NCIL Urges Congress to Remedy Delays in Ticket-to-Work and Work Incentives Program Implementation

October 6, 2006

The Honorable Jim McCrery,                                             

Chairman, House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Social Security

The Honorable Sander Levin
Ranking Member, House Ways and Means Committee Subcommittee on Social Security

Dear Chairman McCrery and Ranking Member Levin:

We are writing on behalf of The National Council on Independent Living (NCIL) to urge your Subcommittee to act and address a pattern of delayed implementation by the Social Security Administration to the Ticket-to-Work and Work Incentives programs and the consumers who stand to benefit from them. 

Earlier this week , Cornell University RRTC researchers announced an appalling 40.2% employment gap between persons with disabilities (38.1% employed) and people without disabilities (78.3% employed) and added that evidence suggests that this gap is only growing. In the face of such compelling statistics, we submit to you that SSA’s continued lack of any predictability in its implementation of Work Incentives programs is unacceptable.

NCIL is the oldest cross-disability, national grassroots organization run by and for people with disabilities. Our membership is comprised of centers for independent living, state independent living councils, people with disabilities and other disability rights organizations. As a membership organization, NCIL advances independent living and the rights of people with disabilities through consumer-driven advocacy. NCIL envisions a world in which people with disabilities are valued equally and participate fully.

NCIL is proud to have been one of the leading organizations helping to shape the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. We remain committed to ensuring the full and proactive implementation of this landmark legislation in a manner that empowers individuals with disabilities to get the information they need and leverage the available incentives so that they can realize their full potential and find desirable jobs consistent with their goals. This commitment is reflected in recent discussions at NCIL’s  board meeting in Boston that drilled down and focused on the lack of predictability in incentives and employment supports for persons with disabilities seeking to enter or return to the workforce, and policy proposals to remedy these untenable situations. Further evidence of the commitment is reflected in the fact that more than 55 centers for independent living were Benefits Planning, Advocacy and Outreach (BPAO) grantees.

The catalyst for this letter is the late and uneven implementation of the new Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Projects – the successor program to BPAO –  and NCIL’s grave concern that this is already being felt among consumers and job seekers with disabilities.  Earlier this year informational sessions for prospective grantees were held on such short notice that it was difficult to impossible for many prospective grantees to make travel arrangements to the 10 sites where they were being conducted. Furthermore, half the WIPA training sessions conflicted with the NCIL Conference, which is worth noting since such a large percentage of BPAO grantees were centers for independent living.  Although SSA was responsive to these concerns and made some adjustments, problems resurfaced with the rollout of the grant awards. Many, if not, most grantees did not get final word of the grant awards until within hours of the October 1st effective date, when they should have heard at least a month in advance.  In cases where the WIPA recipient is different from the preceding BPAO grantee, there was no time to ensure adequate staffing, to prepare facilities and to ensure a seamless transition. DELAY As a consequence, consumers expecting information about work incentives, benefits and return to work may not be able to access the information they need for a considerable interval in many jurisdictions across the country.

Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, NCIL and its members have no information from SSA about how the technical assistance components of the WIPA program are being handled. Furthermore many grantees and consumers alike are confused and dismayed by the eight-month duration of new WIPA grants, when year-long grants and budgeting are the norm.

It is more than disappointing to see a major federal agency treat small community based organizations and their consumers with such a haphazard and disorganized approach.

This is especially painful when we know from our experience that predictability in these services is precisely what consumers are looking for, expect and need as they make life-changing decisions about where their rent and health care will come from transitioning to work!

Additionally, to the best of our knowledge, NCIL and its members have no information on when a renewed Ticket to Work Program will be launched, as regulations for this are still on hold somewhere in the Administration. It is six years since the Ticket Act was signed into law. From a direct services perspective, there is still, in effect, no Ticket to Work Program in place worth the time and the money Congress appropriated to analyze.

We are aware that there are pockets of excellence in various states doing benefits planning services and cross-agency training using MIG grant funds from the Ticket Act. We would like to know what you may be learning about any coordination between the implementation of the WIPA grants and new & existing services being funded through the MIG grants to meet compatible goals related to our concerns in this letter.

It is our hope that renewed and redoubled scrutiny of the Ticket-to-Work and Work Incentives  programs by the House Social Security Subcommittee, which is invested in the successful implementation of the legislation, will provide a wake up call to the Administration that transitioning persons with disabilities into the workforce is not something that can or should be done flying by the seat of the pants. To realize the promise of Ticket-to-Work Act, which Doug Martin encapsulated in what he called “work incentives predictability” --  to get closer to the goals of the New Freedom Initiative for the full integration of persons with disabilities into the mainstream of American life, requires  thoughtful, steady policy implementation,  diligent engagement of federal and state partners, and steady, consistent management committed to the goals.

We thank you for your consideration, your oversight and your due diligence to these immediate and long term concerns.

We thank you for your leadership on behalf of Americans with disabilities.

Sincerely,

John Lancaster

Executive Director

Kelly Buckland

President

Cc: JoAnn Barnhart, Social Security Administration Commissioner

Martin Gerry, Deputy Commissioner

Berthy De la Rosa Aponte, Chair, Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel

Ollie Cantos, Domestic Policy Council, the White House