WISE Ticket to Work Webinar
Support on Your Journey to Financial Independence
June 27, 2018

Speakers: Stacey Plizga (Moderator), Windy Swearingin & Larrisa Cummings (Presenters)

STACEY>> Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to today's Ticket to Work webinar: Support on Your Journey to Financial Independence.
My name is Stacey Plizga. I am a member of the Ticket to Work Team, and I will be your moderator for today's webinar. To get us started today, I would like to review some items that will help you get the most out of today's webinar.
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As mentioned earlier, my name is Stacey Plizga. I am a member of the Ticket to Work Team, and I am very excited to be here with you today moderating this webinar. We are delighted to have with us today two individuals who will share information about Social Security's Ticket to Work Program. 
Our first speaker, Windy Swearingin, is the Alaska Statewide Lead Disability Resources Coordinator for the Disability Employment Initiative Round 6. She oversees the Alaska Statewide Workforce Employment Network and works with Ticket to Work beneficiaries and is also a certified Community Partner Work Incentive Counselor.
Our second speaker, Larrisa Cummings, is the project Director for the Alaska WIPA Project at the University of Alaska Center for Human Development. She has worked for the WIPA, or the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance Project, since 2007 and has been certified as a Community Work Incentives Coordinator since 2008. We are very excited to have them with us here today.
Our speakers will be covering a number of topics in the webinar today. We will start by touching upon Social Security Disability benefits, and then we will discuss in more detail the Ticket to Work Program and starting your journey. We will also discuss Ticket to Work Service Providers and the support that is available through them, workforce incentives and the Ticket to work Program, and the phases of the Path to Work. Our presenters will then talk to you about putting it all together and the next steps.
As noted earlier, we welcome all of your questions and will conclude with addressing your questions on today's topics. 
With that being said, it is my pleasure to introduce to you our first presenter today, Windy Swearingin, who will discuss the Ticket to Work Program and how it works.
Windy?

WINDY>> Good morning, everybody. I'd like to talk today about Social Security Disability benefits, and the first place I want to start is the difference between SSI and SSDI. SSDI is the Social Security Disability Insurance program; and like it states in its definition, insurance is what you pay into. So the SSDI is contributions that are based on your earnings when you go to work. If you've ever gone to work and you look at your paycheck and it says "FICA," that is the Federal Insurance Contribution Act that takes out money and contributes it to the Social Security Act. Then if you ever need it and you get a disability, it becomes your SSDI.
SSI is a little bit different. It's a supplemental security income; and the SSI Program is a cash assistance payment to aged, blind, and disability persons...including children will be paid out of this program too. It has limits on its income and resources where SSI does not. There are individuals that can be concurrent beneficiaries who can receive both SSI and SSDI. Both of these programs have work incentives that go with each one of them, so it's important that you know which one you're on or which one you're getting paid out of so that you can utilize those work incentives.
So let's talk about the Ticket to Work Program. 
First of all, I'd like to start with your journey; and only you can decide if work is the right choice for you. When it comes to working, is it part-time, full-time, training, changing careers, et cetera? What is right for you? Only you are the one that can make that decision. If you receive SSDI or SSI benefits, you and your representative payee, or you and somebody that is in an employment network or later, will provide that information can decide what your goals are and what's the right choice for you. 
But it's super important that when you do go to work and when you decide to start that journey that you must report your income to Social Security. You have to report when you start or stop work. You have to report the duties, hours, and pay if it changes. It's important that you also report any impairment-related work expenses, which Larrisa will talk about a little bit later.
So why is it important to choose work?
The first one is you earn more income. Working allows you to earn more money and find the right situations that work for you. Again, is it working part-time, full-time, or starting a new career? 
You can gain financial independence. With benefits from SSI and SSDI, you have a ceiling that you can earn that you have every month. With a job, you can earn more or less depending on your skills. You can also get training to advance in a position, and you can use your skills to transition to new and exciting positions or careers. 
You can meet new people, make new friends, learn how to adjust in new situations and, of course, learn new skills that can transition to new careers as well. 
Lastly, you can learn new skills.
From every job that you have and every job that you try, you learn and train and have transferrable skills. These can be applied to new and exciting careers or jobs. 
So what is the Ticket to Work Program?
First of all, the Ticket to Work Program is always free and always voluntary. You can choose the Ticket to Work Program that is right for you and the employment network that is right to assign your ticket to. You can unassign at any time, or you can assign them; you do not have to assign. The Ticket to Work Program helps Social Security beneficiaries go to work, get a job, and become financially independent. You can keep your Medicare and Medicaid depending on your situation...and Larrisa will talk to you more about those...and Social Security benefits. As long as you have Social Security benefits and you're between the ages of 18 through 64, you probably qualify for this program.
Lastly, if it's a good fit for you, you should talk to somebody about whether the Ticket to Work Program and moving forward in your career is a good choice for you. 
What services does Ticket to Work offer?
Our goal as an employment network is to help you with job coaching, job counseling, training, benefits counseling, and job placement. These are some of the services that are offered to you, and there are more. For instance, in Alaska we also offer interview preparation, career counseling and guidance, job development and, of course, that important piece of Social Security benefits advisement on how working is going to impact your benefits. Every employment network is different, and so finding the right one that fits your needs is super important.
Like I said before, who qualifies for the Ticket to Work Program?
If you receive Social Security benefits...either SSDI or SSI...and you're between the ages of 18 and 64, you could potentially qualify. Remember, you do not have to have an actual, physical ticket to participate. 
How does it work?
Here's an example of a path to success. Every person's path may be different. It should be individualized to you, and you are the one that leads these discussions and your goals. But the following provides an example of a path to success.
First, speak with a WIPA counselor to help you decide if the Ticket to Work Program is right for you. You can also contact Social Security's Help Line at https://choosework.ssa.gov to find an employment network that has a WIPA program near you. If so, you can choose a service provider and assign your ticket, either an employment network or a vocational rehab center. You can talk to a Benefits Counselor about how working is going to affect your benefits; you can create a plan and a timeline to achieve your personal goals; you can follow your plan, report your work and earnings and, of course, celebrate your successes. Remember that reporting your working and earnings is an important part of any plan.
Let's talk about the different Ticket to Work service providers and what they might be able to do for you.
First of all, finding the right support is important. There are State vocational rehabilitation agencies; employment networks; workforce employment networks; the Work Incentives Planning & Assistance projects, or the WIPA; Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security organizations or the PABSS.
These vocational rehabilitation agencies are furnished by the Federal Government, and they are in every state. They help you return to work or enter a new line of work through training. They have career counseling, job placement and, of course, benefits counseling. But remember that VR takes time. They're there to help you with training, making a plan; and it's not an overnight solution to finding work. The career exploration and training that is right for you depends on you, and they're there to help you make that long-term plan. They also provide Partnership Plus in a lot of states, with employment networks for a continuum of support after closure so that you have support through your working in case something happens. 
Employment networks are agencies that have an agreement with Social Security to provide that free employment support servicing. Remember, for people that are eligible, they either have SSI, SSDI, and they're between the ages of 18 and 64. They help you prepare for, find, or maintain employment through those services that we talked about before: career planning, job search and placement, ongoing employment support, benefit counseling, and assistance with accommodation. Workforce ENs are much like employment ENs except for they are also part of the State public workforce system. They provide a variety of support services, including training and special programs for veterans and young adults. 
You may also qualify for services beyond that, such as our services in Alaska; we offer training for individuals in the workforce. You could qualify for additional services with VR and the workforce together...programs that are designed to help employment services, such as training and getting you back into the job.
Larrisa is going to talk to you now about the WIPA and beyond.

LARRISA>> Thank you, Windy.
In continuing with the support that you'll find out there, we have the WIPA projects, Work Incentive Planning & Assistance projects. Those were established by Social Security to provide expert benefit counseling for people who receive Social Security disability benefits and the information on how their work will impact their benefits. The services for the WIPA project are free. They provide the free benefits counseling, which usually includes a written report called the Benefits Summary Analysis, or BSA, and a counselor, or a CWIC, to go over that report with you in a review that can take about an hour.
In addition, we provide ongoing services. So as people's work situations change and they have more questions that come up or they're moving through some of the work incentive programs, we just provide that follow-along service where we can answer those questions and continue to provide that support. All WIPA projects are staffed by community work incentive coordinators, or CWICs, who are benefit specialists and can provide that in-depth counseling about working, about how the money that you make will affect your benefits...and not just Social Security benefits but other benefits that you might receive including veterans benefits, housing benefits, and that kind of thing...so will provide counseling on more than just the Social Security benefits.
The WIPA projects will serve people who are working, who have a job offer pending, or are actively interviewing for jobs and they are ages 14 through 65. Even if they're not actively pursuing work, we work with the younger group in order to encourage them and kind of give that early support so that they can move on to actually looking for work and getting a job. We also provide services for veterans.
Then the last agency that provides some support in this network of supports is the Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security or the PABSS. The PABSS program helps people who receive Social Security disability benefits and who have a disability-related barrier to employment. The PABSS advocates provide legal support. They provide advocacy with employers, and they give information to assist beneficiaries to help them resolve employment-related concerns with employers, with Social Security employment networks, State VR agencies, WIPA projects, and others. They're there to provide information, advocacy, and sometimes, if needed, legal support.
To learn more about the service providers that we just talked about, you can review the Ticket to Work Meet Your Employment Team, which is at the website: https://choosework.ssa.gov/about/meet-your-employment-team. And again, a reminder that you can find these links in the "Web Links" box to the right of the presentation. On that particular website, Meet Your Employment Team, you're going to see the overview of what Windy and I just went through. It's going to show the workforce employment networks, the State vocational rehabilitation, or VR, agencies; the WIPA projects, and the PABSS. And it lists what kind of services each of those people provide so that you can get an idea of how to utilize them and make them a part of your team.
You can find a service provider at https://choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp. In that website, you're going to find some guidance on how to achieve your work goals, on how to utilize the different providers and services that are out there. There are a couple of different ways to search for the different providers. You can use a guided search or a direct search, so you can get some help and guidance on that website as well.
You can also call the Ticket to Work Help Line. Their hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Their phone number is 1-866-968-7842. Their TTY line is 1-866-833-2967.
You can find helpful tips and questions to ask when selecting a Ticket to Work service provider by going to the following website. The first one is Finding an Employment Network and Assigning Your Ticket. That website is https://choosework.ssa.gov/library/finding-EN-assigning-your-ticket-worksheet. 
The second website that's helpful is Choosing the Right EN for you. That is: https://choosework.ssa.gov/library/choosing-the-right-employment-network-for-you.
So those are two different websites that can help you to find an EN, help you to assign your ticket, and help you to choose the right EN for you...the one that will provide the services that you particularly need. 
We're going to talk now about the work incentives and the Ticket to Work Program. We're not really going into work incentives in any kind of depth here; but there are, as Windy mentioned earlier; different work incentives for each of the different benefit programs. So SSI and SSDI are going to have different work incentives, and that's why it's so important for you to know which program that you're on.
Social Security work incentives will make it easier for people with disabilities to work and still hang onto those medical benefits and, in some cases, even retain the cash payment from Social Security. Work incentives are tools that can be used to try out work. For many people, the fear of losing benefits is a barrier to employment; and people avoid working because they are afraid they'll lose their benefits.
So one of the things that we've discovered is probably the most important tool is getting that benefit counseling from a CWIC, a community work incentive coordinator, who can provide that expert benefit knowledge and make it specific to your situation because every situation is different. The benefits that you have are all different, so you'll need counseling on each of the different benefits that you get.
Work incentives are special Social Security rules that will allow you to receive training for new skills, improve the skills you already have, pursue your education or other type of job training, to try out different jobs, start a career, and help you to gain confidence in your ability to work.  Both the SSDI and SSI programs have work incentives; and like we said, the work incentives for those programs are different. There are a lot of myths and misinformation out there, so be sure that you get accurate information from a CWIC. Only a CWIC has been certified by Social Security as being qualified to provide that information.
Some really important work incentives revolve around the medical services that people have through those programs. So people who are on SSI usually have Medicaid, and people on SSDI have Medicare; and they're both two different programs with different work incentives, like we said before. We aren't going to go into detail about all the work incentives, but we really did want to talk to you about the Medicare and Medicaid because that's often the thing that people are afraid of losing the most...is the medical care that they can get.
So for Medicaid, there are a couple of work incentives...one of which is 1619(b), and that is a work incentive that you can receive while working. That's a work incentive that will allow you to earn over a certain amount of money, and your SSI payment may stop...it may go to zero...but you would still be able to continue your Medicaid coverage through 1619(b).
You might qualify for that if you've been eligible for an SSI cash payment for at least one month prior to that happening; if you continue to meet Social Security's definition of disability; and if you meet all the other non-disability SSI requirements such as resource limits and if you need the Medicaid benefits to continue work. If your gross earnings are below your state's threshold of eligibility, then you'll continue to qualify for that work incentive. If they go over that, then there's another work incentive that we're going to talk about. 
But if you're medical costs are higher than the average for your state, then you can actually apply for a higher threshold, called an "individualized threshold," and you can apply for that through Social Security. So if you've got pretty high medical costs that go over that amount, then that's another work incentive actually; it's to apply for that.
Most states...although not all states...will allow you to purchase Medicaid under a buy-in program. If you're working and you have a disability under Social Security, you can sign up for and buy into Medicaid through this program. In Alaska, our program is very originally called "Working Disabled Medicaid Buy-In." It is exactly what it says it is. If you're working and you have a disability, you can buy into Medicaid. Since not all states have this program, then you would want to check with your state Medicaid Agency to find out the rules of your state for that.
So for Medicare, which is typically the benefit that goes along with people who receive SSDI, Medicare can be extended; and this work incentive is called the "extended period of Medicare coverage." It can be extended for 93 consecutive months, both hospital insurance Part A; Supplemental Medical Insurance Part B if enrolled in that; and prescription drug coverage, Part D, also if enrolled. This 93 months actually start the month after the last month of your trial work period. I realize we didn't really talk about trial work period; that is another work incentive for the SSDI folks. Once that trial work period is completed, then that's when the 93 months would start.
Keep in mind that a trial work period consists of nine months where you would earn over $850 a month. That's for 2018...those numbers change every year...and the months don't have to be consecutive. So if you're receiving SSDI and you're working and you want to know more about this, then you can contact the WIPA projects and get that information that's specific to you.
So the Medicare for people with disabilities who work is another option for people. After their Medicare coverage ends due to work, then you can purchase Medicare hospital and medical insurance if you continue to have a disability. So your Medicare theoretically could never end; as long as you're eligible, if you still have a disabling impairment, and if your Medicare stopped due to work. You will not be eligible again for free Medicare Part A. If you turn 65 or become entitled to disability benefits again, your benefits would start over...so it would just be a different deal there.
You may also be eligible for a program that helps pay your Medicaid Part A monthly premiums. To be eligible for this help, you must continue to have a disabling impairment, sign up for hospital insurance Part A, and have limited income and limited resources and not already be eligible for Medicaid. So there is some help out there for paying that Medicare premium if you meet some of these requirements.
To learn more about work incentives, there are some really good resources. The first one is reviewing The Red Book. The Red Book is published by Social Security. Currently right now on this website, they only have the 2017 Red Book available, which has all of the old numbers for 2017. If you want to click on the link that says "What's New in 2018," it gives you the updated numbers for 2018. So you have to just remember if the book doesn't have the current year, you're going to want to check the updates for that.
The Web link to get to the Red Book is www.ssa.gov\redbook. That will give you a lot of information on work incentives. I also want to mention that they don't actually call them "work incentives" in the Red Book. If you're looking under the Table of Contents, you're going to look under SSDI Only Employment Support; and those are where you'll find some of the work incentives that we're talking about and for SSI Only, Employment Support...that's what they call them in The Red Book, and that's where you would find more information on them.
Another place to learn more information is on the Choose Work website, which is: https://bit.ly – I'm sorry. I'm giving you the wrong website address; let me back up.
The Choose Work website address for work incentives is: https://choosework.ssa.gov/about/work-incentives. There's a whole page there on work incentives and the Ticket to Work Program, and it kind of breaks things out by which benefit you might be receiving.
You can also read the Choose Work's Work Incentives Wednesdays blog series; and that is at: http://bit.ly/blogWIW. 
You can also attend future WISE webinars. They provide the WISE webinars on a regular basis, and future webinars will probably go into more detail about work incentives. So you could choose a webinar that actually goes into detail about work incentives to learn more on there as well; and that website to find out when the webinars are is: https://choosework.ssa.gov/webinars-tutorials. 
If you're already working, you can contact your State with a project to get the free benefits counseling...the work incentive counseling. If you're already working or if you're working on a work goal, you can do that. But do be aware that some states don't post their direct phone number. They will direct you to call the Ticket to Work Help Line; and then once you've reached the Ticket to Work Help Line, those folks will get some information from you. If it's a good referral for WIPA services, then they will refer you to that WIPA; and the WIPA will call you. 
So just different states have a little bit different process for contacting them. So if you get kind of sent to the Ticket to Work Help Line, that's okay; that's a way a lot of WIPAs are doing that. So you just look up your WIPA projects for your state and find out how to contact them for that service.
Okay, I'm going to turn it over to Stacey now for questions.

STACEY>> Thank you, Larrisa, and also for the great information that you were able to share with us about the Ticket to Work Program.
Before we move on, we're going to take a look at some of the questions that came in from our participants thus far. So just a reminder that if you have a question, go ahead and put it into the Q&A pod; and we will make sure that we get it to the presenters as appropriate.
Windy and Larrisa, you are both from Alaska. Does the information that you have talked about today apply to people nationwide?

WINDY>> I'll start. The programs that I talked about earlier do apply nationwide. There should be ENs, and there should be VRs for you somewhere around your community. If not, you can always go to the Help Line. It should be in the Web links. If you go down, there's a Web link that says "Find Help Tool" to find the nearest employment network or VR or workforce employment network that can assist you with the Ticket to Work Program. Or there may not be one in your state, but there are national Ticket to Work programs as well that and help you with getting back to work and the tools to succeed in finding that work or that job.

LARRISA>> Yes, and agreeing with Windy, these are national programs; they're available in every state. The only caveat that I would put out there is that Medicaid, while it's a Federal program, is managed by the State; so each state has different rules and different information. So for any Medicaid information, you're going to want to contact your state Medicaid office. 
Also, regarding WIPA projects, WIPA projects can only help people in their own state. So if you are in Alaska, you can call the Alaska WIPA Project. If you're in Michigan, you're going to contact the Michigan WIPA Project. Like I said, some of the projects will actually direct you to the Ticket to Work Help Line first, and then the Ticket to Work Help Line will refer you to that WIPA.

STACEY>> Okay, thank you, Windy and Larrisa. The next question that we have received from our participants: "Do any of these services or working with a WIPA or EN cost any money?" So maybe we can start with Windy and then move on to Larrisa?

WINDY>> Yes, I want to stress that, no, it does not. If somebody is charging you, then I would find another one because that's not what these programs are about. Social Security has contracted with all employment networks, all workforce ENs, all WIPAs, to make this a free program for Social Security beneficiaries. So it should not be costing you anything for our services. We are providing this for you to get back to work and for you to be successful and sustainable off of benefits and to have a future...not to impede that. 

LARRISA>> This is Larrisa, and I agree with Windy. Those are definitely free services. It's paid for and funded by Social Security, so the services are completely free; and if you're getting charged, you probably want to also report that.

STACEY>> All right, thank you. We have a participant who is planning on going to college and finding work. This participant would like to know if it would benefit him or her to go to a VR for a job placement.

WINDY>> I can take that; this is Windy. I think the benefits for going for VR is a great benefit. First of all, if you're going to college, they can help with things such as paying for classes, paying for books, transportation if you don't have that. They can help provide the supports and services that you may need to make you that much more successful. You may be getting financial aid, and that financial aid will help support you in your classes or such; but VR can provide that added support and tag onto what financial aid is already doing. 
The whole idea with VR, the whole idea with providing these supports and services through these agencies, is to make you as successful as possible. So I would contact your VR agency and find out what they can do for you. Build your plan, and they can support you through working. So your college is done...now what do you do?
Now they help also put you – they get you through college and provide those supports, and then they go on to provide supports into working...so finding a job or putting you in a placement or putting you in a volunteer situation so that you can then get a job. That's VR's position, so I would definitely, definitely reach out to VR.

STACEY>> Thank you, Windy. Many times, the VR providers may not be very close; maybe they could be up to 200 miles away or even further. So what are the options for people if that is their situation?

WINDY>> This is Windy again, and that's true with a lot of circumstances. We can't place agencies right into every town or every little place in the world. I wish we could because it's really helpful to have somebody right there one-on-one. However, I'm going to direct you back to that Find Help tool because then you can find somebody either that serves your area or you can find a virtual provider.
I want to give you an example of Alaska and how we do it. In Alaska, we're so – I mean, our state is huge compared to the United States. We have little tiny villages, and directing them towards that Find Help would be the greatest place for them to go as well because they could find a VR agency that is up to hundreds and hundreds of miles away too. So it's just about finding that place that could possibly serve your area or finding somebody virtually because there's probably somebody out there that does provide services, and they can do it in a way that's either on the phone or through a Skype message or whatever is convenient to you guys that you can still build a plan and still be successful in finding a career.

STACEY>> Thank you, Windy. 
So approximately how long does the process take from assigning a ticket to getting an interview? 
We can start with you, Windy...and then if Larrisa has anything to add.

WINDY>> I'm going to stress that it's very individually driven. It's up to the individual, and it's up to the community; and there are all kinds of things that could – it could go very fast, it can go very slow. It can be based on your own personal wants, desires, goals. It's very, very individualized. I've had people assigned their ticket and get a job within weeks; I've had people assigned their tickets and get a job within months. It really is up to you. 
The goal of the Ticket to Work Program is really financial independency. So it's really about working with your EN and getting you to a point where you're very comfortable; you're off of your benefits of SSI, SSDI; and you are comfortable making a living off of those and you have that financial independence. That's really the goal of it. 
We really want you to try. So it could be assigning your ticket and making that short-term goal that you're trying to work; and it may or may not work for you. But it's the fact of trying out and getting you to the point where you can be that financial independent person that you really want to be.

STACEY>> Okay, and you had talked about how it could be a very quick process or it can take a little bit longer. Is there something that the individual can do that will affect that if they're a little more anxious to have it happen more quickly?

WINDY>> Yeah, absolutely...so they can come in with an open mind. I've had a lot of people that don't want to do this, don't want to do that, don't want to do this. It's about finding the right position and trying. So we really want to try different things. It could be like trying work and then finding out that that's not....
I just want to give you an example of a ticket holder that I've just worked with. She hasn't worked in years and years. She came to me, and she's been assigned to me since February; so it's been about four months now. She's tried going to work with kids. She found out that she did not like that. She was there for about three weeks; and she called me and said, "You know what, I don't like this; this is not for me."
I said, "Okay, that's great, let's find something else." We put her in another position. She was working at a hotel. She did not like that, and we tried something else. Now she is back in HR, which is what she did many, many, many years ago; and she's very happy. But it took that try and try until we found something....so just being open-minded and seeing where that fit could possibly be. Then this person is now working full-time with benefits; and she's very, very happy in her position. So it's just about that fit for you.

STACEY>> That's a great point that you bring up, Windy. A lot of times it may not be the first position that we try out that is the right one for us. So it's good to know that they have the option to keep at it until they find something they're comfortable with.

WINDY>> And don't be discouraged.

STACEY>> Okay, moving on here...we have another question: "Can an individual be in two programs, such as your state's VR and the EN program?

WINDY>> I can take that one too. It's a yes and a no. You cannot have your ticket assigned to both; however, we're a workforce EN, and we work very closely in a Partnership Plus with our VR. When our VR is getting close to closing a ticket, they will contact us and have us working with the client a couple months before closure. That way, we can understand the client, their goals, and all that good stuff. That way, when the VR closes and backs out, we're continuing to support. So it is a very fluid continuum of services. 
We're also a workforce, so you can work with a workforce at any time. If there's a workforce agency in your state...and, again, it could be virtual...but those workforces are there to support you. So you can always work with (inaudible) on both sides. But we like to do it like to do it very fluidly so there are two of us; and then one of us backs out, and one of us just continues.

STACEY>> All right, thank you. There is some concern that if an individual starts to work and then they find out that they cannot continue due to their disability...what would happen if that were the case?

WINDY>> Larrisa, do you want to take that one?

LARRISA>> Sorry, can you repeat the question?

STACEY>> Sure, Larrisa...what would happen if an individual started to work but then found out that they could not continue because of their disability?

LARRISA>> Well, nothing really happens. If they're working with DDR or with an employment network, hopefully they don’t give up and they follow the pattern that Windy just described about trying something different. Maybe that job did not work out; maybe due to their disability, they just couldn't do it. But there could be other work out there for them. So I would encourage people to keep trying because you can potentially find something that actually suits you, that will work for your situation and give you that satisfaction.

STACEY>> Thank you, Larrisa. 
We do have an individual that heard that he or she would lose his or her benefits right away if they went back to work and don't believe that they could actually work full-time. So they want to know if Ticket to Work can help them.

LARRISA>> This is Larrisa. For people who want to go back to work, every situation is different; and like I said, there are a lot of myths and misinformation out there. So if somebody told you that you are going to lose your benefits right away, I would have to say with 98% surety that that's not true; but every situation is different. So you would want to go to a WIPA project and have them do a benefits analysis for you. If you're not working at this point but you're working with an EN or a VR agency, they can also provide benefits counseling.
The WIPA project pretty much sticks to doing benefits counseling for people who are actually working or have a really strong work goal. So if you're not there yet, you can still get the help working with an employment network or a VR agency. They can kind of give you information that's specific to your situation that will show you what work incentives might be there for you to use, and they can show you what impact your level of work that you're looking at...if it's not full-time, maybe part-time...what will that do to your benefits. And they can actually give you a pretty accurate picture.

WINDY>> I just want to piggyback on that. This is Windy. If somebody does go to work and your benefits stop...if you're on SSDI and your benefits stop due to working, there is a work incentive called "Expedited Reinstatement." So that is out there too, and that's where talking to a CWIC about it because you have an extended period of time where if something happens and you have to stop working due to your disability, you could expedite your benefits back. You wouldn't have to go through the process of applying for benefits again. It's an expedited reinstatement of benefits instead, so it's a different applying phase. It's easier and it's faster. So there is that benefit out there too.

STACEY>> Thank you, Windy.
We have another question from a participant, and they want to know if the Ticket to Work Program can help them with the cost of transportation to and from work.

WINDY>> I do want to talk about that just for a second. If you're part of VR, which is also a Ticket to Work network, they have funding to help with that transportation piece of it if that is a barrier to your employment. If you're working with an employment network, we work with other agencies that – unfortunately ENs don't – there are some ENs out there that do provide that; there are some ENs that don't. So it really depends on the EN that you're working with.
There are other agencies out there that will provide transportation costs. So you really, really need to talk to the EN that you're thinking about. Ask them if they provide transportation; ask them if they work with other agencies that provide transportation; ask them if they know about – just really, really look at the EN before you assign your ticket and figure out if that's the right EN for you.

STACEY>> Thanks, Windy. So it sounds like if somebody thinks that they have a barrier, that they should probably talk to an EN to find out if there's something that they can get help with before they just decide that it's not for them...so thank you for that.
All right, we do have another question. That is: "What is the difference between a WIPA and WIP when it comes to benefits counseling?"

LARRISA>> This is Larrisa. WIPA is the Work Incentive Planning & Assistance project. It's the agency that will provide benefits counseling for beneficiaries. A WIP is document that a CWIC might workup for someone if there are steps. It's called a "Work Incentive Plan." So it's a plan that a benefits counselor will come up with, with assistance from the beneficiary, of the things that they might need to do. For example, if they're going to use a work incentive, well then what are the steps that they need to take. That's called a WIP or a Work Incentive Plan.

STACEY>> Thank you, Larrisa, for clarifying the difference for us between WIPA and WIP.  
Although we do have more questions, at this time we are going to stop here; and we're going to continue on with the presentation. But before we do that, I just wanted to remind everyone that this webinar is being archived and that the video, PowerPoints, and the transcript will be available in the next couple weeks on the Choose Work website, which is at https://choosework.ssa.gov.
I would also like to just reiterate that we do have that Web Links pod that is in the right-hand corner of your screen and that all of the resources that we've been talking about today and the ones that are on your screen right now...all those can be found right there in that Web Links pod. All that you have to do is click on it; and then go down to the bottom and hit "Files To," and it will take you directly to that Web link.
Next, we are going to hear about the phases of the Path to Work. Any additional questions that we receive, we will address those at the end of our presentation today. So I'm going to now turn it back over to Windy, who will share with us the phases of the Path to Work and what is included in each phase and how to put it all together.
Over to you, Windy.

WINDY>> Thanks, Stacey.
I'm going to talk about the phases of the Path to Work. The most important one, I think, for me is the first phase. So the first phase is really learning about the Ticket to Work Program. I think it's very important for you to learn about the EN that you're planning on applying your ticket to, finding out what's important to you, making the right choice for you. It's all about you, and I really want to reiterate that that is what it's all about...your goals, your life, what's best for you out there.
Social Security has created a Path to Work website to kind of go through these phases. I'm just going to go through the phases and what's in each of these phases, but you can find each one of these at the Phases to Work website; and you can access those on the Web Links over on the side.
The first phase is the Ticket to Work discussion or learning about the Ticket to Work phase. This is some important information for you to consider when you're receiving your work benefits. It's the: 
Work Your Way to a Better Future
Myths about Work and Medicare and Medicaid
The Medical Review Myth
The Myth About Reapplying for Benefits, and 
Is Work the Right Choice? 
The Better Future is learning about the Ticket to Work Program, how it works, if you qualify and how to assign your ticket. 
Myths About Work and Medicare and Medicaid really are about that myth, if you've ever heard it...if I try to go to work, will I automatically lose my Medicare and Medicaid? These are about the work incentives that we learned about from Larrisa...the Medicaid Buy-in Program, the extended period of Medicare coverage, Medicare for people with disabilities who are working, and 1619(b). 
It goes through each of these and kind of explains them for you; and of course, like Larrisa was talking about earlier, the Medicaid is specific to your state...so really getting in contact with people that either is a CWIC or the Medicaid Office to learn more about your state is super important.
The Medical Review Myth is, of course, if I use my ticket to go to work, Social Security will conduct a medical review of my case; and I will lose my benefits. If you assign your ticket, there is the timely progress goal set by Social Security. This part goes into those and what they are. It's important for you to review those, and they should be going through those when you assign your ticket with an EN.
Reapplying for your benefits...the myth is if my benefits check stops because I started making more money through work, then I have to stop working because of my disability; and I will have to reapply for my benefits all over again. Like I said earlier, there is the expedited reinstatement of benefits, and this explains how you can reapply and a little bit more on that.
The last one....is working the right choice for me and this talks about, again, only you can decide and make that right choice. 
The second phase is getting ready to work. This phase helps you determine your own work goals, and it's important for you to realize that they are your own work goals. So don't let anybody else pressure you into setting your goals. When you set your goals, you're really asking yourself what kind of job you would like; what kind of work you like to do; what you're enthusiastic about...really what you would be happy with doing.
Ask yourself the following questions to learn more about preparing for a job. Choosing that right service provider...
Is an EN right for you?
Is VR right for you?
Do you want more training?
Would VR support your training?
What is the right path for you?
And then using that Find Help tool, of course, is going to help you find which one is the right service provider for you. And then if you need help choosing that right service provider, I would talk to them. Call them up. Find out what services they provide, and are they going to meet the needs that you need? To learn more about the Phase 2, Getting Ready to Work, go to http://choosework.ssa.gov/about/your-path-to-work/ready-to-work.html. 
The third phase is getting a job. This one goes through the different phases of getting a job; and like we talked about earlier, how easy is it to get a job? This one is learning about the networking...
Should you volunteer?
Do you have a network online?
Is working with an EN and veteran network appropriate for you?
Can a VR place you in a work experience that could lead to a job?
It's all about that networking and being successful. 
Brushing up on your work skills...everybody has soft skills and hard skills that they have, and this goes through those. Your soft skills are your communication skills...whether you're early or late or work. Your hard skills, again, are those transferrable skills...what you've learned from a job that you can transfer to another job. 
Making it an important first impression with your resume is also a good one. Working with a workforce, working with an EN, working with a VR...all of those agencies can help you with your résumé and résumé building.
Applying for and finding the right job...it's not always about applying for the job but applying for the right job. Sometimes it's about ruling it out; sometimes it's just about finding it and finding the one that's right for you. Working with an EN and working with accommodations could also be finding the right jobs.
Interview prep tips and tricks...this part of this phase goes through those interview question tips and tricks. 
What you need to know about accommodations...should you advocate for yourself, are you ready to advocate for yourself, do you need to modify your workspace? This will help you in that.
Tips on easing that job interview...once you ran the job interview, we all could have some things that we need to work on. For example, when answering questions, make and maintain good eye contact with your interviewer...or, are you wearing the appropriate clothes? This goes through those tips.
Leaving a good impression after an interview is always a good way to go. You can read through these; that will help you with that.
Last, keep motivated while looking for work. Like I said earlier, don't get discouraged. Sometimes it's not the first job; sometimes it's the fifth one that is your perfect fit. Don't get discouraged as you're going through that.
To learn more about Phase 3, Getting a Job, go to: https://choosework.ssa.gov/about/your-path-to-work/getting-a-job.html.
The fourth phase is Maintaining Your Job. Once you get your job, you want to keep it. Once you find your dream job, it's worth taking that time to manage it and keeping that job. So this phase goes through what you can do to keep that job:
Getting started working in the right way...first day of whether you want to put those accommodations in place; supplies, and clothing you may need; do you need transportation to and from work; do you need child care; what are those things you need to work on those first days. How about the first week: asking questions, learning about your schedule, reflecting on training. This will help you with how do you maintain your job. 
What happens to your Social Security benefits while you're working? I would work with a CWIC on this and also report, report, report. You always want to report your Social Security benefits so that you end up with an overpayment or you don't end up getting in a situation where you owe Social Security money.
Managing your money is important, and you can manage your money. You can go to www.mymoney.gov to help with that, and that's in this website. Also, you can work with your bank to help with that. Some job centers, like here in Alaska, have workshops on managing money. You can work with your local job center to see if they do that as well. 
Of course preventing that overpayment situation is in here as well. This will give you tips and suggestions on how to prevent overpayment situations. And again...report, report, report. You can always fax, go into Social Security, use your smartphone to report your SSI or SSDI. Then of course if you have SSI, you can call (inaudible); and that has all the information on the website.
Take time to talk about timely progress. This through this because Social Security has an important work incentive. When you assign your ticket to a workforce and EN, you are protected from doing a medical CDR if you're making timely progress towards your work goal. Talk to your EN about making timely progress. It's a really good protection.
Then lastly, maintaining services through Partnership Plus...like we talked about earlier, VR and an employment agency can work together so that you have a continuum of support and added support throughout your employment.
So how do we put it all together?
Question No. 1...you have made your decision to work. It's the right step for you to gain independence. Who can help you achieve this work?
Like we talked about earlier, there are service providers...such as the State VR agencies, ENs, WIPA projects, and PABSS organizations that can offer you support with benefits and work intention; job search assistance; résumé and interview preparation; transition support; and more. 
Search for a service provider using the Find Help tool at: https://choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp. 
You're now ready to start your path to work. What questions can you ask yourself to find a job that's right for you?
Some questions that you can ask yourself are:
What type of work do I like to do?
What am I enthusiastic about?
What kind of job do I want now?
What kind of job do I want five years from now?
What are my long-term career goals?
Where do I want to work?
Learn more about in our recent blog post at: https://choosework.ssa.gov/blog/2018-05-31-do-you-know-what-kind-of-job-you-want. 
And I will turn it back over to Stacey.

STACEY>> Thank you. I want to thank Windy for the great information on how the Ticket to Work can transform lives for those with disabilities by providing work incentives and also the support services to help transition into the workplace.
I'd also like to add that this was just a very quick overview of the Path to Work. For more information, you can go to the Ticket to Work website at: https://choosework.ssa.gov. 
We do have some additional time to address your questions. If you do have some additional questions for us, please go ahead and put those in the Q&A pod; and we will get those to the appropriate speaker to answer for you.
All right, so going to the questions that we have, we have one that asks if there is a time frame for how long I can participate in the Ticket to Work Program. Is there a time frame for how long one can participate in this program? 
Windy, we can start with you; and then we can move on to see if Larrisa has any comments.

WINDY>> There is a time frame, depending on when your ticket is assigned to when it is unassigned based on your needs; and it varies between individuals. For example, if you assign your ticket and then you choose not to work and you unassign your ticket, it's based on you as an individual; however, you can assign your ticket from start to finish in five years. So if you were to assign your ticket and you were to make progress and go to work and maintain everything that you needed to do, you would successfully unassign your ticket five years after assigning.

STACEY>> Thank you. Is there a place where individuals can go to find more information about choose a service provider?

WINDY>> Yeah, absolutely...in the Web Links, and also we've talked about it before, it's that Find Help tool that you can use. You can use a service provider; and when you do, you can look up your service providers and you can find out which ones are workforce ENs, which ones are VRs. It gives you a bit more information about each one of those. It's that Find Help tool, and you can then determine what services they provide. They give you their address; they give you their phone number. You can call them up and you can ask them, and I would interview them.

STACEY>> Thank you, Windy.
Larrisa, you had talked a little bit about Medicare and Medicaid earlier. Will individuals lose their Medicaid or lose their Medicare if they participate in the Ticket to Work program?

LARRISA>> That's a great question and a pretty common one. They will not lose their Medicaid or Medicare benefits by working with an employment network or assigning their ticket. They get all the same work incentives that anybody would get...whether they're participating in a Ticket to Work Program or going it on their own. So those work incentives are there for everyone, and they don't lose it just by assigning their ticket or working with an EN.

STACEY>> That's great to know. So how does one get started with participating in the Ticket to Work Program?

LARRISA>> Windy, I'm going to let you take that one.

WINDY>> The first thing you would do is you would go to the Find Help tool to find the nearest EN closest to you. Either choose a VR that's appropriate for you or choose an EN appropriate for you. Then you would create your goals. When you work with either a VR or an EN, you have to create a plan, and the plan consists of short-term and long-term goals that you want to achieve. Within the next year, within the next three years, what are you going to want to do? First something to think about...what do you want to accomplish? Where do you want to work? What do you want to do?
That was when we were talking about what type of work do I want to do? What am I enthusiastic about? What can I do short-term? What can I do long-term?
That's kind of the things you want to think about. And then choosing an employment network, interviewing the, finding out if they're appropriate for you, if they offer the services that you think are best for you. And then assigning your ticket with them and getting started with building those...what do I need to be able to go to work, and then finding the job that's appropriate for you.

STACEY>> Thank you, Windy.
I just wanted to piggyback on a question that we just had about choosing a service provider. To get started on your journey, you can contact the Ticket to Work Help Line. You can call them at 1-866-968-7842; or for TTY, it would be 1-866-833-2967. You can also visit the Ticket to Work website, which is at: https://choosework.ssa.gov/.
There are also some other ways that you can connect to us:
You can do that by liking us on Facebook at ChooseWork. 
You can follow us at Twitter at chooseworkssa. 
You can subscribe to our YouTube channel at ChooseWork.
You can also follow us on LinkedIn at Ticket-to-Work.
There are also many resources that are available to assist you with your journey into the work world. Some of those include learning about work plans. You can go to https://choosework.ssa.gov/libraries/faq-planning-your-employment-goals-with-the-ticket-to-work-program. 
It also could be very helpful to see how others have found success with the program and see their successes. You can go to https://choosework.ssa.gov/success-stories. There's also a site that you can go to, to find tips and resources; and that is: https://choosework.ssa.gov/blog. Or if you just want to learn more about the overall program...and we really encourage you to do so...you can find that information on https://choosework.ssa.gov/about/faqs. 
So lots of resources available to you and, again, all of these are available on the Web Links pod, which is to the right-hand side of your screen in the bottom corner. 
We wanted to thank you all for attending the WISE webinar today and all your questions. There have been so many great questions that have come in; we're just thrilled about all of that. If we're not able to answer your questions, you can reach out to the Ticket to Work Help Line Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Their phone number is 1-866-968-7842; or for TTY, 1-866-833-2967. Again, you can contact or visit the Ticket to Work site at https://choosework.ssa.gov/. 
Please join us for our next WISE webinar, which will be held on Wednesday, June 27, 2018, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. Our topic for this webinar will be Ticket to Work and Reasonable Accommodations, and we would love to have all of you join us once again and bring with you all of those great questions. To register online, you can go to www.choosework.net/wise; or you can call 1-866-968-7842, or for TTY it would be 1-866-833-2967. 
And I just wanted to go back and correct myself. The date of the next webinar is Wednesday, July 25, 2018. So it's on a Wednesday...again, the 25th, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. We would love to see you all there again. 
Your feedback is extremely important to us, so please provide your feedback and tell us what you think about the webinar by taking our survey. To take our survey, you can follow the link that is going to pop up after the webinar, or you can visit the Ticket to Work website to complete the survey. That is at: www.choosework.ssa.gov/surveys/wise.
I would like to again thank our presenters for taking the time to join us today and sharing their knowledge with us. I also would like to thank all of our participants for attending today. Please take the opportunity to reach out to any of the many different resources that we discussed today and take the next steps in your career path.
Thank you, everyone, and have a great evening.