Now that you have thought more about work goals and what help might be needed to achieve them,
it is time to select a service provider that can help you or the person you know who is interested in working to achieve those goals.
The Ticket program offers a network of service providers that can assist you.
The next few slides will explain the differences between them to help you identify who might be the most helpful for your particular situation.
Employment Networks, or ENs, are private or public organizations that can help with career counseling and assistance with job placement, including helping to understand how benefits may be affected by work.
Workforce Employment Networks are ENs that are also part of a state's public workforce system.
Workforce ENs provide access to a wide array of employment support services, including training programs and special programs for youth in transition, and veterans.
Vocational Rehabilitation, or VR agencies, usually work with individuals who need more significant services.
In some states, this includes intensive training, education and rehabilitation.
They also may provide career counseling, job placement assistance and counseling on the impact that working may have on Social Security disability benefits.
Work Incentives Planning & Assistance, or WIPA projects, are organizations within your community that are authorized by Social Security to provide free benefits counseling to Social Security disability beneficiaries, to help you make informed choices about work.
Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security, or PABSS advocates, represent eligible beneficiaries to remove barriers to successful employment and will help you understand your rights regarding conditions of employment.
To learn more about what each service provider can offer, click on the icon of each provider.
If you are already familiar with the services provided, you can click the right arrow to continue to learn how to find help.
An Employment Network (EN) is a private or public organization that is under contract with Social Security
to provide free services to beneficiaries under the Ticket program. Some ENs provide services in local communities,
across a state or in multiple states, and some national ENs serve beneficiaries over the Internet and by phone.
All ENs provide career counseling, job placement and ongoing support services. Some provide additional services,
such as benefits counseling, so think about what your needs are as you search for a provider that best meets them.
If you choose to work with an Employment Network, it’s important to choose one that will
provide the services needed to support your work goals. Not all ENs provide the same services
so it’s important to talk with as many ENs as possible to see what they have to offer before becoming one of their clients.
Workforce ENs are ENs that are also part of a state's public workforce system.
Workforce ENs provide access to a wide array of employment support services, including career planning, job leads and job placement, ongoing employment support, benefits counseling, training programs and special programs for youth in transition and veterans.
You can also work with your State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency. VR agencies often provide
more significant types of rehabilitation or training services compared to what an Employment Network may provide.
In some states, this includes intensive training, education, and rehabilitation. They also may provide career counseling,
job placement assistance and counseling on the effect that working may have on your Social Security disability benefits.
If they agree to take you on as a client, they also will work with you to develop an Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE)
that can help you get a job. Many VR agency services end approximately 90 days after you start working.
If you need ongoing support and services after the VR agency closes your case,
you can then work with an EN to continue your progress toward financial independence.
WIPA projects can be partners on your path to employment that help you determine whether work is right for you
and how work may affect your benefits. Once you begin working, WIPA projects can also provide information and support
to help you make a successful transition to work and financial independence. Working with a WIPA can help you:
Decide whether the Ticket to Work program is right for you. Understand the positive potential of employment
as a person who receives disability benefits from Social Security, while dispelling the myths about working.
Analyze how work and earnings may affect your Supplemental Security Income (SSI),
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), health care and other public benefits. Understand the services
a State VR agency or an Employment Network (EN) may provide and how they might best fit with your needs.
It is important to know about the Social Security Administration's Protection and Advocacy, or P&A, program,
known as Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security or PABSS. Free to everyone that receives
a Social Security benefit or Medicare or Medicaid based on disability benefits, the PABSS program helps SSI and SSDI beneficiaries
remove obstacles that prevent them from working. Located throughout the 50 states, U.S. territories and the Tribal Nations,
PABSS advocates will provide free legal aid, advocacy, and other services to assist you securing or regaining employment.
This may include help with appealing decisions of the vocational rehabilitation agency or the Employment Networks,
helping people with vocational rehabilitation get vehicle modifications so they can drive,
or a PABSS advocate may help with issues concerning Medicaid waivers or the Medicaid buy-in
and can help protect your rights regarding the conditions of employment.
