WISE Ticket to Work Webinar
Ticket to Work for Young Adults
April 25, 2018

Speakers: Stacey Plizga (Moderator), Tammy Austin & Tad Asbury (Presenters)

STACEY>> Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to today's Ticket to Work webinar for "Ticket to Work for Young Adults." 
My name is Stacey Plizga, and I am a member of the Ticket to Work Team. I will be your moderator for today's webinar. To get us started today, I would like to review with you some items that will help you get the most out of today's webinar. 
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As I mentioned earlier, my name is Stacey Plizga. I am a member of the Ticket to Work Team, and I will be your moderator today. 
We are delighted to have with us two individuals who will share information on services that are provided to young adults, the Work Incentive Planning and Assistance Project and the Marriott Bridges Program. 
Tad Asbury is the Executive Director of the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities, Leading Bridges from School to Work. Their mission is to transform the lives of young adults with disabilities through the power of a job. Tad leads a team that works in cities across the United States, helping to place more than 1,000 youths with disabilities annually into competitive, integrated employment.
Tammy Austin is a Community Work Incentive Coordinator with Aspire Indiana Works, where she has worked for the past six years. Before she worked with Indiana Works, she worked for Virginia Commonwealth University as an Employment Success Advisor and spent eight years working for Evansville Goodwill Industries as the Director of Vocational Rehab Services. Tammy brings with her over 12 years' experience assisting with Social Security work incentives and other benefit counseling.
We are going to be covering a number of topics in our webinar today; and these topics include: Social Security disability benefits, the Ticket to Work program, work incentives, the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities, tips for young adults as you transition into the world of work, and other resources that are available and maybe helpful to you in this process. We will then close out today's webinar by addressing your questions.
With that being said, it is my pleasure to introduce to you our first presenter today, Tammy Austin, who will share with us information on the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Project and the services they provide to young adults.
Over to you, Tammy.

TAMMY>> All right, thank you.
I am very excited to be on the call with you all today. My goal is to help each of you understand the benefit of going to work and understand how Social Security is here to assist you with doing that with an easy transition. So let's get started.
The first thing we'd like to clarify is that Social Security pays a benefit based on disability or blindness under two different programs. It makes it a little bit confusing for people, but we're going to try to break that down a little bit for you today. The Social Security Disability Insurance, also known as SSDI benefits, that pays benefits to disabled or blind individuals who are insured by work contributions to the Social Security Trust Fund or FICA...so meaning you've worked and paid in credits.
The other one is the Supplemental Security Income, or known as SSI; and that pays a cash assistance payment to disabled or blind individuals who are limited income and resources. Some of you may receive benefits under both of these, the SSDI and the SSI programs; and Social Security refers to this as "concurrent benefits." Different types of work incentives and support programs are available based on whether or not you're receiving SSI or SSDI program.
We're first going to talk about the SSDI program. Probably most of you are already asking...well, what happens if I am receiving this and I go to work? Social Security offers work incentives, and the first one we're going to talk about is called the "Trial Work Period" because we all like acronyms; and it's referred as the TWP. This is to test your ability to work for at least nine months. During this trial work period, or TWP, you are still entitled to your full Social Security Disability benefit no matter how much you earn. It's a great work incentive.
How they do this is for 2018, any time your earnings are over $850 in that month, it will be considered as one of your trial work period months. Now, this amount does change annually; so that's why I said for 2018. So come 2019, that may be a little bit different. And in case you're wondering, Medicare coverage is secure during this time frame. A lot of people I know are more concerned with their health coverage as much as they are their benefit. So during this time, your Medicare coverage will continue.
Now, if you're self-employed, these rules can be slightly different; so you want to be sure to tell your work incentive coordinator if you plan to become, or you are, self-employed versus employed through an employer.
Now, one thing to remember about these nine trial work months is they're not necessarily consecutive...meaning that once you start them, it doesn't mean you have nine months and then it's over with. For an example, if you were to go to work...say you worked two months and you were making over $850; but then the following months, you didn't get as many hours, and your earnings were reduced below $850. That would only be considered two of the nine trial work months, even though you've worked three months. I know that gets a little bit confusing, and I'm happy to answer some more questions about that later on. So that one is for five years. 
To make it even a little bit more complicated, the nine trial work months...you can spread those out over a five-year period. And if in those five years you've not used those nine, then they kind of drop away. So say that it's nine years and you've only used five, and you continue working. One of those five would drop off. Again, I'm happy to clarify that a little bit more later on.
Now let's say that you have used your nine trial work period months. What happens after that?
If you are earning over a substantial gainful activity amount...and I will get into that here in just a moment...you would go into what's called a "cessation period." That is three months where Social Security kind of says, okay, well, you're earning a substantial amount; so we're going to look to see if we're going to put anything on hold, but we're going to give you three additional checks. So it's kind of a grace period while they're figuring the last things out.
Now, when I talked about the substantial gainful activity...and again, also known as SGA...for 2018, that amount for individuals who are not blind is $1,180. The SGA amount for individuals who are considered statutory blind...and I know a lot of people out there say, well, I do have a vision impairment...statutory blind is a little bit more in-depth; and that would have to go through Social Security to find out if you meet that qualification. But the amount for individuals who are considered statutory blind is $1,970. Again, just like your trial work period amount, that does change year to year. So for 2018, those are the amounts; but that could change in January of 2019.
Now, if you are past your trial work period and you are earning over that SGA amount, there are a couple work incentives that you can look at to maybe reduce that because for SGA, they look at countable income, which is your gross earnings minus any out-of-pocket expenses or accommodations that you get. The To Work incentive is called "Impairment-Related Work Expense," it's the first one. That is any out-of-pocket expenses that you yourself may pay for due to your disability to be able to work; for example, medications, copays, treatments...things like that.
The other one is called a subsidy or special condition, and these are accommodations that you would receive through your employers. So your employer is offering these accommodations so that you are able to maintain the job and work. Maybe you require extra breaks than somebody else that is there or a different workload or things like that. So those are the things that if you are past your trial work period month and you are working over that SGA amount, then those are the things that we would want to look at to see if you are receiving any of those things.
Let's just say that things are going great. You're past your trial work period; you are earning a substantial amount even after any out-of-pocket expenses and things. Let's kind of talk about what happens at that point. 
You go into what's called three years of extended period of eligibility. Again, we always have the acronym; it's called an EPE. I like to throw them out because if people use those, you think...oh, yeah, I've heard that before. So the extended period of eligibility, or the EPE, is three years where they look at your earnings on a month-to-month basis. 
So let's say that for three months you are earning a substantial amount over the $1,180 or the $1,970, depending on where you fall with that, they would put a hold on that check. It's not going away; you're not terminated from your benefits. They just what I like to say put a hold on it for that month saying, okay, you're not due your benefit check for this month; and that happens for three years. So if you're in a job that fluctuates, or if you're working and then something happens and you are no longer able to maintain that job for a while, then this is where this extended period of eligibility would come in and allow you to start your benefit right back up. So what you would just need to do is it's very important that you report copies of your pay stubs to Social Security at the time that you start working and each month thereafter. 
I have some people say, "Well, my office said they don't want them." And that's fine. If they tell you they don't need them unless there's a change, then that's perfectly fine. The rule of thumb is always submit them on a monthly basis. They will kind of see when you're submitting those, okay, so they're below the $1,180 or $1,970; so your check would automatically come back to you.
And then they even have another work incentive that's fantastic that goes on after the three years. It's a five-year work incentive called "Expedited Reinstatement." This is a time that your past your trial work, your past your extended period or your EPE...those three years...and you're still working and things are going fantastic. You start this five years once your check terminates where if something would happen to that job in five years, you could step right back into Social Security and ask them to reinstate your benefits.
Now, what happens is they go ahead and they reinstate that benefit for six months. You are given back your benefits. But they will do a review at this point. They're going to do a medical review and say, okay, is this person still medically eligible for disability. So if they find in that six months, yes, you still do qualify, your benefits still continue.
Now, a lot of people are saying, well, okay, but what happens if I'm paid for six months and then they find out for some reason I no longer qualify? The good thing is they are not going to come after you for those six months. Your benefits would stop at that time, but they will not make you repay those six months. Medicare, even though your Social Security benefit check would stop, Medicare has a protection. Your Medicare Part A Hospital, which is the free Medicare you receive for hospitalization, would continue for 93 months, and that's after you complete your nine months of trial work; and then your Medicare Part B coverage as long as you would continue to pay the premium would also continue.
If you are receiving Medicaid...and each state has a different set of rules, of course...they can't make that easy...you would need to contact your benefit counselor to the state-specific Medicaid coverage to find out exactly what that is. 
All right, we're going to move on. That was a whole lot on that slide right there. We're going to talk a little bit now about the SSI Benefit and how the amount of SSI you get would be affected by income. 
Now, they do look at other people's income in your household in some situations to determine your SSI. But the good thing is when you go to work, they are going to count less than half of what you're earning to recalculate your Social Security...your SSI benefit. The way they kind of do that is they're not going to count the first $85 in those situations, the first $85 that you earn; and then after that, they're only going to count half of that. So that's a great opportunity for you to work and not have your full income counted.
Now, we talked earlier about the Impairment-Related Work Expense. This is one of the only working plans that does pertain to both the previous SSDI that we were speaking of and the SSI. So if you do have out-of-pocket expenses, they will take that into consideration when they are figuring what your allotted SSI benefit amount would be for that month. If you are what we called earlier "statutory blind," there is what they call "blind work expenses" that can also be conducted. There is a wide variety of expenses that can be used to reduce the accountable amount.
So depending on your earnings, it is possible that you could continue to receive a lower SSI monthly payment in addition to the amount that you are earning from your work. So you're always going to be earning more income by working on SSI. And if something happens and you're working, again it's very important that you report your pay to Social Security on a monthly basis; and keep in mind that Social Security does run a couple months behind. A lot of people call me and say, "I worked this two months ago, and it's affecting my check now," and that is normal. So when you first go to work, it may take a couple months for that to catch up with you. It's easy to start your benefits back up on SSI. You just, again, notify Social Security that you are no longer working; and they would start those right back up.
Now, if you live in a state that provides Medicaid to individuals who receive SSI payment...and there are quite a few states that do...then your Medicaid coverage would continue. Even if you're earnings came to what they call the "break even" point where your SSI check zeroed out, again, it doesn't mean you're off of SSI. It just means due to the amount you're earning for that month, it zeroed the check out. 
There's a program called 1619(B) that allows you to keep your Medicaid. Now, each state has their own threshold amount; you would need to contact your case worker or whoever in that state to verify. I can tell you 2017 threshold for the state of Indiana was $37,642. Even though it's April, unfortunately we have not gotten the 2018 amount yet.
Some people receive both an SSI and an SSDI check. Social Security calls this "concurrent beneficiaries." So maybe you paid in enough credits to receive some Social Security Disability or SSDI, but you've not hit that full amount that Indiana says or that the Federal says is not the cutoff; so we're going to give you a small SSI check too. For these people...for you individuals that receive both...you receive all the work incentives we just talked about. It's just going to be some are going to go towards that one benefit check, and one will go towards the other. So it's very important that you do work with somebody who can kind of break that down for you and let you know.
As if the benefits aren't tough enough, when you get both it just makes it a little bit more confusing; but that's okay. That's why we are all here to help you get through that.
We're going to kind of switch gears a little bit now and talk about the Ticket to Work and going to work and how you can get help doing that. Only you can decide if working is right for you. You can talk to as many people...family members, friends, agencies...but you are really the only one that knows where you're at at the time and if working is something that is good for you at the time. 
Social Security established what's called a Ticket to Work program in order to offer beneficiaries more chances and choices when it comes to their vocational rehab, their job preparation, and job placement services. By using this ticket, your chances of getting a job and getting help is very much increased. 
Now, they did send out actual paper tickets in the mail. This was years ago. Just know that this ticket, the paper ticket, is not required. If you lost your ticket or you're not sure if you're eligible, I will be providing some information here in a little bit that will tell you how you can contact them and get additional information on that.
So why...why choose work? Let's talk a little bit about what that can do.
Well, obviously, it can add additional income to your monthly budget...something that we can all use; a field of work every day; a reason to get up; increase your social life, your networking opportunities; increase your demand for workforce. The more you're out there working, you're learning new skills. By doing that, you're able to maybe advance into other jobs, higher pay, things like that. And the most important thing is to reach your goal that you've set for yourself...whether that be social, education goal, financial goal. Just to set a goal and to accomplish that makes us feel like we have more worth.
So what is the Ticket to Work program?
Well, it's an opportunity to expand choices, again, when seeking services and support, to reenter or to maintain employment that you have. It's a tool to obtain all those things that we just talked about...more income, meeting new people, increasing skills. And the best part about this program is it is completely free, and you don't hear that a lot anymore; but it absolutely is.
So taking the next step...so you've decided to work, now what?
You've decided you're going to take this step. So you're going to have to gather information for your résumé, for your application. It's going to involve a lot of remembering my past work history, where was this at, when was it, what did I earn, what skills did I have that I could use to obtain my desired job now? Well, going through the Ticket to Work program can help you with all of this. It can help you with job leads, interviewing skills, and a lot more.
Here's the contact information that I had told you about. The website is phenomenal. It allows you to enter your zip code and search within a mile radius of your location. I always suggest when I talk to people...print that list out or write it down. Contact each one of those employment networks or vocational rehab offices that it gives you, and just talk to each one of them and kind of tell them who you are and what your goals are and what you would expect if you worked with them because keep in mind it is completely your choice who you choose to work with...so just kind of get a feel.
Let me give you the information. You can call the Ticket to Work Helpline. They're open from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. That number is 1-866-968-7842. The TTY number for that is 1-866-833-2967. And because I always seem to need phone numbers repeated, let me repeat that for you again. The main number is 1-866-968-7842. The TTY number is 1-866-833-2967. And then if you'd like to visit their site, that is www.SSA.gov/work, w-o-r-k. Again, that's www.SSA.gov/work. 
All right, so we talked about and we discussed the work incentives, some of them that are available once you go to work. So let's kind of just do a recap real quickly if that's okay on what these were because I know that was a lot of information, and then I have one more work incentive that I'd really like to talk about.
So when you first go to work with Social Security Disability you're getting your nine months of trial work period. If you're working over that SGA amount, you have three months of the cessation grace period. You have the three years of the extended period of eligibility and then the five years of the expedited reinstatement. So when you total that up, you actually have a protection of nine years...nine years to go to work, try work, see if it's going to work for you and have that protection against completely losing your benefit.
Then for SSI, we have the gradual reduction. So keep in mind, they're not going to count all of your income. They're going to look at your out-of-pocket expenses and use that to help you increase your benefit check amount...so definitely always better off to go to work.
And one other thing that I didn't have written down...just a bonus...is anytime you work, you're paying in, you're paying in credits to possibly increase your disability amount or be switched from the SSI program to the SSDI program and to receive a higher retirement amount as you work...so always a good thing to consider that.
All right, so work incentives are special rules that allow you to receive training for new skills, improve the skills that you already have, pursue education, try different jobs, start a career and just gain some confidence...nothing negative about definitely going to work and putting forth these work incentives.
Well, we're going to switch gears just a little bit. We're going to talk about what's called a "Plan to Achieve Self-Support," again, also known as the PASS or PASS plan. For this PASS plan you either, one, have to be receiving SSI or be willing to reduce your earnings to a level where you would be eligible for SSI. That could mean setting aside earnings that you have coming in to an amount of $770 a month. But with a PASS plan, you're reaching out to put money aside for a goal; and there are people out there that can help you look at this and how much is your goal and how much do I need to set aside to do this and how long is it going to take me. 
The best part about a PASS plan when you're working is the money that you are setting aside, Social Security is not counting as income when they're calculating. So you could go to work, set all that money aside, and still receive your full SSI check and be putting money aside for future goals and things, which we're getting ready to talk about...why get a PASS plan? What can this do for me?
A PASS plan can help with a multitude of needs...starting a business, maybe a vehicle to get you back and forth to work, maybe tools or equipment or uniforms that you need. I always tell people...if you have a goal in mind and you are completely committed to reaching this goal but you're not sure if it will be approved, just start the process. Contact them; let them know; tell them what this goal is. There are people out there that can help you put this plan together.
So talking a little bit about who do you contact to get help with this...how do you go about doing this?
Well, an employment network, or an EN, you can start by calling the Ticket to Work line; and they can set you up with someone that can help. That Ticket to Work number is 1-866-968-7842. And your local vocational rehab agency office could assist you. You could call your local Social Security office. And what are the kind of things they're going to help you with? They can provide the first-step paperwork that you'll need, and this paperwork is going to walk you through what are the requirements so you can get a feel of what you need to do to make you eligible for this PASS plan. They can help you write the PASS, and they can help you set small goals because the PASS plan is not a simple process. It is very lengthy, and sometimes you just have to set small goals even to complete the PASS plan itself; and they can help you do that.
When I mentioned the first-step paperwork, this paperwork will help you break things down so you understand what money do you need for your household, are you going to qualify? Because that is the big thing. You have to be able to set enough aside to qualify if you're not receiving SSI qualify, and that is a little difficult to figure out with budget and things like that. Once the process is completed by you and whoever you're working with to complete this, it will need to be improved by Social Security. Again, the PASS is not an easy process; but it is a fantastic tool if you have future goals that you want to reach and are not sure financially how to do that. So it's timely and it takes a commitment, but it's definitely worth it.
I hope I gave you some information. I know it's a lot. I believe there's going to be a time for questions and answers, and I'm happy to answer anything I can for you. But at this time, I am going to turn this back over to Stacey.

STACEY>> Thank you, Tammy. That was great information about SSI, SSDI, and the work incentives that are available to young adults. 
Before we move on, we'd like to take a look at some of the questions that came in regarding this topic. We did get a number of questions; and I just want to remind our participants that if you do have a question for our presenters to go ahead and put it in the Q&A box, and we will try to get it addressed for you today.
Our first question, Tammy, is: "What age range of people can participate in the Ticket to Work program?"

TAMMY>> Okay...actually, is there someone else that has that for-sure answer on the Ticket to Work age?

STACEY>> Well, you know what we can do, Tammy, is we can always address this question to the Ticket to Work program; and we can move on to our next question if you don't have the answer for it.

TAMMY>> Okay, thank you.

STACEY>> Sure, our next question is: "If a person works at the same time while receiving SSDI, is the SSDI taxable?"

TAMMY>> That is actually a question for your tax preparer and H&R Block. Our organization...we've been requested not to answer tax questions. I do apologize; I'm not doing very well on this question and answer segment.

STACEY>> No, you're fine. I did, however, while you were addressing that question get the answer to the first one. The age range of people who can participate in the Ticket to Work program...and it is 18 to 64.

TAMMY>> Thank you.

STACEY>> Well, we do have another question here that we will move on to; and that question is: "The Social Security website made it seem that only certain cases would qualify to keep their Medicare. Does everyone keep Medicare for 93 months, or are there situations where you could lose your Medicare?"

TAMMY>> That is a great question. Medicare should be secured for the 93 months. Now, I say that; but there are some people who receive a special type of Medicare that have different rules. But for the most part, yes; your Medicare is protected.

STACEY>> Okay, thank you, Tammy. I do have another question here that I will ask, but I am also going to answer it. So you do not have to reply to this one. That question is: "Does the Ticket to Work program help me with starting my own business?"
The answer to that is...or some information we can provide to you...is that you can refer to the webinar archives, which is at https://choosework.SSA.gov/webinars-tutorials/webinar-archives.html. And in our November 2017 webinar, we addressed and it was all about self-employment. If you take a look at that archived webinar, that may help you out.
Okay, well, thank you very much, Tammy. We are going to stop here and move on to hear about the Bridges from School to Work. Any additional questions that we have received for you, we will address at the end of our presentation today.

TAMMY>> Perfect, thank you.

STACEY>> You're welcome.
We're excited to hear from our next speaker, who will share with us information on a program that helps young people with disabilities to learn, to grow, and to succeed. From the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities, it is Tad Asbury.
Over to you, Tad.

TAD>> Thank you, Stacey.
Good afternoon to everyone. It's great to join you here, and thank you again for having us join again with the Ticket to Work and the Social Security Administration.
I would like to spend the next number of minutes going through a few things. Let me just give you a sense of what we'll be covering. First, I have a few slides on the Bridges from School to Work program. Then we'll shift over to looking a little more carefully at the definition of what transition is as you're making this move from the world of school to the world of work...what does this look like, what sorts of things are going to be going on? Then I have a series of slides that emphasize tips...things we've learned over nearly 30 years of working with young adults with disabilities and helping them transition in work, things we've learned as an organization that are very important to keep in mind as you're going into work.
Let me first also say that our organization, Bridges from School to Work, is available online. Our URL is www.bridgestowork.org. That's w-w-w dot b-r-i-d-g-e-s-t-o-w-o-r-k dot o-r-g. 
Bridges from School to Work was started way back in 1989...actually, our first youth served in early 1990; and it stemmed from the Marriott Foundation for People with Disabilities. This is the organization that I lead. The one program that we operate is Bridges from School to Work; and the reason it's connected to Marriott is that way back almost 30 years ago, the company already was sensing and seeing that there was a role for everybody in the world of work and that if we find the right job and put the right person in the right job, a competitive job, then great things can happen. The company had seen that for many years, so the company created this Foundation, and the Foundation created Bridges from School to Work.
Now, it is a separate, nonprofit 501(c)(3) operating outside of Marriott, the big hotel company. We are also an employment network. So in our cities around the country...and I'll touch on those in a moment...we provide services to youth with SSI benefits. We also provide the services to youth who are not necessarily eligible for SSI benefits, but our focus is really more on things young adults can do than, of course, the things they can't do.
So Bridges from School to Work is, let me say, our signature program that we have been operating for these now almost 30 years. The mission of the organization is to transform the lives of young adults with disabilities through the power of a job. Perhaps you've seen this in your own life or you've witnessed it with others that remarkable transformation can come when we focus on the abilities of a young person, when we start to identify the things they can do in the competitive world of work. We're going to talk in a few minutes about that competitive world of work and how we believe there are roles for all of us to play there in some way, shape, or form.
We also emphasize with Bridges that it is an employer-driven model. By that we mean that we need to, as an organization, remember that it is businesses who are hiring people to get a job done. That means that the businesses need to make sure that that service need...whatever their product is they're selling or whatever service they provide, whatever they create...has to be meeting that need for their business. So the match, the critical match between the abilities of a young person and the need of the employer is most important. So in emphasizing ability and the ability to get a job done for the employer makes the employer open to the consideration of hiring someone because they have this need that can be met by this young person.
We also emphasize long-term supports in employment. We recognize that landing a job is a wonderful thing, and it's a tremendous thing to do. And echoing what Tammy was saying a few minutes ago, there are lots of values in going to work. We say work is good; going to work is very good. There are needs for ongoing support for young adults with disabilities and, frankly, any people with or without disabilities to learn what it is to go to work and then stay in that work long-term and grow in the job to further what the employer is looking to do or to decide, perhaps, this is the ideal job for me or perhaps it's not...in which case then you need to transfer into another world or another job; and how best to do that is critically important too. So it's one thing to land a job, and then quite another to stay on the job and then leave well so you can go land that next job.
Lastly, Bridges works with...I know there was a question about that Ticket to Work and the age ranges. The age range for the youth who we serve is 17 to 22 years old. As I said, we serve youth who are Ticket to Work eligible and many youth who are not necessarily eligible under Ticket to Work but they do have a disability. It also is free to young adults; in fact, it's free to the businesses too. Now, the businesses are going to be hiring the young adults, like any other employer in their organization. But that's the expectation...that your relationship is ultimately with the employer who hires you and not ultimately in the end with Bridges. So our intervention, the work that we do as a service provider, ranges anywhere from 12 to, oh, 18 or 20 months if needed. Normally, the intervention is about one year post employment. Now, clearly with our ticket, young adults we're still staying and monitoring those relationships a bit longer.
This is just a snapshot of cities around the country where we are working currently. Out on the West Coast, it includes San Francisco and Oakland, California, and Los Angeles, California; in the middle part of the country, in Fort Worth and Dallas, Texas; in the Midwest in Chicago; and down in the South in Atlanta. I'm actually speaking to you from Atlanta today. And then up the East Coast in Washington D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, Boston, and now we are in the process of opening an office in New York City...so major markets around the country where we have partnerships with school systems and with vocational rehabilitation agencies, with private foundations, with workforce opportunity and innovation labor. 
Many different sources of funds provide these services to young adults with disabilities...again, some of them being youth who are eligible under SSI. As an EN, we are an EN across the country. Over the course of almost 20 years, we've served and placed more than 19,000 young adults into competitive integrated employment with more than 4,300 different employers. 
I'll shift our conversation now over to talk a bit more specifically about transition. Then we can come back to at the end, if we have any questions, more about Bridges, about its locations, and where it might be expanding in the future, et cetera. I'm happy to touch on those sorts of questions at the end.
I think it's important as we're speaking in our work with young adults with disabilities that we talk about transition, about its stages and what is going on. So I've just got a few slides to help remind those for whom this may already be familiar and others who have not seen this before.
First, looking at the world of work...and think of the 4,300 different employers we've seen and how many have changed over these 28 years of work...it's a big and exciting and complex world of work out there. The work that we see today is not the same work that was done 20 years ago, and probably the work that many of you will have many years from now is very different than what we see today. That's exciting, and also it means though that there are lots of different job types and different skills that are needed.
Think, for example, of the array of skills and abilities that are needed in the workforce...technical skills, especially with computers these days; communication skills; analytical skills, can you analyze certain bits of data; interpersonal skills. All these different skill types in play in one way or another come into the world of work. There are many different types of employers too...big employers, small employers, employers that make things, employers that sell things, employers that provide services. Marriott is a service provider in a sense. We offer our services, hotel rooms, in many, many places around the country. Again, remember that Bridges from School to Work and the Foundation carries the Marriott name, but we are not exclusively focused on putting young adults into hospitality. Some young adults do express interest in hospitality, and we're more than happy to assist them in looking for work with Marriott or many other hospitality companies.
Also recognize that it's a diverse workforce and getting more so all the time. The population, in our country anyway, is aging. This is creating differences for employers as they embrace the population of the workforce that's older. Immigration plays a certain role with the diversity of our workforce and people with many abilities in the world of work or people with an array of disabilities that are seeing much more value in the world of work today than before. 
There are also pressures on the workforce with things like unemployment rates. The unemployment rate is now still hovering just about 4%, which is very low, historically low; and the economists will tell you that we're at full employment. Well, yes and no; they may term it "full" employment, but we also know there are many people who want to work and who are on the sidelines. This is a tremendous opportunity to reconsider being on the sidelines and consider getting into the search for work and ideally landing a job. We know, as we said before, work is good; and there are opportunities, we believe, for everyone. 56:49
What are some of the differences and what is this idea of transition and how is it different from change?
Well, as I have it outlined on this slide, the change can often happen rather quickly. It doesn't have to happen quickly, but it happens quickly as compared to a transition that can happen a little more slowly. Another really important difference is that change is something that happens to us externally and transition can happen to us internally. That means that transition has this difference of, as we say, transition begins with an ending and ends with a beginning. 
Think of a birthday. A birthday is a change from one year to the next, but a transition into adulthood takes time. So a change can initiate or trigger a transition, but it's an instance in time. Rather this transition is a phase; it's a process. It's this idea of moving, as we say, from school into work. There are different milestones that happen. A graduation might happen or the last day of school. There's a first day of a job; but the transition, the things that are going on, these are internal challenges that we can work through. Let's look at those carefully right now.
So we see and talk about with young adults phases of a transition. Remember again this first idea of beginning with an ending and ending with a beginning. In the initial process, you're leaving something that's familiar...the school environment is familiar. You might be leaving services from the Department of Rehabilitation through school that are familiar to you . 
As Tammy was outlining a couple of minutes ago, shifting into work and looking at Ticket to Work, that's a new process. Indeed, it does come with a lot of complications; and it will take time to learn that. That means you're moving into something that is unfamiliar to you; that's part of this transition. It doesn't happen immediately. It takes time to understand the roles for Ticket to Work. It takes time to get accustomed to going into the workforce.
We're always careful, as an example, when introducing young adults to work that we don't move from not working at all to working a 40-hour-a-week job. That's very difficult for anybody who's not accustomed to going into longer days in the workforce. Perhaps it's better to start at 15 hours or 20 hours of work. Perhaps it's better to start with something that might even be sort of a temporary position to shift into something that's more long-term. That's all part of getting accustomed to going to work. So there's this ending.
There's also this neutral zone...this unsettling, unknown time that can be uncomfortable. Recognize that too is a phase, a phase that will take time to go through the process. And in the end, a new beginning...a time when you can learn about exciting things you haven't known about before...about, in this case, the world of work and the fascinating things that can happen as you learn more about yourself. Going into work and as we ultimately see this transformation, this remarkable transformation, that can happen when someone goes in and they see a job, they and a job, and they see value and the employer sees value in what they bring and the contributions they make to that workplace. That's the most exciting thing...to see that happen.
So let's turn our attention now to a few tips as we go through this process of going into the workplace, of transitioning into the world of work. 
The first thing we'd like to say is...it's really sort of simple and fun...but it's work early, work often. That really just essentially means that there are opportunities everywhere, and they don't all necessarily need to be competitive, full-time jobs at 40 hours a week or more. Think of volunteer opportunities, internship opportunities, summer job opportunities through your school or your community, apprenticeship opportunities, full-time jobs, part-time jobs. Any of these things are good ways to begin to learn about the world of work.
It's also important to master what we call the basics, the basics of going in to work. I categorize these in three areas: knowledge, communications, and respect. We'll spend a little bit of time in each of these.'
First is knowledge...and it may seem obvious, but it's very important that you know yourself; that is, what are you looking for in the world of work? That can be a very difficult question for anybody. I've got children myself and they still are sometimes wondering what do they want to do in the world of work. Well, there are tools that are available out there...online or through service providers you might be working with, through your schools. These tools kind of fall in categories such as you might call them inventories...personality inventories to test the things you like and the things you don't like, the interests you have, the strengths you have or the weaknesses you have.
All of these are ways to get a better understanding of the things that are of interest to you, the careers that might be of interest to you, how then to begin to prepare for those careers and, importantly, how to begin to identify language that you can use to talk about yourself and these things that you like to do in the world of work and the strengths that you bring to the world of work.
For example, I have done some of these strength assessments...one called "strength finder" is one that we've used before; and I know that I have very good ability to be quite adaptable, very adaptable, and optimistic. So these are terms that I could use in a conversation and in an interview. Perhaps they might be terms I could use to fold into a résumé that I might begin to build. Everyone's got strengths and things that they can focus in on. You want to build language that is shaped around those inventories that describe yourself in a very positive way.
Secondly in knowledge, we need to know the organization, the companies. This takes research on your part; but if you are interested in certain organizations or types of work, begin to look into what those companies do. If you have the opportunity to apply for a job with a company, begin to ask yourself...what does the company do, what is their mission, what is their purpose?
I recently interviewed someone who had reached out to me who was interested in working for Marriott, and she asked a question about the company that gave me a very good sense that she'd done her research because we'd been through a change; and she knew about that change even before we spoke. That gave me a good indication that she was someone interested in our organization.
You need to ask yourself...
Who is their customer?
What kind of products do they sell?
How do they operate?
What are the company's values, those values and the things the company believes?
Do they align with your values?
Will this be a place that you would like to be working?
These are all very important questions because when you get to the step of ultimately meeting with the employer, you'll know a lot about them as a company. Remember, this company is hiring you for the abilities you bring into the world of work.
Second in these basics is communication. It too has two pieces, so to speak. The first is in the written form. I've got this graphic of a résumé here in the corner; but it's pointing to the résumé as a reflection of you, and this is a reflection of how you stand out with future employers. Now, remember the language that we were talking about in the self-evaluation? This is where some of that language might be able to nicely fit into a résumé that you can build. Whatever that résumé looks like, recognize that we all have things to add to it. And ask for feedback from teachers, from vocational rehabilitation folks, from your parents or other important people in your life who can give you feedback on the résumé. And proofread it; make sure that it reads really well and that there aren't any mistakes in it.
Next is your references...the references you might be asked for with an employer. You need to make sure that you have those references already arranged. Don't wait until you need the references to have them set up. Identify individuals, have their contact information, have their permission all ready to go so that when you're asked for those references, you can easily give it to an employer.
Also, thinking of your presence in written form, think of social media. What do you look like online and Facebook and LinkedIn? These things are important, and you need to make sure that you're putting your best foot forward. 
If, for example, you're interested in marketing and social media, perhaps putting a portfolio on your website might be a good idea. I do know and another little example here recently with us is some information that was on social media just in the process. I know of a company we were working with that were hiring someone; but because of some things that were online, the decision was made to not hire this individual. So just be careful and recognize that it too is a reflection of you, and you want that to be the best reflection of you possible.
Communications as then it relates to your first impression...in an interview, think of first and foremost how you are going to look and act the part in going into the workforce. Your dress, whether it's a coat and tie or a nice outfit, should not be something that would draw attention to you; but your first impressions are critically important...the way you dress and your handshake and the way you conduct yourself in the interview.
Think too if you are to disclose a disability. Of course you have rights and rules to not disclose the disability. You'll just want to think through these things carefully before you go into an interview to know how you might approach this. It isn't something that you want to be caught off guard; you want to consider your response and practice that ahead of time. 
Also, and this is equally important, just also ask for help and assistance from career centers in college or in high school. They're service providers, like Bridges or other organizations similar to ours. There are several national organizations you might have heard of or have worked with perhaps...Project Search, another good group; Best Buddies is another group that operates nationally; and then there are other local service providers. 
The last basic here is just respect. This too seems to be rather obvious, but it's very important to point out; and that is in being polite and attentive...first off, be on time. If it's an interview, then make sure that you're on time for the interview. Make good eye contact, if you're able, with the interviewer. Listen very carefully in the interviews. Avoid distractions, like cellphones; and absolutely...and this is where I think it can often not be done and that is get contact information and write a thank you note. I can't tell you how important it is, even if it's just an e-mail thank you note...but thank you notes to employers, or employers who are taking time to meet with you. It was important for them to have you come in, respect their time, and follow up; and that can be something that can often lead to an invitation back for reconsideration for hire.
Tip No. 3...show what you know. We're going to go through, just very quickly, a tool that Bridges uses with the young adults who we serve. I don't think we're the only ones who use it, but we've found this to be quite effective with young adults. We call this the "STAR process." It's very important for you to be able to explain what you can do...not just what you know, but what you can do with what you know.
The STAR interview process goes like this...think of situations, tasks, actions, and a result. I'll go to the next slide here to show you how this works.
We all have stories to tell. We all have some things that we can do. In an interview situation, it's important to understand that the employer will be looking for you to be able to perform certain tasks. So a STAR interview and preparing for a STAR interview looks something like this.
Think of stories from your own past...from your school time, or from your work if you've had work before, or experiences with your family or friends...think about certain situations or tasks, and then think about very specific actions that you personally took and what the result would be. Think of these in a couple, different areas and be prepared to tell these stories around these structures. 
It might be, for example, in decision-making or working with teams. Let's take working with teams for a moment. You were on a team in a project in school; and at the last minute, you realize there's a piece of the work that hasn't been done. You realize that; you go back to the team and figure out how to get that last piece of this project done in order to have the project submitted for a class assignment in the next day or two. 
So in that situation, you identified that there was a piece missing; you communicated with the team that there was a piece missing; you identified the actions that needed to be done; the result was you got your project in on time, and you got a very good grade on the project. That shows your initiative to be careful, make sure everything was ready for this project, and that you then go that project accomplished. That's a good example of what you'd call a STAR response to working in teams.
So think of this for maybe dealing with stress or conflict or helping a customer or a neighbor or a friend...and managing your time. Think of developing a STAR for each one of these type of situations. You may not use them all, but you'll have them ready when needed when you're going into an interview. 
The next tip on show what you know is just to be ready. Don't be surprised by a couple of things. Don't be surprised by the assessments. They are a reality in the world of work, and they usually come in the forms of online job applications. Many, many organizations use online job applications these days. They can be challenging to get through for anybody...with our without a disability. Seek assistance when you can and if you can, and recognize too that employers may also provide pre-employment assessments or behavioral assessments. These two need to be something you will need to navigate or seek accommodations for to get through.
Also recognize that many organizations will conduct background checks, credit checks. Drug screening is very common these days. These too just need to be things you are aware of that businesses do and be ready to respond.
For Tip No. 4, practice success daily...and this is really on the job. We've got a few of these tips here that will bring my comments to a close, and I'm happy to take some questions. These again seem rather straightforward; but if you haven't been in the world of work before, then they can be new. They're certainly good to keep in mind...things such as knowing what your work schedule is. Sometimes if it's an hourly position you might have, work schedules change; and you need to recognize that as they change, you need to be aware that your work schedule this week might be different from the work schedule you had last week.
Be at work every day that you are scheduled. It's not something that employers take to kindly if you're on the schedule and then you decide not to come. That puts the employer in a very difficult situation because they have to cover your job with somebody else.
Be on time...even early is good, not too early but early and ready to go when your time to work begins.
Be organized and stay organized, and follow any sort of a dress code that you have on the job.
Just a few more here...it again seems rather obvious, but things like cellphones during work hours may not be something that the employer allows or texting. If that's the case, then respect those rules. 
Favors for friends and family that you wouldn't give to a customer...again, you're working for an employer and follow their rules or expectations. 
Have a good and positive attitude about going into work. 
Take initiative...look for ways to help that employer get a job done. 
If at all possible, avoid sort of the rumor mills that can happen in a workplace. 
Stay focused on your job and be professional and work hard. 
It comes down to these sort of simple things, but I hope it's been helpful to you. Think of working early, working often. Master those basics of knowledge, communications, and respect. Show what you know. Be ready for assessments. Get your résumé ready; be prepared for interviews. And then practice these successes daily. 
And it is a transition. It takes time to get into the world of work. It's not something that any of us ever, I think, really perfect. Even after many, many years, there's still more for us to learn about the working world. It's exciting and it's a great place to be. I just want to encourage you all to consider it, and I wish you all the best of luck.
Stacey, turning it back over to you.

STACEY>> All right, thank you, Tad, and thank you for the great information on how Bridges matches the ability of the individual with the employer's needs. Transitioning into the world of work can be very overwhelming, and the tips that you shared will certainly help participants to get started...so thank you.
We have a number of questions from our participants, so we're going to go ahead and take a look at some of these questions that we have received. 
The first one for you, Tad, is: "Is there an age requirement for the Bridges from School to Work program?"

TAD>> Yes we tend to serve youth who are in their last year of high school, but the age range is anywhere from 17 to 17-and-a-half to 22. It's a little uncommon for us to 17 year olds, but also sometimes we see 22 or sometimes even 23 year olds. So we're a little flexible there, but it tends to be that age range.

STACEY>> All right, thanks. And I wanted to point out because we had talked earlier, and Ticket to Work had an age range also. So whereas Bridges is 17 to 22, the Ticket program – the age range goes from 18 to 64. So I just wanted to make sure that we pointed out the difference in the age ranges between these two programs.

TAD>> And just in following up on that for a second, when we do come across adults who are inquiring for services for us, as much as possible we point them to other service providers who will provide services for adults.

STACEY>> Great, okay, the next question that we have: "Is there a Bridges from School to Work program in Minnesota?"

TAD>> No, there is not unfortunately a Bridges program in Minnesota currently. We have now 12 sites around the country. I think that's where we're probably going to stay...for certainly the next year or two. We've had some growth into new markets, including currently New York City; so it's a matter of capacity currently. But if the individual has any other questions, perhaps if there are other organizations in that area and I could find out about them, I could direct them on that path. But we don't have plans to have an office in Minnesota right now. 

STACEY>> The next question for you, Tad: "Does Bridges work with a student's high school or college schedule?"

TAD>> Yes, again, it tends to be youth who are in the last year of high school. So as long as their schedule can be accommodating such that the young adults can go to, say, an interview during the day...if the job, as an example, is in retail initially. Again, this is young adult perhaps who has not worked before. Then a good time to go into a retail company is during the middle of the day when it's quiet. So as long as the schools are accommodating with us...and they usually are...we're establishing relationships with the schools, as well as the youth and the employers, so we mesh all these together. So as long as we can have the youth have flexible schedules for either interviews or for working, then the answer to that is, "Yes."
The same would be true, arguably, with college. I would say though college students have a little more flexibility in their schedules anyway or by and large if they do.

STACEY>> Okay, lots of great questions coming in. We do have another one. This question is: "Is Bridges a direct-hire program?"

TAD>> No, so the direct hire...well, I'm hoping I'm defining this properly...the direct hire in the relationship is between the employer and the employee. Bridges is just that...Bridges is just going to link these two together, the employer and the prospective employee. The relationship...the contract in a sense that you have...is between the employer and the employee, just like the relationship I have with my employer and anybody has with their employer. So our idea and goal is to get in, make that connection happen, see that it strengthens, and then pull back our services. The ultimate relationship is between that employer and the employee.

STACEY>> Thank you, Tad. 
Well, we have just a couple more slides that we need to cover yet today. So at this time, I wanted to thank everyone for sending in your questions. If we were not able to get to your question today, you can reach out to the Ticket to Work Helpline to get some answers to your questions; and you can contact the Helpline. You can call them at 1-866-968-7842; or for TTY, you can contact 1-866-833-2967. And I'll repeat that number for TTY; it's 1-866-833-2967. They are open Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
I also wanted to remind everyone that this webinar is being archived; and the video, PowerPoint, and the transcript will be available on the Choose Work website in the next couple of weeks.
Okay, there are many resources available to assist you with your journey into the world of work. The first is the Youth Transitions Collaborative, which includes a toolkit for young adults with disabilities. This toolkit will help you connect to jobs and careers that will help you follow the path to success and find information and make informed career decisions. For more information on the collaborative, you can visit the toolkit at http://disabilitypolicyworks.org/nytc-toolkit/. 
The second resource that is available to you is called CareerOneStop.  CareerOneStop provides a site called "GetMyFuture" for young adults, and this site assists you with finding a career, training, and even job search resources. You can check out the CareerOneStop website by going to www.CareerOneStop.org/getmyfuture. On this site you can take an interest assessment, and with this you can find out what your interests are. You can learn about careers that are available. You can explore education and training options and even find information about obtaining and maintaining a job. So for more young adult resources, visit the CareerOneStop resources page at: www.CareerOneStop.org/Resourcesfor/YoungAdult/young-adult.aspx. Again, this link can be found in the "Web Links" pod at the bottom right-hand corner of your screen; so it can be accessed right there.
The third resource available to you is "My Next Move." My Next Move is an interactive tool for job seekers and students to learn about career options. It can also help you to find tasks, skills, and salary information on many different careers. You can also use it to find a career by keyword, to browse industries, or you can even use the O*NET Interest Profiler, which offers career suggestions based on your interests and level of work experience. If you would like more information on this, you can visit My Next Move website; and you can contact them at www.MyNextMove.org/. 
The fourth resource I the Find Help tool, which you can search for a service provider who can assist you with finding employment support. You can visit choosework.ssa.gov/FindHelp, and here you can search for the right service provider for you. On this page you can then search by zip code; you can search by specific services that are offered, disability type, the language that you speak, or even provider type...so many different options here.
Let's go ahead and let's get started. You can start by contacting the Ticket to Work Helpline at 1-866-968-7842; or for TTY, 1-866-833-2967; or you can visit the Ticket to Work website at choosework.ssa.gov.
There are other ways you can contact us too. You can use social media: 
You can contact us by liking us on Facebook: @choosework. 
You can contact us by following us on Twitter: @chooseworkSSA.
You can subscribe to our YouTube channel: @choosework.
And you can also follow us on LinkedIn: @ticket-to-work.
All right, we do have another WISE webinar that is coming up on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. You can register online for this webinar at: www.choosework.net/wise; or you can call 1-866-968-7842 or, for TTY, 1-866-833-2967.
Well, we are out of time for today's webinar. We would like to thank all of you for attending and for all of your wonderful questions today. Again, if we were not able to answer your questions, you can reach out to the Ticket to Work Helpline at 1-866-968-7842 or, for TTY, 1-866-833-2967.
We would love if you could provide your feedback and tell us what you thought about the webinar today by taking our survey. You can take the survey by following the link that is going to pop up after the webinar, or you can visit the Ticket to Work website to complete the survey at: choosework.ssa.gov/surveys/wise. 
So we would all like to thank you again for attending today. Please take the opportunity to reach out to any of the many resources that were discussed and shared with you today, and take the next step in your career path. Thank you and have a wonderful evening.