WISE Ticket to Work Webinar Putting it Together: Ticket to Work and the Path to Employment June 26, 2019 Speakers: Stacey Plizga (Moderator); Michael McCullough & Julie Her (Presenters) STACEY>> Good afternoon, everyone, and welcome to today's Ticket to Work webinar, "Putting It Together: Ticket to Work and the Path to Employment." Today's webinar is the first in a series of three webinars that discusses many of the puzzle pieces including the resources, the supports, and services that can help you identify, pursue, and reach your career goals. My name is Stacey Plizga, and I am a member of the Ticket to Work Team; and I will be your moderator for today's webinar. We are so glad you are able to take time to spend with us today to learn about Social Security's Ticket to Work program and other work incentives that can help you as you start on the path to financial independence through work. Each of us has our own path to follow, and we hope that you find some information today that will assist you on moving forward on your path to employment and financial independence. Let's get started by going over some of the functions of the webinar platform so you can interact, and you can get the most out of the information that is presented today. First, you can manage your audio using the "Audio" option that appears at the top of your screen. The "Audio" option is the icon that looks like a microphone or a telephone. All attendees will be muted throughout today's webinar. Thus, when presented with the option to joining the audio conference, choose "Listen Only," which appears at the bottom right in the "Audio" menu. Clicking "Listen Only" allows the sound to be broadcast through your computer speakers or your headphones. If you are unable to connect to the audio with your computer or if you just prefer to listen to the webinar by phone, you can dial 1-800-832-0736 and enter access code 4189148#. Next, we'd like to share some information about webinar accessibility. On the Adobe Connect platform, you will notice that on your screen there are four different boxes. These boxes are called "pods." You have the Presentation pod where the slides appear; below that is the Closed Captioning pod; in the top right-hand corner, you will see the Q&A pod; and below the Q&A pod is the Web Links pod. We'll talk a little bit more about these pods a little bit later. If you need assistance navigating Adobe Connect, an Accessibility User Guide with a list of controls is available at: http://bit.ly/adobe-accessibility. This link is also available in the Web Links pod that is at the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. The link is titled "Adobe Accessibility User Guide." Real time captioning is available and is displayed in the captioning box, which is the box that appears below the slide that is on your screen right now. You can also access captioning online by going to: http://bit.ly/captions-Jun19. This link can also be found in the Web Links pod under the title "Closed Captioning." We are here today to answer the questions that you have on the Ticket to Work program, so please send your questions to us at any time throughout the webinar by typing them into the Q&A pod. We will direct the question to the appropriate speaker during the Q&A portion of our webinar. We will be addressing questions at three different points throughout today's presentation, so go ahead and send those questions in; and we are going to do our very best to answer as many of them as possible. If you are listening by phone and are not logged into the webinar, you may ask questions by sending an e-mail to Ticket to Work; and the e-mail address is: webinars@choosework.ssa.gov. Another resource that is available that we think you will find extremely helpful in connecting to the different resources mentioned today is the Web Links pod, which you will find at the bottom right-hand side of your screen. This pod lists all the links to the resources presented during today's webinar; and to access any of these resources, you will just highlight the topic you are interested in and would like to connect to. Then you will select the "Browse To" button at the bottom of the pod, and you will be taken to the website requested. If you are listening by phone and you are not logged into the webinar or you don't have access to the Web Links pod, you can e-mail Ticket to Work. The e-mail address is: webinars@choosework.ssa.gov, or reference the confirmation e-mail that you received for today's webinar for a list of available resources. Also, please note that SSA cannot guarantee and is not responsible for the accessibility of external websites. Today's webinar is being recorded, and a copy of it will be available within two weeks on the Choose Work website, which can be accessed at: http://bit.ly/WISE_OnDemand. This link as well as the others, again, can be found in that Web Links pod we just talked about in the bottom right-hand corner of your screen. This link is titled, "WISE Webinar Archives." We hope that everybody has a great experience on the webinar today. However, if you run into any technical difficulties, please use the Q&A pod to send us a message; or you can send us at e-mail at the Ticket to Work e-mail address, which is: webinars@choosework.ssa.gov. As mentioned earlier, my name is Stacey Plizga; and I'm a member of the Ticket to Work Team. I'm very excited to be here with everyone today as your moderator. We are delighted to have with us two speakers, who will share information about Social Security's Ticket to Work or Ticket Program and other work incentives that can help you as you start on the path to financial independence through work. Our first speaker, Michael McCullough, is the Program Manager for the Crossroads Diversified Ticket to Work program. Michael has been with Crossroads for 14 years. He spent ten years as a benefits planner with the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance, or WIPA program, and four years as the program manager for the Crossroads Ticket to Work program. Michael also was on SSDI and SSI benefits for ten years after becoming paralyzed. Michael is a statewide trainer on benefits planning and an expert on work incentives and has been trained in Medicare, Medicaid, SSDI, SSI, and HUD programs. Our second speaker, Julie Her, is a Ticket to Work at Crossroads Diversified Services. She has over six years' experience working in workforce development and human services. She possesses extensive knowledge of case management principles and procedures, with previous experience working with persons with significant disabled and mental barriers. She has worked within the workforce for many years in supporting individuals in developing résumés and gaining the skills necessary for finding employment. We are so excited to have these very knowledgeable speakers with us today to share their experience and their expertise to assist you with helping your employment journey. Thank you to everyone for joining us today. We have a very informative session planned, where our guest presenters will discuss Social Security's Disability Benefits, including SSI and SSDI; the Ticket to Work Program and what it is; Ticket to Work service providers, and how to find and get support; the different Social Security work incentives that are available should you choose to explore work; and, finally, we'll talk about finding your path to work and what that looks like. It is my pleasure to introduce Michael McCullough, who will talk to us about the Ticket to Work program. Over to you, Michael. MICHAEL>> Thank you very much. I really appreciate everyone being on board today and joining us in this webinar. Again, just as the moderator has said, if you have any questions please post them in the Q&A pod. We'll be glad to answer any questions you have, provided we have enough time. With that being said, I wanted to just into the first slide of my potion of the presentation. The Social Security Administration has two different benefit programs, SSDI and SSI. SSDI is Social Security Disability Insurance; SSI is Supplemental Security Income. The first question we have is what we work with are individuals who really don't know what benefits they receive. So if you're not sure what you get or you think you receive SSA benefits, SSI benefits get paid on the 1st and are joined/linked in with Medicaid Health Insurance; SSDI benefits are paid on the 3rd or the third or fourth Wednesday or Thursday of the month and will have Medicare health insurance benefits attached to that. You can have both with SSDI in terms of Medicaid and Medicare, so I just want to make sure everyone understands the first rule of thumb when you're looking into going back to work is knowing what type of benefits you receive. That will tell you what type of work incentives you're going to be eligible for, which Julie will be going into depth on later on in this presentation. Only you can decide if work is the right choice for you. You may have had other individuals or loved ones tell you that you can't work, or you shouldn't work, or you're afraid of losing your benefits. There are a lot of different work incentives that can assist you with getting your benefits reinstated if need be or keeping your medical insurance as well. So the first question you need to ask yourself is what type of work you want to do: Do you want to transition off of benefits? Do you want to supplement what you currently receive? What type of services do you need to link up to in order to hit your goal of transitioning off of benefits or just going back into the workforce? So what is the Ticket to Work program? The Ticket to Work program is a free and voluntary Social Security program. It offers services to individuals who are disabled and who are looking to go back into work. Employment networks are across the country; some are distance-based, and some are right in your local neighborhoods. So we'll have links up soon to show you exactly how to find those employment networks and how to access them. Employment networks provide a myriad of different services. So in looking for an employment network, you want to figure out and make sure you find the right fit for you. All the services that employment networks have are free to you; that's number one. If you're worried about cost or trying to pay for Ticket to Work services, these are free services; and with these services you're able to prepare for work, find a job and succeed at work, and have retention of your work. Moving into the next slide, this is some of the things that the employment networks provide: career counseling, résumé help, interview advice, assistance finding a job. Some employment networks also have benefit planning services on-site with benefit planners, such as Crossroads. It will also link you into State and Vocational Rehab agencies with Partnership Plus. We'll go into that as well. So if your ticket is currently assigned to Department of Rehab, you can receive services from both services...the employment network and Department of Rehabilitation. We're going to go into that in detail later on in the slides as well. So why Ticket to Work? Earning a living through employment is not something everyone can do, but it may be the right thing for you to do. You may find the risks are minimal compared to the rewards you get. A lot of the clients we work with who were unemployed and now became employed, the first thing that they say to me and Julie is that they have found more self-esteem, more self-respect, and their confidence has improved by going back to work. A lot of people when they go back to work, it's how they're made up. What I mean by that is our fabric of who we are, are working people. And if you've been sidelined with a disabling condition, that's understandable. If you feel like you can go back to work and you're tentative about testing those waters, we understand that as well. So it is at your pace. You are in the driver's seat. We're here to assist you in any way we can, but you are in the driver's seat. I just want to make sure everyone understands that. You'll never be talked into things that you do not want to do. Ticket to Work service providers...there are a lot of them. There are State Vocational Rehab agencies; there are employment networks; there are workforce employment networks; there are work incentives planning and assistance projects; there are protection and advocacy for beneficiaries of Social Security, PABSS, and organizations. We're going to get into each of these as well. The one I wanted to get into was the workforce employment networks. Workforce employment networks are one-stops with job centers. They were folded into the employment networks. So if you go to a job center or a one-stop, they probably are an employment network as well. State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies...those State Vocational Rehabs furnish a wide variety of services to help people with disabilities return to work, enter new lines of work, or enter the workforce for the first time. Some states have separate Vocational Rehab agencies that serve individuals who are blind and visually impaired. So you want to look into your State Department of Rehabilitation, and you can find them on the government pages. If you go to Google, just type in "State Department of Rehabilitation" or "Vocational Rehab." In your state, you'll see the offices that are available. When you do that, also you want to look into your individual workplan that you'll be developing with Vocational Rehab. You'll also want to call them and see when their first orientation class is. The State Department of Vocational Rehab has orientations usually on a weekly or biweekly schedule. So you want to understand when the orientation is so you get an overview of their services and what services that they provide. Employment networks...an employment network is either a private or public organization that has an agreement with Social Security to provide free employment support services to people eligible for the Ticket Program. Many state workforce systems, such as American Job Centers, are part of the workforce employment networks. Private or public entities who provide services...such as mock interviews, job interviews, résumé preparedness, job prep...those types of organizations may be an employment network. So with those guys, you want to understand exactly what services are you getting, what they provide, and what the goals for you in terms of going back to work are. They provide career planning or counseling, job search, and job placement assistance. State Voc Rehab agencies may provide training programs, special programs for veterans and youth in transition, ongoing employment supports, assistance with job accommodations, and benefits and work incentives counseling. These are some of the examples of services that different employment networks and their partners provide. WIPA, Work Incentives Planning and Assistance projects...WIPA projects provide free benefit counseling services to all beneficiaries who are receiving SSI or SSDI who are interested in going back to work. These WIPA are staffed by community work incentive coordinators...we call them CWICs...and they provide in-depth counseling, one-on-one, with work incentives that apply to you as an individual based on the type of benefits that you receive...again, either SSI or SSDI. Sometimes you may receive both. They'll go into calculation sheets with you; they'll ask you questions about your vocational goals...what you would like to do, how much you would like to earn each month. From that information, they'll be able to figure out exactly what type of work incentives you would be utilizing and helping you answer any questions that you may have. A lot of people have a lot of questions when they go back to work, and we want to make sure that we answer all of them in-depth and one-on-one. It's hard if you go to the Social Security Administration because they serve so many people, and their field offices are often swamped. You can ask them questions; and the claims representatives and service reps are there to help you, and they want to help you. But if you're looking to get that hour or 45 minutes of just answering questions, that's something that just may not be able to do. So you really want to look into getting hooked up with a WIPA, Work Incentives Planning and Assistance project, because they will have the time to devote to you to answer any questions you may have. Who do WIPA projects serve? You can work with a WIPA project if you are working or have a job offer pending, are actively interviewing for jobs, or are a veteran, or are the ages of 14 to 25 not really looking for work but just may have a couple of general questions. The main thing that WIPAs really work with are individuals who have a job offer pending; that's usually when we get our calls. Then it gets really sometimes scary for people because they actually got the job, and now they really want to know what's going to happen with their benefits. If you're working, you will also receive WIPA services. This is not a time amount. You don't get an exact...if you think you're going to get like the Department of Rehab, once you get your job you get 90 days postemployment services and then they're going to refer you to a different employment network, with WIPA there are no dates...there's no time advanced...no time stamped at all. So if you need assistance for a year, you're going to get assistance for a year. If you need it for two years; it's two years. It's however much time you need. They can help you also with reporting your wages and any questions you may have and any letters you get from Social Security. Once you begin working again, Social Security is going to start sending out a series of different letters. They're not intended to be scary at all. They just want to know if you're working if there are any work incentives that they need to assist you with applying for. So when you start getting letters from Social Security, nothing to be worried about. You want to open them up in a timely manner though, and you want to respond to the letters. If you don't understand the letters, bring them to a WIPA agency. They'll be able to further assist you with understanding the letters and making sure that everything is submitted in a timely fashion. Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security, PABSS...PABSS organizations help people who receive Social Security benefits who have disability-related employment problems. PABSS advocates provide legal support, advocacy, information to assist beneficiaries with removing disability-related barriers for employment, with employers, Social Security employment networks, State Vocational Rehab agencies, WIPA projects, and others. So if you do come across any problems at work or any problems with Social Security or the WIPA, Work Incentives Planning and Assistance project, or your employment network, you can reach out to PABSS. There are links below that you will be able to access further along in this webinar that will show you exactly where you can find the PABSS organization data. To learn more about service providers, you want to review your Ticket to Work; you want to go to: choosework.ssa.gov/about/meet-your-employment-team. You can also find a service provider at: choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp. You can also call the Ticket to Work Help Line at 1-866-968-7842. They are available Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Choosing a service provider...find helpful tips and questions to ask when selecting a Ticket to Work service provider. Finding an employment network and assigning your ticket, you want to go to choosework.ssa.gov/library/finding-EN-assigning-your-ticket-worksheet. We just received a call today before the call started, and the individual got our phone number from the Ticket to Work Help Line. He was actually calling around and finding out information about Ticket to Work and the services that we provide. He had just gotten a job, and he was actively looking for an employment network. I answered some of his questions, and then I asked him if he had any other questions to give us a call back. And so he said, "I'm going to continue looking for employment networks." And I said, "Great, if you have any questions in the future, please let us know." We do get a lot of calls, and so we're able to assist individuals on a lot of different levels because we're out of a job center. Employment networks across the country have their own resources that they have, and they have access to benefit planners too. So this is how you find a service provider in your area. You want to go to Choosing the right EN for You. That's choosework.ssa.gov/library/choosing-the-right-employment-network-for-you. All right, let's see what we've got here. Does anyone have any questions at this time? This is Stacey. STACEY>>Thank you, Michael, so much for sharing the information on the Ticket to Work program and service providers. You provided us with a lot of great information about the Ticket to Work program. We are going to pause here and take a few moments to address some of the questions that we have received from our audience on these topics. Michael, you had talked about the Ticket to Work program and the assistance they can provide for finding a job. Can you tell us what are the benefits of working with the Ticket to Work program versus just applying for the job that you want on your own? MICHAEL>> Yeah, that's a great question. So some employment networks can provide vocational assessments. So if you've been out of the job force for a long time or you can no longer provide or do the job that you once did before due to your disability, some employment networks can provide vocational assessments to kind of give you an idea of what new opportunities you may have or strengths you may have. The other thing you can do is have people do résumés for you. Like Julie...she does our résumés. She does a résumé critique class every week, so you can walk in, and you can have your résumé looked at by a professional. We also do a lot of mock interviewing. So if people haven't interviewed in a long time, we'll run them through a series of different mock interviews. We want to make sure that they're prepared for the interview and they understand exactly what that job is. So we assist them from finding their job to getting their job and retaining their job. The other thing is we also have, as many employment networks do, access to a job center. So we can also forward them job leads. Once we know what type of job they're looking for, we can assist them with finding those job leads and applying for those job leads. So those are some of the services in terms of going in on your own or having a circle of support from your employment network that we can provide. STACEY>> All right, thank you, Michael...very helpful information. So you told us that the Ticket Program can assist in finding a job. Does the Ticket to Work program provide assistance with finding a work-from-home job? MICHAEL>> Great question...so when you're talking about working from home, what we would do is we would look into jobs who feature work for working from home or telecommuting. We call it telecommuting now. So what we can do is we can find jobs that are focused on working from home. It happens with the job search and how you find those jobs that are specific for working from home. Again, it's just going through all of the different jobs that are out there and finding jobs that offer working from home. Or if it's a reasonable accommodation, you may be able to speak to an employer about working from home if you're doing a lot of data entry. A lot of medical billers, a lot of medical coders...they all work from home; so that could be an option too. STACEY>> Okay, that's a great opportunity for many people...to have a work-from-home job. Michael, you had mentioned that EN provides support services to people eligible for the Ticket Program. How do I find information about ENs that provide services in my area? MICHAEL>> Got it. What you want to do is you want to go to choosework.ssa.gov. What you can do right there at that website, you can actually go in the "Search" box. And they have specifics, like "choose provider in your area or region," and that's where you start from...is going to choosework.ssa.gov. That is the main nerve center for all the employment networks, all the WIPA agencies, Vocational Rehab, PABSS, the job center ENs as well. They're all going to be located in there. STACEY>> Okay, those are great resources. Michael, some individuals would like to start their own business. Does the Ticket to Work program provide assistance for people who are interested in starting their own business? MICHAEL>> Yeah, we can definitely provide some resources for business. What we would do is we would link people up to the Small Business Administration, and we can also provide services to benefit planners that can help with the development of PABSS as well. PABSS plans can help assist with funding of your home-based business or your self-employment business. But the Small Business Administration...what that does is that assists individuals who are probably going to need a business plan. When you do a PABSS plan for self-employment, you will need a business plan. And so the Small Business Administration works really well at putting business plans together for you and assisting you with that. STACEY>> Okay, great, thank you so much, Michael. I just wanted to reiterate that the website that Michael referred you to, the choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp that can also be found in the Web Links pod under the "Find Help" tool. So that's also there for you. All right, Michael, we do have another question here. That question would be, "Can a Ticket to Work service provider help with transportation?" Is that one of the services they can help with? MICHAEL>> You know, that's a great question. I know that we don't do that directly; but I think that when you're looking at transportation, they may be able to assist with bus passes. Like when people get a job and they can't afford the gas, we have gas cards; or if they want a bus pass, we can assist with bus passes. But in terms of everyday use, we don't have that per se; but that's just us. Other employment networks because everyone is so different in the services that they provide, they may have that. But I know that when someone gets a job, we definitely can assist with that. But in terms of long-term assistance with picking them up and taking them to our offices, we're not allowed to do that. But once they get jobs, most definitely we have funding options for them...bus passes or gas cards to get to work. We do that. STACEY>> Okay, that's a great resource. And, Michael, interesting that there are many different ENs; and all those ENs do offer different services. So if I wanted to change my EN, how would I go about doing that; or what would I do? MICHAEL>> Got it. So what you want to do is you want to notify your current employment network that you plan to unassign your ticket. Then you're going to want to submit a Ticket Unassignment Form. You need to find this at choosework.net. Then you'll see the "Search" box on the right-hand side. Then you want to type in "Ticket Unassignment Form." That form will then pop up, and you want to fill that out and submit it. STACEY>> Okay, thank you so much. Michael, does the Ticket to Work program provide any assistance with getting a college degree? MICHAEL>> Got it. So a lot of employment networks...I keep speaking to ours because it's what I know, and I'm trying to keep it general because we're speaking to so many people from across the country. But when you look at college degrees, we have colleges in our area and across the nation; but what we can do is we can definitely refer people over to Disabled Students Program Services, and they provide – actually, they do a phenomenal job with people who can register for classes early before anyone else can register. They also provide notetakers. They also provide extra time for taking tests if need be. We also have some of these trade schools around here as well that are partners of ours and that we work with for trade schools. So if you want certifications or to become a plumber or a CNA or an RN, we can provide that service through our job center. STACEY>> Thank you, Michael. So, Michael, here's a question for you: "If I already have a job, can the Ticket Program still help me?" MICHAEL>> Most definitely...one of the first things that we would do is we want to make sure that you're hooked up with a benefit planner. That is very much key in the success of your job because, again, you're going to get letters from Social Security. You may not understand the letters, so the benefit planners can assist you with that. You may also be able to provide – well, we have a Client Assistance program that if you need tools for a job or clothing for a job, we can help you with that. So if you've just started working and you need that assistance, we can definitely do that. The first thing that we'll do is refer you to a benefit planner to make sure everything is good with your benefits, there are no potential overpayments. You're also moved into the right type of Medicaid program that you are eligible for. So those are some of the things that we can do once you have a job; or if you've just gotten a job and really can't get there yet, we have gas cards as well. STACEY>> All right, that's good to know that. Even if you have a job, you can still get help from the Ticket to Work program. Thank you. Michael, you had mentioned that the service providers offer a number of different services to clients. Can the Ticket Program also help a beneficiary obtain education or certifications that are required for the job that he or she wants? MICHAEL>> Most definitely...that's a great question. So with us...and again, I know I keep saying refer out, but it's actually who you know not what you know. So we have a lot of people who we refer out to because we know them; we work with them every day. So when it comes to certifications...for truck driving or whatever it may be...we have a provider finder here on site, and this goes through all the different certification programs that we offer or that our program partners offer. They're able to use the services and get signed up for those classes or that coursework. That's not a problem, and that happens quite frequently. STACEY>> All right, thanks, Michael. Michael, earlier you talked about State VR agencies. Can someone participate in the Ticket Program and get services from their State VR agency? MICHAEL>> Most definitely...that's kind of the best of both worlds. So Vocational Rehab...they provide a lot of preemployment services. They provide a lot of the schooling, book supplies, tuition fees, laptops if you need it possibly. They also do gas reimbursement, things of that nature. They also do vocational assessments to make sure you're going into the right type of program or the right type of school for you. So your ticket is assigned to them. You go in, and your ticket is assigned to one employment network at a time. But what there is, is there's something called a Partnership Plus program where once you've got your job, (inaudible) postemployment and VR provides 90 days of postemployment support. Once that 90 days hits, they'll then refer you over to an employment network to provide for retention services. I spoke a little bit about that...the benefit planning and what goes along with keeping your job or referral over to PABSS if you're having any issues with your benefits at all. But you can receive Voc Rehab services and then go right into employment network services; and the Voc Rehab and employment networks...they are related. But, again, it is consumer's choice where they want to go. Their ticket holder is responsible and in the driver's seat for whatever services they want to receive. STACEY>> All right, next question that we have here, Michael, is: "Does the Ticket to Work program...can they help with setting and implementing my goals?" MICHAEL>> Most definitely...we want what you want; so we both want you to succeed, and that's what it comes down to. So we're looking to your goals. We're looking to your experience. We're looking to your prior work experience and your prior work history, and we're going to see what you can do moving forward. And we're going to make sure that that is in alignment with what your disability is. And we want to make sure it's all about your retention of that job and success, not failure. So most definitely...we can assist with that, and most employment networks can. They love that type of stuff. STACEY>> All right, great information, Michael. MICHAEL>> And I just wanted to add in here that in the Web Links pod, we do have a fact sheet that is called "Planning Employment Goals." That has a lot of great information that you can reference regarding your employment goals. So "Planning Employment Goals" in the Web Links pod is a good reference for answering that question. STACEY>> Michael, you talked a bit about WIPA or the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance program. How do we know if we're able to work with a WIPA project? MICHAEL>> So if you're receiving SSI or SSDI benefits and you're under the age of full retirement age and above the age of 15, I believe it is, you can definitely work with the WIPA program. WIPA programs are instrumental in the success of your job because what they do is they take away a lot of the fear of your benefits, the fear of going back to work and you're not sure what's going to happen to your benefits. They can answer any question that you have. They can also assist you with filling out any paperwork you may get from Social Security, and they'll make sure that you're utilizing all the different work incentives that you are eligible to receive. If you're not sure what type of work incentives you are eligible for, they can definitely go through each one individually and let you know exactly what you're eligible for and when that would occur. STACEY>> Okay, thank you, Michael. That's great information on the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance program and how they can assist us...so thank you for that. And thank you for all of your great and thorough answers to the questions that were sent in by our participants. Although we do have a few more questions for you which we will address later in the webinar, we are going to stop here. But before we move on, I would like to remind everybody that accessible materials from today's webinar are available either in the Web Links pod that we have talked about or in your confirmation e-mail for today's webinar or by emailing the Ticket to Work at: webinars@choosework.ssa.gov. We will now turn things over to Julie Her, who will share information on work incentives and the Path to Work. Over to you, Julie. JULIE>> Hello, welcome, everyone. We're going to go right on into the slides here. [Pause] What are work incentives? Social Security has more than over 20 work incentives that make it possible for you to explore work while still receiving benefits, and they're all designed to help you succeed. Some ways to do that is you may be able to keep your Medicaid/Medicare while transitioning to work and, in some cases, even after you've started working. Another one is you have access to individualized support services. You can also try to use these with confidence knowing you may be able to keep some or all of your benefits during this transition period. These benefit planners...they're great with this kind of service, sharing their knowledge. They will get you through this support while working because it can be a challenge. The next slide here...Impairment-Related Work Expenses, What Is it? If you have to pay out-of-pocket and are not reimbursed for certain items that you need for work, Social Security subtracts the cost of certain impairment-related items and services from your gross earnings when you decide if your work is at a gainful – like an SGA level. That includes medicine, medical devices, disposable items related to your disability, assistive technologies...hearing aids, labels...if you use for any kind of communication network, service animals...so job accommodations. Learning More About Work Incentives...looking for more information about the work incentives or how you can use them on the path to financial independence through work. Some of these links provided below will give you references to this. There's a Social Security Red Book, a very informational pamphlet/book. There's also the work Library, and you can find that with the link below. And also the Choose Work! Blog. There are also live chats in all of these as well if you need some assistance while navigating these links. The Path to Work...Finding Your Path to Work...everyone is very different. As individuals, we learn differently and finding work differently...learning about the Ticket to Work, how to get ready for work, how to get a job, how to manage your job. All of this is provided with the employment services that your EN will be providing. Phase 1 of the Ticket to Work...what you need to be doing during Phase 1...deciding if work is right for you. That includes thinking about how to work and earning that income...how it will affect your benefits. Some questions may be considered: How can work help me find a better future? What is the right choice? How do I figure that out? An employment service network can also assist you with that. That leads to goal setting, individual work plans, that can all be of assistance to you in that Phase 1. Phase 1, Continuing...the Ticket to Work program...How does the Ticket to Work Program Help? Only you can choose if work is right for you. The Ticket to Work program service providers help with offering benefit counseling, discussing work incentives, providing support transitioning to workplaces, showing you how Social Security work incentives may serve as a safety net. The links below are some resources...Social Security Work Incentives and Meet Ben! Phase 2, Ready to Work...What You May Be Doing During Phase 2...Identifying Your Goals. At this time, you're going to think about the types of jobs that interest you...what matches your experience and skills...work with a Ticket Program service provider who will offer you free services to support all of these goals. When working with a Ticket Program service provider, that individual will assist you with numerous workshops, job retention, job development, job searching skills, résumé critiquing. If you need to start a little bit...shape up with your like Microsoft skills, we have interviewing skills, data skills. Lots of these workshops are provided in your local one-stop job centers. Phase 2 Preparing for Work...How the Ticket to Work Program May Help. Our service provider will work with you to develop individual workplans. That workplan serves as a roadmap to success in your employment. It helps you identify goals as well as specific support of services that will provide you to reach them. Through all these steps if you need referrals out, we have lots of resources to refer you for. We also have, again, workshops. We also have a great team of different coaches that can provide these workshops more in-depth and in a way where you...like if you need an interpreter, sign language interpreter, if you speak a different language, we also can provide that as well too. Then navigating the Internet, we also provide that as well. So the whole thing of getting ready to work, your employment, your EN job coach that you are assigned to, he or she will be able to assist you with that all in that individual workplan. Getting a Job...What You May Be Doing During Phase 3...Applying for Jobs. This includes writing or editing your résumé, filling out job applications, and going to job interviews. During Phase 3, it can be very crucial; and this is the application. You're advertising yourself to these companies and these employers. This can be a challenge. That's where, again, the EN and job coaches come in. We, again, offer lots of job coaching there for résumé writing. We can do mock interviews. We can do multiple mock interviews. We can do a first interview and then a second follow-up mock interview. We can also assist you in how to fill out a job application. Filling out a job application can be a little bit challenging nowadays. Everything is online, and sometimes the search engines are not so friendly; it can be challenging to navigate. Also the résumé...we can look at your résumé and critique that and put it all on one page, make it legible, make it stand out. Getting a Job Continuing Phase 3...How Does the Ticket to Work Program Help? When you're developing your IWP with your service provider, they'll identify the services they provide. This may include résumé review and editing, interviewing preparation, mock interviews, and even job placement. Below, there are some resources, some links, résumé and interview tips...also, interview do's and don'ts. Again, lots of one-stop job centers will provide workshops that include résumé workshops, résumé critiques, Microsoft one-on-one, how to create an e-mail account. We also talk about and provide mock interviews, interviewing skills, how to dress. We have resources...where to get professional attire if you should need that as well and then job placements as well. We work with lots of different employers. We have lots of even temp agencies that we work with, and we can talk about how to apply for such positions. We can also assist you directly once applying. Training and Education...everyone's path to work may be different. The Ticket to Work program may be able to help you with training and education support. Certain Social Security work incentives may help including Plan to Achieve Self-Support, PASS. There's also a weblink right below that you can navigate for PASS if you need some assistance there. Student-Earned Income Expenses, SSI only...the link is also provided if you should need to look more into that. And if you want to learn more about work incentives, there's also a link that is also provided as well too. Lastly, your State VR agency may also be able to help you connect with opportunities to gain training, skills, and/or knowledge. Phase 4, Managing Your Job...What You May be Doing During Phase 4. Congratulations! You've found a job, and now you've started transitioning to the workplace. During this phase, you'll need to make sure that you report your wages and your employment to Social Security and assess whether you need any workplace accommodations. Any EN providers will have resources on how to request such accommodations. Phase 4, Continued...Managing Your Job...How the Ticket to Work Program May Help. Even though you've found a job, your service provider may continue to offer you key support and services to help you succeed. They may be able to answer your questions about wage reporting, remind you of the work incentives that apply to you, or help you request reasonable accommodations. There are resources with links as well for wage reporting and on how to request for accommodations. There are lots of success stories. The one that we are providing here is on Shirley. She was diagnosed and was advised to stop working until they could get her symptoms under control. Shirley later was able to get help from the Ticket to Work program and the work incentives to find her path to a better future. There is a link under her photo where you may view her success story. There is also a link that's provided that you can view many other successful stories as well too with individuals on the Ticket to Work program. If you want to learn a little bit more about the Path to Work, everyone's path to work is an individual journey and may include different stages. You can learn more about the Path to Work and discover even more resources to help you toward financial independence through the website provided below here: choosework.ssa.gov/about/your-path-to-work. Working with a Ticket to Work program service provider throughout each of these phases may offer you the resources you need...like benefits counseling when you need them...whether it's Phase 1 when you're thinking about work or Phase 3 as you're transitioning to the workplace. STACEY>> Thank you, Julie, for helping us to understand what work incentives are and what the path to work looks like. There are many tools that are available to assist us with this journey, and the links to these tools can be found in the Web Links pod if you would like more information on any of the topics that Michael or Julie have discussed thus far. That Web Links pod has lots of great information in it, so please check that out. Michael, I have a question here for you. That question is: "Do you have to assign your ticket before accessing a WIPA?" MICHAEL>> No, you do not. You do not have to have your Ticket to Work assigned at all. You can get WIPA services and not Ticket to Work program services. That's a great question...no, you do not. STACEY>> Great, thank you, Michael. We are just going to hop back to slide 28 here real quick so we can reiterate some information here; and that is, who can work with a WIPA. You can work with a WIPA project if you are working, you have a job offer pending, if you are actively interviewing for jobs, if you've had an interview in the past 30 days, if you have a job interview scheduled in the next two weeks, if you are a veteran, are age 14 to 25, or if you are not necessarily actively pursuing work. So just a reminder again that a lot of information can be found in the links in that Web Links pod, so please check those out. Michael, another question for you: "If my EN doesn't have a benefits counselor on staff, can I receive benefits counseling from a WIPA while I receive services from my EN?" MICHAEL>> Most definitely...they are not related. They do not have to be related. So you could receive your services from an employment network, and you can also be receiving services from a benefit planner in a different town even. So it really does not matter. As long as you're getting your needs met, you can have both services going consecutively. STACEY>> Thank you very much, Michael. Julie, I'm going to jump over to you. Can you provide some guidance on how we can find out what types of costs may be impairment-related work expenses? [Pause] Julie, are you there? Are you on mute? MICHAEL>> Yeah, she's looking through some notes right now. If you don't mind, I can go ahead an answer that one. STACEY>> That would be great. MICHAEL>> So if you have a service animal, that's a cost. If you have assistive technology, such as a screen reader, that's a cost. If you have medications that are not covered by your medical insurance that you need related to your disability, that is (inaudible). If you have specialized job coaching that you're paying out-of-pocket, that could be an impairment-related work expense as well. Anything that's related to your employment that you need in order to work that's related to your disability, Social Security is going to really look at; and they're going to try to help you with. If it makes sense to you, then it probably is going to make sense to them...as long as you have a doctor that has signed off on it and have a doctor's prescription stating this is why you need this, this is why it's related to your disability. I knew of a guy who was working at a data entry position, and all he did was type data entry stuff all day long. He was able to have impairment-related work expenses written down for massage therapy. So he got massages, and that was early. And that guy was myself. That's what I did when I first started out working. I got massages, and then I married the masseuse; so it worked out pretty good. STACEY>> That did work out very well. Thank you, Michael. MICHAEL>> Yeah, she charges me double now though; so that's no longer (inaudible). STACEY>> All right, thank you, Michael (laughing). MICHAEL>> You're welcome. STACEY>> Julie, I'm going back over to you. And, Michael, if you want to jump in, that's find too. Julie, you had talked about impairment-related work expenses or IRWE. How do I apply for an IRWE? JULIE>> There is several ways on how to apply. You can do a written statement with receipts and a doctor's prescription to validate why you need these certain items or services. And then SSA may send out any additional forms. One could be called the Work Activities Report, and that may ask for additional information if needed. STACEY>> Great, thank you so much. And, Julie, can an IRWE be paid for expenses that I have paid for in the past? JULIE>> Mm-hm, so IRWE can be submitted and are utilized to see if earnings would be still considered above SGA. You would need to submit a Request for Reconsideration with your expenses, receipts, and doctor's notes to verify that. STACEY>> Okay, that's great information. Michael, we're going to hop over to you. Michael, we have participants who are interested in benefits counseling. Do they have to be working in order to receive benefits counseling? MICHAEL>> No, I think that you referenced that really well on a slide...number 26, I believe...where you have the triage of people who are interested in benefit planning. You do not need to be working to get Work Incentives Planning and Assistance services. I love when people are not working because then they're able to take their time and really understand the work incentives, instead of just getting a job and then getting work incentives. It's almost in survival mode. But I love when we can just take our time, and we can look at different numbers in terms of how much per hour and how many hours per week. Part-time, full-time...we can weigh it all out and see if that's going to be the best fit for them. So I love doing benefit planning with individuals who haven't got the job yet and who are looking to just get some information about it. I love that; it's a great way – it's a great bridge from not working but understanding the information to working and not being so scared when you're working and you're not sure what's going to happen with your benefits. So, yes, before you work, I love giving benefit planning services. STACEY>> That seems like it would be a great tool to utilize with those benefit planning services, so thank you for that. MICHAEL>> You're welcome. STACEY>> Julie, we'll jump back over to you: "Will I get reimbursed if I pay for something that qualifies as an IRWE, or does SSA pay for the expense upfront?" JULIE>> IRWEs are expenses that must not be non-reimbursable and to be paid for you, so SSA does not pay for IRWE expenses. STACEY>> Great, thank you. Julie, can you tell us what happens if Social Security determines that my expenses don't qualify for an IRWE? Can I appeal that decision? JULIE>> Yes, you may. You can always appeal for a decision, and another claims representative will make a new determination regarding your request. So, yes, you may. STACEY>> Okay, and then, Julie, if a certain item is needed so that I can work, do I need to get an IRWE approved before paying for that expense; or do I get it approved after I pay for it? JULIE>> Preferably before because you always want to have that request approved before purchasing any item to avoid not being reimbursed for it. So if you've already purchased an item, you can also request the expense be covered as an IRWE. STACEY>>Thank you, Julie. Staying with you, I do have another question, Julie. Clients may have a number of items need in order to work. Is there a maximum cost limit that IRWEs can cover per month or per year? JULIE>> There is no maximum cost...as long as you can justify the need per item and SSA has to approve those expenses. STACEY>> Thank you, Julie. Michael, back to you. You had mentioned a few different service providers earlier. Do any other service providers offer benefit counseling? So do any of the other service providers offer benefits counseling? MICHAEL>> That's a great question. So let me think here real quick. I do not believe so, not in my region off the top of my head because we provide services to all of Northern California basically, 21 counties. So all of the one-stops and employment networks...they're all very much well-aware of the benefit planning services. So in my region, I would say, "No." But I'm sure that there are other regions where employment networks are WIPAs as well. They would have different staff for that, but at least they are related; and they provide that service in-house. STACEY>> All right, great, thanks. MICHAEL>> But in my region, I don't know of anyone. STACEY>> All right, and just to reiterate, that "Find Help" tool can be used to find any type of Ticket to Work service providers including WIPAs, ENs, State VR agencies, and PABSS or P-A-B-S-S. Julie, back to you...IRWE covers a number of different items needed in order to work. Does IRWE cover the cost of assistive technology, like a screen reader, in the workplace? JULIE>> Yes, it's an allowable expense; and the definition of that is it's related to your work impairment. So the item would be utilized at work and/or help you work...so, yes. STACEY>> All right, thank you, Julie. Julie, earlier you had mentioned that there are more than 20 work incentives available. That's a lot of work incentives. Where can I find out which work incentives apply to me? JULIE>> The best way to find that out is that you would apply and utilize benefit planning services. Benefit planners have been trained to assist with all kinds of work incentive questions such as these. So they can work with you in-depth on each work incentive that applies to that specific benefit that you receive. STACEY>> Thank you for that information on the work incentives, Julie. Can only one work incentive be used, or can a combination of ones you are eligible for be used? JULIE>> You can utilize more than one work incentive at a time if you're eligible for that work incentive. And then you can also extend that period of eligibility at the same time. There are various different work incentives that can be utilized at the same time. STACEY>> Okay, great...thank you, again, for that additional information. We do have, Julie, a number of individuals who are interested in applying for work incentives. Would you provide some guidance on how to go about applying for work incentives? JULIE>> Sure...some work incentives you don't need to apply for. Some examples of that would be a trial work period, grace period, extended period of eligibility, extended Medicare coverage. Other work incentives...such as impairment-related work expenses, blind work expenses, student-earned income exclusions, or plans to achieve self-support...would need to have proper paperwork completed. STACEY>> Great, thank you so much, Julie. We wanted to follow up on that question about finding benefits counseling. I would like to mention that many ENs also have benefit counselors on staff. So if you use that "Find Help" tool, you can use filters within there to find an EN that offers benefits counseling. That tool is very useful, so go ahead and check that out. Michael, we're going to jump over to you real quick here. Can you tell us...there are many different service providers to choose from. Could you give me some guidance on how to know which type of service provider is right for me? MICHAEL>> Yeah, it's just going to be what type of services that they provide. You want to make sure that you have your goals. You have certain things that you need from a certain service provider. So you might want to write all those things down...this is exactly what I'm looking for. And when you speak with different employment networks, you're going to over all those things that you need and ask them if they provide that service or they can make referrals to other entities that do provide that service. They may not need to provide the service directly; but as long as they know how to get you to where you need to go, that would be just fine too. But the main thing is you want to make sure that your relationship is going to be the best fit for the ticketholder and not for the employment network. You have needs, and you want to make sure that you find an employment network that's best suited for those needs to be met. There are a lot of different employment networks out there, so you want to really make sure you do your due diligence in finding the one that really makes sense for you. That would be number one. Number two is how available are they? Are they just available by e-mail, or do they have a site you can actually go to? Some people like local employment networks that they could just drop in. Other employment networks are across the country, and they provide distance-based services. So that might be something of interest you as well. So you really want to make sure that you know what you're looking for and then match the employment network to your needs instead of the other way around. STACEY>> Thank you, Michael. That's great advice...to make sure that you are matching the needs of the ticketholder. So when you're out there and you're looking at those employment networks, make sure that you've evaluated what your needs are and take a look at those when you're trying to find that EN...so thank you very much. I'm going to go with one more question here for Julie. Julie, you talked about Phase 2 and how at this stage we should think about jobs that we are interested in and that match our skills. Are there any tools or resources that can be used to help identify the types of jobs that we may be qualified to do? JULIE>> Yes, there are. There are assessment forms and assessment tools that ENs can provide the individual...whether it's by hand or on the computer...that individuals can take up and that can determine if they are maybe interested in something else that isn't in their comfort zone or that they've done in the past. So there are lots of assessment tools that can help with that. MICHAEL>> I would like to piggyback on that a little bit. Julie hit it on the head, but there's also some funding that could possibly be available for people to go out to different job sites and work and see if those jobs fit what they're looking for...just really kind of a hands-on approach to the job. That's going to be based on the different employment networks for the different job centers and their funding partners. But that's definitely something that we use. We have something called the WEX program, the Work Experience program. So we're able to place people out in different jobs that they have interest in pursuing. It's part-time; it's not a full-time, long, tenured position. But it gives you a month or six weeks of employment to see if that's something that you want to do. STACEY>> Thank you, Michael, for jumping in there and adding to the response to that question. We appreciate that. I would like to at this point thank both Julie and Michael for answering those many questions that we had on the Ticket to Work program. We are going to move forward. But before we do that, I would just like to remind everybody that accessible materials from today's webinar are available in that Web Links pod; or you can go to that confirmation e-mail you got today; or by e-mailing Ticket to Work at: webinars@choosework.ssa.gov. Now we're going to turn it back over to Michael, who will help us put it all together. So over to you, Michael. MICHAEL>> Thank you very much, I appreciate that. So away we go...so you've made the decision that work is the right step for you to gain independence. Who can help you achieve your work goals? That's going to be the employment networks or State Vocational Rehabilitation providers or the PABSS organizations or even the benefit planners. They can assist with a little bit of that as well. When you're looking to put it all together and find a job, you want to make sure you have a great circle of support around you. You want to partner with an agency that actually really gets you and understands exactly what you're looking for out of a job and out of a partner moving forward in an agency. So what questions can you ask yourself to find a job that's right for you? Well, number one is...what do you like to do? What are you enthusiastic about? What kind of job do I want now? What kind of job do I want in five years? What are my long-term goals? Where do I want to work? The other one is...what type of job will your disability allow you to do? If you're in a wheelchair, you're not going to be working at a lumber mill. I actually worked at a lumber mill and thought, "No, I couldn't do that." So you need to really make sure you find something that is not going to be a negative impact to your disability because once you've finally got a job...you went to school, you got your certification, you finally got the job...the last thing you want to do is change that job a year-and-a-half later or two years later because it's not in accordance with the type of disability that you have. It's all about retention of that job because you worked so hard to get it. So you want to really understand and evaluate your disability; and you have to listen to your disability or else, what I call it...it will exact revenge. So you want to make sure you're finding a job that's going to be suitable for your disability and your strengths. Any questions on that so far? STACEY>> Thank you, Michael, for helping us to identify service providers who can help us put it all together and achieve our work goals. We do have a few more questions that we're going to try to get in here before the end of our webinar today. Michael, I will start with you; and this is going back to something you talked about earlier. You had talked about benefits counseling: "If I receive other public benefits besides Social Security Disability benefits, will benefits counseling cover these benefits too?" MICHAEL>> You know what? Sometimes...but the benefit planners, the WIPAs, are not certified in State programs like Medicaid...or, sorry, they are certified in certain Medicaid programs...but like CalFresh or food stamps or Cash Aid or anything like that. We can advise; but to be honest with you, I prefer going to the provider themselves. So if you have what we call Cash Aid or CalFresh out here, food stamps, then I always go to the provider and ask them, "What are the requirements that I have to follow in order to still receive this service," or, "How much can I make before this service is dropped?" or, How do I report my wages to you? What are the changes in my income I need to report?" Benefit planners can answer a lot of questions. But if it's related to like TRICARE from the Veterans Administration or certain state-specific programs, they may have enough...a little bit...to give you some general information. But the exact information, you want to be able to go to that exact provider and ask those questions directly to them. STACEY>> Okay, great advice...so when in doubt, make sure you're asking those questions of your benefits counselor. MICHAEL>> Thank you. STACEY>> You're welcome. I know that ENs offer different services. We talked about that. How can I find out if an EN has benefits counseling available? MICHAEL>> Yeah, so you spoke to that already...by going to the Choose Work site. There are filters that you can use to find an employment network that actually has benefit planners on-site. The Choose Work site is truly...I was perusing it a couple of days ago and this morning. It is chalk full of information. It's basically your one-stop shopping for all of your employment network researching and needs that you may have. You can use the filters that will go ahead and filter out and that do not have that service. It will concentrate on employment networks that do. So, again, choosework.ssa.gov. And you want to go to "Use the Filters." You can see and pick out the employment networks that have specifically benefit planners on staff. STACEY>> All right, that's a great website to reference. That keeps coming up for us...so that choosework.ssa.gov site, very good. One last question for you here, Julie: "Many times people are interested in working but don't know how to write a résumé or where to get started. Can a Ticket to Work service provider help with writing résumés?" JULIE>> Yes, they can; and that's exactly what they do as well. You submit in your résumé...whether that's by person, face-to-face, or whether it's via e-mail depending on your location. We then review the résumé, and we will go in-depth and in step on how to revise that. We also provide workshops that can assist with building that résumé as well too if you need additional assistance. So, yes...planned networks provide résumé building, résumé revising and critiquing. That's a great service to provide. I'm hoping that many people take advantage of that because that would be very helpful. STACEY>> Thank you very much for taking the time, Michael and Julie, to answer all those great questions that we have taken from our participants today. We are out of time for questions for today's webinar, and I'd like to thank all of those who sent in those great questions. We hope we've provided answers to your questions on the Ticket Program. I'd like to just reference one more time that "Find Help" tool that is at: choosework.ssa.gov/findhelp. Great tool to utilize to get more information about the program. All right, so how to get started...well, Social Security's Ticket to Work program has a number of service providers and other resources that are ready to help you get started. To get a list of providers in your area or to get answers to questions that you may have about the Ticket Program and other work incentives that we've discussed, you can contact the Ticket to Work Help Line at 1-866-968-7842 or, for TTY, 1-866-833-2967. You can contact them Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Easter Time, or you can visit: choosework.ssa.gov any time. If we were not able to answer your questions today or if you have additional questions, you can reach out to the Ticket to Work Help Line at 1-866-968-7842 or, for TTY, 1-866-833-2967. Or, again, you can visit the Ticket to Work website at choosework.ssa.gov. You can also find us on social media or subscribe to blog and e-mail updates by visiting: choosework.ssa.gov/contact. This link appears in that Web Links pod under "Ticket to Work Contact Information." Please join us for our next WISE webinar in this Putting It Together series, "Reasonable Accommodations and the Path to Employment," which will be held on Wednesday, July 24, 2019, from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time. You can register online by going to choosework.ssa.gov/wise; or you can call the 1-866-968-7842 or, for TTY, 1-866-833-2967. Your feedback is very important to us, and it helps us to plan our future webinars; so please provide your feedback and tell us what you think about today's webinar by taking our survey. To take the survey, you can follow the link that will pop up after the webinar; or visit the Ticket to Work website to complete the survey. Thank you again for attending and learning about the Ticket to Work program. We hope you take the opportunity to reach out to any of these resources that we discussed today and take the next step in your career path. This concludes today's webinar. Have a wonderful evening.