition, but there is tuition. There are also grants and loans that you can take out. You know, that I can help you do, but I can't pay your tuition for you. So that's really the difference, Derek.

Derek >> This is Derek. Thanks Ray, for that. And circling back, the question was about basically starting a new career. And we also have, so looking at services from vocational rehabilitation or an Employment Network in that case, we also have had several questions that people are voicing in their questions in the Q&A pod, hesitancy. And I can sum it up by, what happens if I haven't worked in a while? Is the Ticket to Work Program right for me? What do you think about that question, Ray, and any words of encouragement or support for somebody who's saying, you know, I don't know if I should go to work again? Is the Ticket Program a good match for them?

Ray >> Absolutely. I think that's a perfect person to talk to somebody. This isn't costing you anything, right? If you want to come into my office and chat about what might be available to you, get some basic information on how those Work Incentives work, you know, to protect you from the loss of benefits before you're ready to lose them. We can do that.

And I like, you know, what Derek says when he uses the word career. We can get you a job, but if we can get you a career, that's all the better. You know, maybe you were working at Home Depot, and you injured your back, and you're not able to, you know, walk around the garden center carrying bags of marble chips anymore. But you know a lot about landscaping. You know a lot about those plants and how to get the proper chemicals on them so that they'll grow better.

Maybe your return to work is working a desk job to order plants, to tell other people who are carrying bags of 50 pound, you know, marble chips what they need to do with them, how they need to stack them so they're not breaking open, and how they may have an obligation to help consumers get those bags of marble chips out of the shopping cart and into their car. You have a lot of skills there, because you have knowledge that is useful in a different aspect of the garden center. And that turns this job into a career.

You know, I said maybe you're going to buy, you know, what plants are you going to buy if you're in Massachusetts? You know, what plants are you going to buy to sell to people if you're in New Mexico? If you know all that stuff, you know a lot, and we can take you from your former job, use that knowledge or transferable skills to get you into a different career with the same information, right? It's all about plants, all about gardens.

So I think that's one example we could do with somebody who is not working now and wondering what might be out there for them. Now, if you're wondering if you want to go to work at all, you know, my first piece of advice is, what are you afraid of? What's the risk? You know, the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives are really going to remove a lot of those risks. You know, I do know a bit about benefits planning, and I could take you into my office and sit down with you and develop a plan that would allow you to work part-time and have no impact on your benefits at all.

And if you like this and everything's going along smoothly, now it's time to consider adding more hours. And if you're able to do more hours on a consistent basis, maybe we need to start talking about what's going to happen to your benefits. And more importantly, if this job doesn't work out, how you can get back on the benefits really fast.

So I think there's so much protection involved if you have the knowledge and are using your employment team, that the risk is minimal. And I don't know about you and your past work experiences, all I know is that work is the best medicine. You know, when I have a bad day, working helps. You know, if I'm in pain, working helps. So there's a lot of these extra benefits that come from work other than just a paycheck.

Are you in your home isolated because you don't have any money? Your benefits pay for your food and your shelter and that's about it. Well, if you get a job, you're in a community of co-workers, then maybe on Friday you can go out and have a pizza. You know, you have that choice now. You have the ability to go to your local stores and your local convenience stores and get to know the neighborhood that you might not be able to do while you're on benefits.

And I know it's a lot. It's a lot. It's very hard. It's a very tough decision and those doubts and hesitancies are going to be in the back of your mind. But every player, every provider that we've talked about is there to help you and talk to you. And all we ask is that you tell us why you're hesitant so we can respond appropriately and give it a shot. I can tell you that these plans they're not aimed at getting you a job.

You know, they're aimed at getting you more access in your community. Yes, they're aimed at you losing the cash benefits. You want to be financially independent. But the cash benefit is going to be far lower than what you can have if you earn things. Quick example, the maximum SSI benefit this year is $994. If you go to work you need to earn $2,053 before you lose all of your SSI. So my choice for you is $994 or $2,053 a month.

I will give you the information to help you make that informed choice. And again, if we're not dropping you off at an employer and saying go to work, but are there to help you succeed, that could be as simple as your Employment Network being willing to take your call when you've had a very bad day at work. When you're considering quitting, and talk to somebody about why you're considering quitting, what we might be able to do to stop that from happening again. And there is so much help here for you. And the risk financially to you is nothing. You know, we will tell you when your benefits start being affected, but remember these services are there for you at no charge.

Derek >> Ray, this is Derek. Thank you for that. I think there's a lot of encouragement in there and I hear that the Ticket Program and all the service providers that you reviewed are positioned to support. And that's for qualifying people that have had work experience or people who have never had a job before. And I think, you know, I hear that there's providers and professionals who understand the challenges, and they've helped people like yourselves go through the process. In fact, they're helping thousands of people right now go through the process. So we encourage you to explore that with the knowledge that you can have a service provider employment team behind you and supporting you.

Sometimes I like to think about that as the scaffolding. As you take some risks and try things for the first time, know that you have some scaffolding supporting you. And as you get more confidence, then those can peel away in time. Well, Ray, as it always happens, we've gone through the first Q&A portion. I need to send it back to you for going into the next segment of choosing a service provider. And then we'll be back with you in a little bit for our second Q&A.

Ray >> Okay. Thank you, Derek. Then let's move on. Choosing your service provider. Remember, this is your choice. Questions to ask when choosing a provider. As you talk to service providers, you may want to ask some of these questions. Do you serve others who have the same disability I have or similar disabilities? I think I'd want to know that.

You know, if I find out that the answer is yes, I specialize in your type and related disabilities, that's different from the answer no, I've never worked with somebody with your disability. That's going to weigh my decision, isn't it? What types of jobs have you helped find for other people with similar experience and skill sets? Another very important question.

You're interviewing these people before you decide you want to work with them. And I want to know what types of jobs you've got people. Are they flipping burgers at McDonald's? Or are they working in Macy's, you know, as a retail associate on the sales floor? Or are they going into a management position, like our person from Home Depot, who's now working the desk?

Do you work with clients in person, over the phone, or virtually? Well, the answer may be yes, all of them. You know, I prefer to work with people in person or virtually. I don't like the phone very much, you know. Let's see. Is this person local to you? If the person's local, you may be able to go in person all the time or virtually when it's more convenient to do that.

I want to know how people are going to communicate with me. What happens after I assign my ticket? That's your job here. We are hunting for a team and hunting for somebody to give our ticket to. Once that ticket is assigned, what happens? I want to know. What's the process to build my employment plan? And how do we do that? And what if I need assistance? Can I get assistance to help me? You know, all of those questions are very good.

Yeah, and if you're on the phone talking with an Employment Network, is your office accessible? You know, I mean, they should be. You know, just about everything is accessible now, as far as architecture is concerned. But if they're in a very old building that may not have an elevator and they're on the third floor and I use a wheelchair, we're not a good match. And so all kinds of questions that you want to know. Just the same questions that you are going to be asked when you sit in the interview chair. It's the same process.

So topics to discuss when you meet with the service provider, as you meet with prospective providers, ENs or the VR agency, be sure to talk about what services you need. Do you need a new resume? Do you need practice with interview skills? How about benefits counseling? If you're concerned about what's going to happen to your benefits when you begin working and want to know in the future when something's going to happen, I'd want some benefits counseling. You know why you are looking for help with these services. You know, that's important.
You know, the Employment Network is going to want to know why. You know, are you ready to go to work? If you've made that decision, you know, what types of jobs are you looking for? You know, what services are you looking for from me? How the service provider can help you achieve your work goals? What are you going to do for me? You know, well, we're going to build a plan. We're going to start, you know, I'm working GEDs today.

So we're going to start by getting you into a class to get you your GED. Then you'll be qualified to do many, many jobs. And we can talk about what jobs those may be. Honing in on your interests before we start the plan. Well, if you're into fashion, maybe a department store isn't a bad place to work, right? But what if you don't want to just sell people clothes? My real career goal would be to buy clothes for Macy's to sell. Well, you know, to get to that point, you might have to do a lot of jobs you don't like. But starting to work in the department store, selling clothing to people, learning how the registers are working is part of your goal. You need to do that before you can move up into a management position.

So we'll build a plan for that as well. And as you begin earning, we're going to build in some benefits planning. I truly believe every one of you who want to return to work needs a benefits plan. So that should be part of the plan. Can you as a VR agency provide me with that? Can you as an Employment Network provide me with that? If they can't, do you have a referral to a local benefits planner?
So keep these questions in mind and ask yourself, did the staff seem friendly and willing to work with you? That's going to make a difference to me if they're not welcoming. If they don't get excited about it, you know, about helping me and potentially getting me employed and off of benefits, then maybe you're not the right person for me.

Does the EN or State VR agency provide all of the services that you need? You know, what about those ongoing services? Remember I told you we're not leaving you at the door? The State VR agencies don't leave you at the door, but they're watching your work and if you work for 90 days and are successful, they're going to close your case. Now we've got to look to an EN for on-the-job supports, and we will talk about this but that is possible.

That's very possible and an exciting process. How does the service provider compare to the other service providers you're considering? Yeah, well this x-provider has a very nice office. The people were very professional to me. You know, the waiting room's comfortable and it works for me in my wheelchair. The other provider, you know, not so much. It's kind of, their operation looks like Ray's desk. A little bit confusing and not confidence-building. That's enough to help me make a choice as well.

And can they give you names of other people that they've helped? You know, what was that person's experience? Did you enjoy working with the Employment Network? Did you enjoy working with the State VR agency or did you use both? How was your experience making the switch from VR to an EN? You know, all of those questions you want to keep in the back of your mind and reach out for the resources.
I've got to tell you that most of the professionals that you're going to be working with believe in you and believe in all of these programs. And our goal is to make you financially independent. All right, so how do you find a service provider? You have to find a provider online. There's a find help page. You'll find that also in your Web Links pod. You can search by ZIP code, the types of services offered, the disability type, the languages spoken, or the provider type. If I'm looking for an EN, I don't want to hit search until I've limited my search to ENs.

There's a lot of information in that database. You know, so for a list of service providers you can also call the Ticket to Work Help Line if you don't have a computer or you're not really savvy about hitting the right button and narrowing your search, call the Ticket to Work Help Line. They can give you a list of service providers that could help you and, if it's important for them to be local, local providers. Again, I'm going to give you that number. It is 1-866-968-7842 or for TTY users 1-866-833-2967. They're available Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

Now to find help to achieve your work goals, the Find Help tool offers two ways to search for providers that fit your needs. A guided search. It asks you questions to help you determine your work readiness for the programs and provides you a list of the service providers that might be a good fit for you. And then there is the direct search. If you want ENs, you're going to click an EN box. If you want to search for people who are local to you, search by ZIP code and you will get the people in your ZIP code that are willing to help you. Search is based on the type of provider and whether the services are provided in person or virtually.

I'm on this website a lot, trying to help people use it and get the help they need, and it is really a wonderful resource. It really is. The results can be narrowed further by the type of services offered, the disability served, again your preference in language, or other special expertise that you think you need to make this journey successful.

Now, selecting search options in the Find Help tool. After clicking the direct search option, choose the search options that you're interested in. For example, you might select provider type, Employment Networks, in-person services near you by entering your ZIP code and or the distance from your ZIP code. You might be willing to travel say an hour from your home to get these services.

Employment services to help you prepare for a job hunt. If that's what you're looking for, click on that and you'll get those people near you or within a certain radius of you who can help you do that thing. And then the appropriate disabilities served. That's really important. If I have a mental health impairment, I don't want somebody who specializes in physical impairments. I want someone who works with people like me. When done, you click Update Results and you're going to find the ENs near you. Contacting service providers after clicking the Update Results button, the available service providers that fit the criteria that you selected will appear.

Review the details provided and contact the service providers you think may be a good fit for you. Now you're making this initial selection and you may be doing three of them, because they're in Santa Fe, New Mexico. There are two others that are in Albuquerque, but that's 45 minutes down the road, and I really want someone local to me. So I may be willing to contact those three. That's your choice.
Your search is intended to give you the results that you want. Remember, you know, when contacting a service provider, it's important that they agree that you're a good fit and that they want to work as part of your employment team. So, the Employment Networks have a choice. You know, if we have somebody, let's go back to that hesitancy or reluctance feeling that you might be having. And it's a very real and legitimate, first of all.

If you're having feelings of hesitancy, will the EN talk to you about that first? Will they give you enough information so that you're comfortable moving forward? If they want you work ready now so they can start a job search, maybe that's not the person for you. They may tell you, I'm not the Employment Network that you need. But I do know those other two people in Santa Fe, and I think either one of them would be able to help you more than I can at those initial stages. People want to get you this help and they're going to be honest with you. All right, Derek, we're back to question and answers.

Derek >> This is Derek speaking. Thank you, Ray, for going through the selection process and really giving some good tips on, you know, questions to ask to filter through and find the service providers that are good matches and also, you know, how to contact the Help Line and use the Find Help tool. Great ways to find a service provider to be part of the employment team that people want.
So we do have plenty of time for our second round of questions. So let's jump right in, get to as many as we can here. So, a first question for you, Ray, is how do I get a Ticket? Do I need a Ticket? Who do I ask for one?

Ray >> Yeah. Okay. You probably already have a ticket. Social Security mails them out to you. If you were disabled five years ago, it was probably four and a half years ago and that Ticket was mailed to you. If you don't have the physical Ticket, that's all right, you don't need it. The Help Line can tell you if there's a Ticket available for you. So, give those numbers a call and ask, do I have a Ticket? And if they say yes, you can begin your search.

You know, most people who are on benefits have a Ticket to Work. And again, you don't need the physical Ticket. If you feel better having one, call the Help Line and they'll get you another copy of it.

Derek >> Thanks, Ray. This is Derek. A couple questions are from our entrepreneurs that are joining us today. Loosely, how do I find an employment team member or service provider like Employment Network who specializes in self-employment? What are your suggestions there?

Ray >> Yeah, that's an excellent question, and it's an excellent area for specialization. The Find Help tool could help you. You know, when you pull up those three Employment Networks from Santa Fe, you're going to have information about what they do and who they help. Look for somebody that does self-employment. If you're talking to the Ticket to Work Help Line, asking for local Employment Networks or any Employment Network that can help you with self-employment.

You may have to go outside your area. Self-employment is very much a specialty and it's very different from just going to work. You know, there are lots of things that you need to be prepared for and you'll find that your employment team is bigger. So, ask very direct questions about your service, of your Employment Networks, of your VR agency, and even your benefits planner. Do you have knowledge of self-employment steps? You have to make sure that's important. They're out there. They're out there.

I just finished teaching a bunch of people about the self-employment aspects and Social Security rules and what they require, and what the IRS is going to require. It's very, very involved. I'm not trying to scare anybody away from it, because, you know, if you need a work at home job, setting up your own business is great, right? But you need to know what steps you need to take. So certainly put that in the search engine, self-employment. You'll get those people who can provide you with that expertise.

And remember, self-employment is a growing option. The VR agencies are providing more self-employment services. The ENs are doing the same thing, and benefits planners are now learning the ropes of what self-employment is and how to help you get through that.

Derek >> This is Derek again. Thank you, Ray. Well, you kind of led into it when you said self-employment and working from home was a good option. That brings up a couple questions we've had throughout today's session. Is Ticket to Work inclusive of remote work and could I work from home and be part of the Ticket Program?

Ray >> Absolutely. And there are many remote opportunities. I have been on the Cornell campus maybe 20-25 times in the 26 years that I've been working with Cornell. I was working in Boston, now I'm working in New Mexico. I've been nowhere near that campus and I can do the job. Cornell provides me with a computer and a monitor that I have to use for work. Many, many jobs have either remote complete or hybrid where you might have to go into the office two days a week, because of the days where we have our meetings. But working at home is a big option.

If you're not self-employed and you're looking to do some jobs, medical billing is a big profession that's done by people who work at home. You know, you got to talk to people about working at home. I'm lucky enough to have a room in my house that serves as my office. When I'm in my office, I work. When I shut the door at five o'clock, I don't work. So there's little things, little tips like that, how to set up a workplace at home.

If you are going to be self-employed, you know, self-employment, again, it's a big deal. There's a lot of special rules. Working at home is not a bad thing. Not a bad thing at all. I love working at home. But when you're self-employed, maybe that's what you want to do. Maybe you don't want to work for a medical billing company. You want to set up your own, because you think you can give the hospitals in your area the home touch and maybe a lower price. Go for it.

Working at home is available. We're communicating and we're all home or we're in an office someplace. And we're doing some good work. So I think that all of these jobs that you have, of course, if you want to be selling clothing in the fashion department at Macy's, you've got to be there, you know. But what if you want to set up an Etsy business? Lots of great people who are artistic or selling antiques of collectibles do that on Etsy. If you're into that stuff, if you've been collecting antiques along the way or tchotchkes, you know, I've got a bunch of tchotchkes around here and I think they're a collection. If I want to start buying some to sell, I can do that at home. That is self-employment.

Selling stuff on eBay is self-employment. So there are lots of great options if you want to work at home. And again, the ENs and the VR agencies are making those opportunities more well-known and providing more support for you.

Derek >> Thank you, Ray. Let's revisit how Ticket assignment works one more time. We've had a couple questions on it. We mentioned like do you need a Ticket or not? And you clarified that the actual physical Ticket isn't necessary. You can call the Help Line and then they can tell you if you're Ticket-eligible. How does a Ticket assignment work again? We started to get into it, but a couple follow-up questions. Can you explain it?

Ray >> Sure. You know, we've really talked in depth about finding the provider that you want to work with. So once I've found the EN that I want to work with, I have a choice. Do I assign my Ticket? If I don't assign my Ticket, the EN is not going to help me. So it's really a qualification for you to get services to assign it. But how does that work? You know, you and the Employment Network decide, yeah, I think we're a good team.

We'll work well together to get you to your employment goal. So, I'm going to hand that person my Ticket or they're going to be on the phone, that 1-800 number to find out if you have a ticket. That's going to be resolved there, is a ticket that you can assign. You know what happens after that? You start building your employment plan.

The ENs call them one thing, the VR agency calls them another, but it's a return-to-work plan. What do you need to get to your goal? You know, do you need some rehabilitation? Again, we might have to pull in the state VR agency for that. You know what kind of job you want, so let's talk about the details of that job and we're going to put a plan together. How do we get you from my office or my teleprompter here to the job? We need to finish that GED, so let's find programs in the area and you'll have a certain length of time to get enrolled in one and succeed and pass that test.

Now we need to start building a resume. Even if you've never worked before, there's a resume to be built and the Employment Networks can help you with that. We're going to put that together. We're going to locate people in our area and whatever that radius is, if you're willing to travel an hour, that's fine. If you're willing to keep it really local, that's fine too. So we're going to look for places that match with your skill set and eventually that work goal. Who are local to you? And we're going to look for that gardener. We're going to look at Home Depot. And you may just be a gardener. You may grow vegetables, but you'll love it. It's good therapy. Let's look at a garden center. Do you need a reasonable accommodation? Let's figure out what type.

You may not be able to lift those marble chips, but you can do everything else. Let's ask for a reasonable accommodation. What kind of training would you need for that? Or if you can't, you know, be lifting and standing on your feet all the time, is there a job associated with gardening that we can get you? All of that is possible and we're building a plan and building steps that you need to take in order to get to that goal.

And are there paid opportunities? You know, during the summer, those garden departments are really busy. Maybe they'll hire if you can get your GED before next summer. We can get you a job in the garden department and ask for the accommodations that you need and we'll start earning. Let's set an earnings goal for you, and then as we move along in the process, the plan's going to say, well now is the time to increase wages. Let's get settled in the job.

And it may be that you don't really want to work in the garden store. You want to work in the office area of the garden store. Buying seeds, buying pots, all of that good stuff. Well, you're going to have to work on the floor first, but then when you get that experience, is there training that you need? So we may be starting school in addition to working. And all of this keeps going upward until you have reached your goal.

And we're going to tell you, these are your obligations. If we put a plan together, you need to meet that plan and make timely progress towards your goal. I'm going to tell you as an EN that if you have issues with me, the Protection and Advocacy Agency can help you. You know, I hope we can talk to each other about it, but if you feel you need help, they're available to help you out. If you need benefits planning, I can't do that for you, but I will get you in touch with a local planner. That's my obligation.
Your obligation is to comply with the plan that we build together. I'm not building one for you. We build the plan together. Ideally, we part ways when you've been working a few months and you tell me that's enough, Ray. I've got it from here. Thank you. And every time I close a file, I'm smiling, because there's somebody who succeeded and maybe I helped. So I think I'm off track, Derek. Bring me back. Bring me back in.

Derek >> This is Derek. Thanks, Ray. Yeah, so a lot of motivational thoughts about signing a Ticket and working with the service provider and what's possible once you make that step, a bridge towards employment and financial security. You know, just to reinforce in the Web Links pod, if you haven't done it yet, we have a great tool there, Finding an EN and Assigning Your Ticket Worksheet. It takes a lot of the ideas that Ray covered in two pieces of today's webinar and that's a takeaway for you there.

You know, we get a question all the time, are the slides or the recording available? Both will become available to you on the Choose Work website within two weeks from today. So that could be a resource for you as well. Ray, in about a minute left for you, as you think about those that are with us and what steps do they take next when considering the program, the employment team and deciding to work with a service provider, a parting recommendation from you?

Ray >> Okay. You've got a lot of information, you've got to think about it. So tonight after dinner, don't turn on the TV, think about it, talk about it with your family members. You know, they may have concerns about this too. You're all a team. And then once you talk that out and get a good night's sleep, use that Find Help tool.

Call the 1-800 number and take a chance. That's the good thing about this. You're free to take a chance. And I would like to say you're free to fail as well, because if something doesn't work out, we can change things and sometimes you learn a whole lot more from those little trips, little stumbles, than you learn from directly going to a workplace and trying to succeed. So take a chance. Remember the number of people who are out there to help you and guide you to financial independence, which means more money and a better life. So give us a shot.

Derek >> Ray, thank you so much for being with us and presenting on choosing a service provider. We appreciate all your recommendations and covering the content today. 

All right, so now I'm going to turn to wrap us up, and yep, you're welcome. Now how do I get started? While Ray shared this throughout, we're going to share it one more time. First, please make sure you're eligible for the program.
Like we've said today, you must be age 18 through age 64 and receive Social Security Disability Insurance or Supplemental Security Income due to a disability. If that's you and if you'd like help in getting a list of providers, as we've reviewed today, you have a couple options. You can call the Ticket to Work Help Line at 1-866-968-7842 or via TTY for individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech and communication disabilities at 1-866-833-2967.

Our beneficiary support specialists are available to guide you and connect you with the right service providers and other resources. We encourage you to also visit our website at choosework.ssa.gov. There you can learn more about the ticket program, read about our success stories, check out job resources, or watch some videos, and of course use the Find Help tool that's listed at the bottom of this slide too. Through that, you can access the Employment Network, state VR agencies and use all the tips Ray covered in his presentation today.
We also invite you to stay connected and informed with us about the Ticket to Work Program and all of our other related updates. One easy way to do this is by subscribing to the Choose Work blog and signing up for email updates. Just visit choosework.ssa.gov/contact where you'll find our subscription options and more ways to stay engaged. That information is also in the Web Links pod in Ticket to Work contact information.

Further, if you prefer updates through text messages with webinar announcements and other helpful tips, simply text us at T-I-C-K-E-T or send that to 1-571-489-5292 and join many other people receiving text updates. Standard messaging rates may apply depending on your mobile plan. And if you have questions or need support, we welcome you to reach out to us anytime via email at tickettowork@ssa.gov.
Whether you're just getting started or looking for guidance along the way, the entire Ticket to Work team is here to help. And finally, please join us for our next WISE webinar on Wednesday, August 26 from 3:00 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Registration is now available at choosework.ssa.gov/wise or contact us at the Ticket to Work Help Line. Thank you again for attending today's session. This ends today's webinar.