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
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Pennsylvania Statistics
as of 8/31/2015
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Eligible Ticket Holders
639,777
In-Use with VR
15,472
Assigned to ENs
1,727
ENs in Pennsylvania
19
Percentage of ENs who are VR vendors
63%
Number of traditional Partnership Plus Handoffs 284
Number of Ticket Handoffs in FY2015
88
4
Pennsylvania ENs – Areas Served and EN
Locations
EN Main Location
Number of ENs
serving county
0
1-2
3-4
5+
5
Office of Vocational Rehabilitation PA
Department of Labor & Industry
Dana Baccanti, MA, CRC, Chief, Special Programs Division
Wendy Brubaker, Vocational Rehabilitation Specialist
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PA OVR Central Office
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.
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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
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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)
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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 2003. 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
2001.
12
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
o
o
o
Intermediate Units
Transition Councils
Transition Fairs
Teacher In-Services
• Target Outreach for Veterans
o State Department of Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment
o Local VA Medical Centers
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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.
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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 2015
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Partnership Plus Hand Off Procedures
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•
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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
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Success Story
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•
•
•
•
•
•
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
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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 2001. 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 2015
%
% Payment Outcome
Total
Other EN
22
36%
14%
PA OVR - Successful
89
44%
29%
PA OVR Unsuccessful
62
29%
13%
7
14%
0%
227
40%
10%
407
38%
14%
Other State VR
No Prior Involvement
Impact of PP – Service Continuation
Mos. Of Enrollment
<
12-24 25-36 > 36
onto TTW
12mos mos.
mos.
mos.
PA OVR Successful
25
13
31
12
PA OVR
Unsuccessful
14
16
19
10
Total
39
29
50
22
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
AnaLMorales@maximus.com
703.336.8013
Dana Baccanti
dbaccanti@pa.gov
717.772.1656
Wendy Brubaker
wenbrubake@pa.gov
717.787.6695
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Comments or Questions?
Jennifer Radick
jradick@yourgoodwill.org
888. 460.5121
Angelina Bush
angelina.bush@cisworks.org
215.238.7411, ext. 117
John J. Miller
john.miller@ahedd.org
717.763.0968, ext 90118
Lori M. Tyndall
lori.tyndall@ahedd.org
717 763-0968 ext. 90130
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