Work Incentives Planning and Assistance
National Training and Data Center
Working with the
Ticket to Work Help Line
Learning Objectives
As a result of this presentation you will learn the following:
• Role of the Help Line;
• Beneficiary information that can be accessed by Help Line
staff;
• Limitations on information the Help Line Customer Service
Representatives can provide to WIPA staff; and
• Best practices and strategies for working with the Help
Line.
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Roles of TtW Program Managers and
WIPA Services
Ticket Program Managers
• Support for beneficiaries in Ticket to Work program
participation.
• Provide a wide variety of EN support services.
WIPA Services
• Information and Referral.
• Individualized work incentive information.
• Long-term, intensive services.
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TtW Help Line Operation
MAXIMUS
• TtW Program Manager.
• Operates the TtW Help Line.
Ticket to Work Help Line
• The Help Line is often the beneficiary’s first point of contact in
his/her return to work efforts.
• The Help Line’s mission is identical to WIPA projects:
– Promote employment;
– Provide accurate information to beneficiaries about work support
programs; and
– Help beneficiaries to achieve financial independence.
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Ticket to Work Help Line Functions
• Assist beneficiaries to make informed choices about:
– Ticket to Work use;
– Employment Network selection; and
– State Vocational Rehabilitation agency participation.
• Provide basic work incentives information to eligible
callers.
• Operate as an intermediary service that makes
referrals to WIPA projects.
• Provide other I&R referrals for non-WIPA services.
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Standard WIPA Call Flow
1.
2.
3.
4.
Greeting and WIPA Eligibility Verification.
Summary of Reason for the call.
Probing Questions.
Determine whether to refer to WIPA.
WIPA Referral
5. The “Message.”
6. WIPA Connection.
7. Permission to Refer.
8. Privacy Statement.
9. ETO Referral.
10. Call Closure.
Not a WIPA Referral
5. The “Message.”
6. General Work Incentives
Information.
7. Call Closure.
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Help Line Scripts – WIPA Introduction
“I want to tell you about an organization in your area that
can help you understand how earnings may impact your
benefits. This organization is called a WIPA (Work
Incentives Planning and Assistance). Because work
incentives apply to beneficiaries in a very individualized
manner, Social Security partnered with agencies in your
local area to provide one-on-one counseling so that you can
make a plan about how to use your incentives when you go
to work.”
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WIPA Intro Script - continued
"Each WIPA program has counselors called Community
Work Incentives Coordinators (CWICs) who provide
long-term assistance and will walk the journey with you
as you pursue employment and during any life changing
events that may affect your benefits. They can help
you to report earnings, utilize work incentives, and help
you with other benefits such as Medicaid/Medicare,
food stamps, housing assistance, and other local
resources."
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Help Line Script – WIPA Connection
“It is very important that all of your benefits are fully
verified in order for you to receive accurate information
about the work incentives that could apply to your
situation. Since I do not have that specific information
available to me, I would like to refer you directly to the
WIPA provider that I just mentioned to you. They will be
able to give you detailed information about how work will
impact your benefits, and what work incentives may apply
to your unique situation.”
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Permission to Refer
“How do you feel about working one-on-one
with someone at your local WIPA project?
Would you like me to release your information
to the WIPA and have them contact you to
discuss the next steps toward your work goals?"
Read Privacy Statement
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Help Line Scripts – Important Take-Away:
You/Your Agency as “The WIPA”
• You must identify yourself as “the WIPA” when
establishing initial contact with referred
beneficiaries.
• Beneficiaries come away from the call with the Help
Line expecting to be contacted by “the WIPA”.
• The referring Customer Service Representative (CSR)
may or may not have provided the beneficiary with
the name of your WIPA project/agency.
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Help Line Scripts – Important Take-Away:
You/Your Agency as “The WIPA”
• Although the CSRs are encouraged to provide the
beneficiary with the WIPA project name at the
time of referral, the beneficiary may not
remember.
• Callers also receive information about assigning
their Tickets during the call, and may confuse the
WIPA referral with the EN / VR list they
requested.
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Referral Information
• Beneficiary demographic information is verified with Social
Security records and accessed by the CSR via iTOPSS.
• The referral is sent to the WIPA that covers the area in which
the beneficiary lives, (per the address of record in iTOPSS).
• Upon contacting the beneficiary, the WIPA may find that the
beneficiary is now residing in a different WIPA area.
• ORDES guidance says beneficiary WIPA assignment is based on
the address officially on record with Social Security.
– A beneficiary whose actual address is different from the address on
record with Social Security should be served by the WIPA who covers the
incorrect address on record until the beneficiary officially changes the
address with Social Security.
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Referral Notes Template
• County of Residence:
• Ticket Assignment Status:
• Status re: Employment: currently working, has a
job offer, interviewing, actively seeking
(completing applications), potential PASS
development
• Best Time/Number to Call:
• Other Beneficiary Concerns:
• Privacy Statement Read: yes / no
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Referral Notes Details
Referral “notes” will provide the following
information:
• Beneficiary’s preferred contact method.
– The preferred contact number may be an
alternate to what is listed in the demographic
screen.
• Beneficiary’s special language requirements.
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Special Referral Notes
• Transition Age Youth referrals
– “Ticket Assignment Status: TRANSITION AGE YOUTH
(CWIC - Please contact the youth or the youth’s
representative to verify Social Security Disability
benefit receipt and eligibility for WIPA services
BEFORE accepting or rejecting).”
• Former BOND Beneficiary referrals
– “Other Beneficiary Concerns: Former BOND
participant, end date is _____________(insert date
that was shown in ETO search).”
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ETO Information
• ETO has separate sites for each WIPA project and the Help Line.
– WIPA staff only have access to information in their own specific
site.
• Help Line CSRs have no access to initial case notes.
– CSRs will not see initial contact notes recorded in the WIPA site.
• The ETO case number may change from the initial number
assigned in the Help Line ETO site when the referral is accepted
by the WIPA project.
• All pertinent information about the referred beneficiary is
contained in the ETO record referred to the WIPA.
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ETO Reminders
• Before you accept any Help Line referrals, use the “Search
for current WIPA and BOND beneficiaries” link to determine
whether the beneficiary is already enrolled.
• Carefully review both the “referral details” and the
“participant details” to ensure that the beneficiary is within
your service area.
• Check your “View Pending Referrals” queue daily.
• Referral decisions should be made within 2 days of referral.
• Do not attempt to contact the beneficiary before you
accept a referral. Accept first, then begin attempts to
contact.
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Tips for Contacting Referred Beneficiaries
• Identify your agency as “the WIPA” that the Help Line
mentioned at point of referral.
• Utilize multiple forms of contact:
– Email;
– Phone – various times of the day; and
– US Mail.
• Leave clear messages that include your contact
information and best time to reach you.
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More Tips for Contacting Beneficiaries
• When email is available, send an introduction
and reminder of how WIPA services can assist.
Let the beneficiary know when to expect you
to reach out via phone.
• Remember that many referred beneficiaries
are working and you may need to consider
contact attempts outside normal business
hours.
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More Tips
• Be prepared to hear and respond to the following:
– “I need help finding a job”; or
– “I got all the information I needed from the Help Line.”
• Keep in mind that most of the callers who were
referred to your WIPA project also received
information about Ticket to Work providers.
• Remember that the vast majority of beneficiaries
who are referred to you have not received any
information about the available work incentives.
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More Tips
• Be positive and remind the beneficiary that your services are
different from those offered by an Employment Network or
Vocational Rehabilitation.
• Discuss how you can further assist beneficiaries in their return
to work efforts, which may include:
– Individualized information about how the work incentives
will apply in relation to the earnings goal;
– Assistance with reporting to Social Security and various
other agencies;
– Information on the impact of employment on ALL benefits,
not just Social Security benefits;
– Long term follow-up and assistance; and
– Connections to other local agencies.
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Purpose for "Protocol" Emails
The “beneficiary re-contact” email is a simple
communication from Help Line CSRs to WIPAs
to convey: (1) the beneficiary’s need for further
services; (2) the beneficiary’s perspective on
why the further services are required; and (3) a
request for a CWIC to re-establish contact.
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Purpose for "Beneficiary
Re-contact" Emails
• The Help Line sends a “protocol” email when recontacted by a beneficiary who reportedly needs to
re-initiate a WIPA contact.
• Beneficiaries provide the following reasons for their
re-contacts:
–
–
–
–
–
No contact from the WIPA;
WIPA’s contact information is lost;
Services initially declined, but are now needed;
New employment necessitates further WIPA services; or
Other reasons.
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"Protocol" Email and Response Content
• The Help Line “protocol” email should simply re-state
information provided by the beneficiary.
– The content is not confirmed or validated information; it
reflects the beneficiary’s statements.
• The email content is not a judgment that a WIPA has
not met job requirements.
– WIPA replies to protocol emails should not be defensive in
tone, or provide justification/explanation/documentation
regarding contact attempts.
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Response to Protocol Emails: Locate the
Beneficiary Records
• If you cannot find the beneficiary’s record using the standard
search function, utilize the ‘WIPA name/initials Call Center
Referrals by Date Range’ query to locate the record.
– Do not email the Help Line and ask for full beneficiary information.
• The previously referred beneficiary record may be difficult to
locate using the standard search function for a variety of reasons:
–
–
–
–
–
The record was “faked”;
The record was dismissed from I&R and enrolled in WIPA;
There is an extra space in front of the beneficiary name;
There was a misspelling; or
Other reasons.
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Requesting Beneficiary Information
• All personally identifying information (PII) must be protected.
• The Help Line cannot release any beneficiary info to the WIPA
directly.
– Please do not email or call the Help Line and ask for beneficiary
information.
– All referral information is transferred via the ETO data system.
• Remove beneficiary PII before you reply to the ETO automatic
emails, (which are generated when a referral is made).
– You must modify the beneficiary name so that it only contains the
first name and the last name initial.
• For example: change ‘John Doe’ to ‘John D’.
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Assist Beneficiaries to Communicate
with the Ticket to Work Help Line
• Communication with the Help Line is required when you or the
beneficiary need information related to Ticket status or timely
progress reviews (TPRs).
• If the beneficiary is going to communicate directly with the
Help Line, provide the beneficiary with specific questions to
ask the CSR.
– For example, if the beneficiary is unsure of his/her Ticket
assignment status, you might suggest the following: “Contact the
Ticket to Work Help Line at 866-968-7842 and ask them if your
ticket is currently assigned, and if so, to what agency. You should
also ask them the status of your last timely progress review.”
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Beneficiary Communication with the
Ticket to Work Help Line
• Remind the beneficiary that you are the source of specific,
individualized information on the work incentives and the
impact of earnings on your benefits.
– If the Help Line CSR begins probing about the intent to work, the
beneficiary should indicate that they are already connected with the
WIPA.
• If possible, initiate a 3-way call with the beneficiary to the Help
Line to ensure that only the necessary Ticket-related
information is given.
• Do not send signed releases of information to the Help Line to
gather beneficiary information.
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FAKE Procedure and Help Line Referrals
• The “Fake” procedure is used only for removing beneficiaries
who were referred by the Help Line AND to whom you did not
provide any level of service, including basic I&R.
• Be sure to send the appropriate email template to
support@chooseworkttw.net when using the “Fake”
procedure.
– Refer to the TtW Help Line – WIPA Referral Protocols Quick Reference
Guide.
• This allows for the beneficiary record to be properly noted in
iTOPSS so that if the beneficiary re-contacts, the Help Line
agent will know to re-refer rather than send a protocol email.
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Final Reminders
• The TtW Help Line and the WIPA projects are on the
same team!
• Working together enables us to provide quality
service to the beneficiaries we serve.
• We all have the same mission:
– Promote employment, and
– Help beneficiaries to achieve financial
independence.
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