Partnership Plus Working Relationships in Pennsylvania Effective Practices Webinar Series Social Security’s Ticket to Work program October 1, 2015

Presenters Dana Baccanti, MA, CRC, Chief, Special Programs Division, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation PA Department of Labor & Industry Wendy Brubaker, Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist - Bureau of Central Operations, Department of Labor & Industry, Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Jennifer Radick, MS, CRC, MCC, CWIC VetSuccess Program Manager & Counselor, Ticket to Work Program Manager, Goodwill Keystone Area Angelina Bush, Manager of Benefits Counseling, CESP & CWIC Certified, Community Integrated Services John J. Miller, Vice President, AHEDD Lori M. Tyndall, Program Specialist, AHEDD 2

Objectives Share current statistics on Partnership Plus Handoffs and statewide Ticket to Work activity Discuss the Pennsylvania Partnership Plus Agreement and related activities in the state Describe working relationships between the State Vocational Rehabilitation agency and Employment Networks in Pennsylvania 3

Pennsylvania Statistics as of 8/31/ Eligible Ticket Holders639,777 In-Use with VR15,472 Assigned to ENs1,727 ENs in Pennsylvania 19 Percentage of ENs who are VR vendors 63% Number of traditional Partnership Plus Handoffs 284 Number of Ticket Handoffs in FY

Pennsylvania ENs – Areas Served and EN Locations 5 Number of ENs serving county EN Main Location

Office of Vocational Rehabilitation PA Department of Labor & Industry Dana Baccanti, MA, CRC, Chief, Special Programs Division Wendy Brubaker, Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist 6

PA OVR Central Office 7 The Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) provides vocational rehabilitation services to help persons with disabilities prepare for, obtain, or maintain employment. OVR provides services to eligible individuals with disabilities, both directly and through a network of approved vendors. Services are provided on an individualized basis.

Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Traditional Cost Reimbursement only Partnership Plus Agreement o 8 EN Agreements Partnership Plus Collaboration o Outreach to Employment Networks o Staff training o Notifying Vocational Rehabilitation Customers 8

Opportunities to notify VR Customers about Partnership Plus At the time of Application During development of the IPE (Individualized Plan for Employment) Throughout the Job Development process At VR Closure (in writing and verbally) 9

Goodwill Keystone Area Jennifer Radick, MS, CRC, MCC, CWIC VetSuccess Program Manager & Counselor, Ticket to Work Program Manager 10

Goodwill Keystone Area Goodwill Keystone Area provides services in 22 Pennsylvania Counties A Vendor of the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation for over 30 years 11

Goodwill Keystone Area Goodwill Keystone Area has been an Employment Network since In 2009, a Program Manager was hired to oversee the growth of the program. 488 TTW Referrals 230 TTW Tickets have been assigned; there are currently 73 Active Tickets 154 individuals were placed in employment WIPA provider in cooperative agreement with SSA since

Handoff from VR to EN Work with State VR Counselors to identify possible Partnership Plus cases Maintain communication with State VR about most effective way for seamless handoff Get to know the TTW/Partnership Plus Points of Contact at the State VR Office Work with internal Goodwill Keystone Area staff to understand Partnership Plus o Stubs, Stats and Starts Case Management Tool o Post Employment Support Checklist Educate Case Managers, Supports Coordinators and Beneficiaries about the benefits of Partnership Plus 13

Outreach Targeted and specific Outreach for TTW Program across all 22 Pennsylvania County Service Areas o TTW Presentations at local PA CareerLinks, Colleges, Family Forums, Clubhouses, local Departments of Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities, Senior Community Service Employment Programs (SCSEP), Facebook Ad, Postcard Mailings Targeted Outreach for Youth in Transition o Intermediate Units o Transition Councils o Transition Fairs o Teacher In-Services Target Outreach for Veterans o State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment o Local VA Medical Centers 14

Success Story John came to Goodwill in 8/2012 through VR for a Community Based Work Assessment He was then referred for a placement contract and placed into a position in 1/2013 as a sales associate at Target He was successfully closed with VR 4/2013 In 2/2014 he stated a desire to increase his hours and utilize the TTW program In 2/2013 his ticket was assigned to GW and in 12/2014 he was moved into Outcome payments. 15

Community Integrated Services Angelina Bush Manager of Benefits Counseling, CESP & CWIC Certified 16

Community Integrated Services (CIS) Providing employment services since 1991 Currently serves individuals in Philadelphia, PA, 4 surrounding counties, and Delaware Serves 700 individuals Employment Network since 2009 Administrative Employment Network since

Partnership Plus Hand Off Procedures CIS is a VR vendor Officially signed up for Partnership Plus in April 2013 Maintain relationship with beneficiary Maintain relationship with VR Counselor Once VR closes case, develop IWP with beneficiary and continue providing services 18

Success Story Came to CIS in March 2013 through a VR contract Provided individual with Work Incentive Counseling Individual decided on full time work Offered a full time Security Officer position in August 2013 VR unassigned the ticket, CIS assigned the ticket CIS started collecting Phase 2 payments Reached Outcome 12 and recently received a Reconciliation payment 19

AHEDD John J. Miller, Vice President Lori M. Tyndall, Program Specialist 20

Agency Overview Established in 1997, AHEDD is a private, non-profit agency providing employment services to persons with disabilities throughout PA; AHEDD has been a vendor with PA OVR for job coaching/supported employment since 1986; Serve as EN in TTW since In addition, AHEDD has served under a cooperative agreement with SSA to provide WIPA services since 2001

TTW Caseload As of July 1, 2015, 401 active cases o Of these, 43% were working and earned enough to allow the agency to qualify for payments and 19% earned enough for benefits to be suspended or terminated (i.e. outcome payments).

Impact of Partnership Plus – Outcomes January 2015Total% Payment % Outcome Other EN2236%14% PA OVR - Successful8944%29% PA OVR Unsuccessful6229%13% Other State VR714%0% No Prior Involvement22740%10% 40738%14%

Impact of PP – Service Continuation Mos. Of Enrollment onto TTW < 12mos mos mos. > 36 mos. PA OVR - Successful PA OVR Unsuccessful Total

Work Incentives Planning Assistance Many beneficiaries are uninformed or under-informed about the impact of work on benefits Beneficiaries who go to work have an increased likelihood for overpayments from SSA Work incentive counseling is an essential service to address these and other concerns and should be offered/provided to all beneficiaries Ideally, the service should be available soon after IPE development, but otherwise during PP transition

Value of WIPA and PP Megan: College grad, successful VR closure, overpayment and laid off three months after closure – three years later, new job, still employed, no SSA benefit Cameron: Successful VR closure at distribution center. Hands on role helping with reporting income to SSA to avoid SSI overpayment

Comments or Questions? Ana Morales Dana Baccanti Wendy Brubaker

Comments or Questions? Jennifer Radick Angelina Bush , ext. 117 John J. Miller , ext Lori M. Tyndall ext