Workforce EN Maturity Scale
Hosted/Facilitated by: Miranda Kennedy, NDI Technical Assistance Team
Presented by: Kevin Nickerson and Mary Lynn ReVoir, NDI Technical
Assistance Team
U.S. Department of Labor
2013 Ticket/EN Series
Disability Employment Initiative
(DEI)
According to the SGA, DEI Projects at the state level and/or
local level participating LWIBs are required to become
Employment Networks (ENs) under Social Security
Administration’s (SSA’s) Ticket to Work Program.
Training and Technical Assistance to DEI Projects in attaining
Employment Network status and implementing effective EN
operations is provided under U.S. DOLETA contract with NDI
Consulting, Inc. and the National Disability Institute (NDI).
Evaluation of the impact of the DEI Projects implementation
and outcomes as Employment Network will be provided under
U.S. DOL ODEP contract with Social Dynamics.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this training webinar, DEI grantees
and participants and partners from the public
workforce system will have the following:
• An understanding of why becoming a Workforce EN is a
promising practice for America’s Job Centers
• An understanding of why DEI requires state and/or local WIB to
become an EN and so much attention is placed on SSA
Disability Beneficiaries
• An understanding of the developmental stages an EN shall
experience to become fully operational and successful as a
mature EN
Agenda
• Why Employment Networks?
• Why Job Centers as Employment Networks?
• The Workforce EN Maturity Scale components
• Next Steps
• Q&A
Subject Matter Expert Nickerson
Kevin Nickerson
DEI TA Team member
P: (607) 272-7570 Ext. 136
E: knickerson@ndi-inc.org
Why Employment Networks?
Statement of Robert W. Williams
Associate Commissioner, Office of Employment Support Programs
before the House Committee On Ways and Means,
Subcommittee on Social Security and the Subcommittee on Human Resources
September 23, 2011
• Intent of Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Act
“The Ticket program can be valuable even if it helps only a small
number of beneficiaries return to work.”
“Each disability award is expensive; on average, an award costs
$250,000 in DI benefits and Medicare costs over a beneficiary’s
lifetime.”
“…it does not take many beneficiaries to return to work for those
savings to add up…”
• Provides choice to SSA Disability Beneficiaries
The Employment and Poverty Scene
November 2012
(U.S. Department of Labor ODEP)
• Labor Force Participation
People with disabilities: 20.7%
People without disabilities: 69.2%
• Unemployment Rate
People with disabilities: 12.7%
People without disabilities: 7.1%
• Compared to individuals 18-64 years of age without a disability,
people with disabilities are more than twice as likely to be living in
poverty (Disability Statistics & Demographics Rehabilitation Research and Training
Center, 2011).
•
The poverty rate for people receiving SSI benefits was 72% (Disability
Statistics & Demographics Rehabilitation Research and Training Center,
2011, Livermore, 2009).
Why job centers should be
Employment Network (EN)?
• Promising Practice stated by DOL
– DOL released 12/5/12 TEN 14-12 plus 3 other TENs
http://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=4512
– Mathematic Research 2010 demonstrated SSA Beneficiaries use Job
Centers
• Aligns with the language and vision of WIA
– Workforce investment system to provide core, intensive, and training
services to those with barriers
• Helps address budget crunches
– Untapped revenue: potential to generate EN funds to partially or fully
sustain DRC positions. EN funds could support service gaps, such as
additional training funds. Incentives for work already being conducted.
Ticket funds & other funding
sources
• Ticket funds are unrestricted funds. You decide.
• Training and Employment Notice No. 20-07 clarifies that
Ticket funding is an additional revenue source for Job
Center delivery systems and is not considered program
income and WILL NOT replace existing funding sources
(i.e. funding is in addition to current funding sources, to be
used how you see fit)
• Braiding Medicaid funded services and Ticket to Work
funds is not “double-dipping”
Why DEI requires operating
as an EN?
• Responsive delivery system
• Lessons learned from DOL Navigator Initiative
– Services benefit from a subject matter expert
– Relationship between DRC and serving job seekers with
disabilities
– The need to sustain DRC position
• Changing workforce and growing customer base
• Diverse Workforce initiatives by employers
– Federal Hiring Executive Order 13548 to increase
employees with disabilities within federal agencies
– Private Sector values diversity
How Ticket Fits Into DEI
Strategies
• Having Job Centers operate as ENs attracts customers who are on SSA
disability benefits and sends a welcoming message to the disability
community
• Strengthens partnership and collaboration with Vocational
Rehabilitation (VR) - helps build a responsive service delivery system
• Promotes use of Integrated Resource Teams (IRTs) which increases
successful employment outcomes for customer and Job Center
programs
• Contributes to the credit (data) of all programs involved in the
employment outcome (i.e. WIA, Wagner-Peyser, VR)
• Provides a revenue stream to assist DEI projects in developing
sustainable positions within Job Centers beyond the life of the DEI grant
• Asset Development strategies & Ticket go hand in hand
How does Ticket apply to the DEI
Youth projects?
• Unique elements of Youth
– Today’s youth have higher expectations than previous generations
– Obtaining work earlier in life reduces window of unemployment time
– Transition planning is stronger working together
• “Most of the youth coming into the Job Centers
are working with Vocational Rehabilitation (VR)
and VR has their Ticket.”
– Integrated Resource Teams (IRT) helps determine use of Partnership
Plus gaining benefit to customer, VR and EN
– The most appropriate, readily available services may initially be VR or it
may initially be through the Job Center, especially in states where there is
an order of selection (waiting list) for VR services
Subject Matter Expert ReVoir
Mary Lynn ReVoir
DEI TA Liaison
P: (515) 975-2344
E: mlrevoir@ndi-inc.org
The Workforce EN Maturity Scale
• Patience:
– Takes time to complete orientation
– Takes time to become fully operational
– Outcome based design / reap benefits with outcomes
• Investment:
– Increasing employment for job seekers with disabilities
will be worth the investment
• Let’s take a look at the scale
Review the Scale
• 4 categories of competency
–
–
–
–
Expertise
Operational
Problem-Solving
Sphere of Influence
• Progressive Phases
•
•
•
•
Beginner
Intermediate
Advance
Proficient / Mature
• Each phase builds upon the preceding phase
• Not necessarily at same phase at same time for each category
• Corresponding Scale checklist available
Phase I: Beginner
• Understanding the “big picture”
– Basics of Ticket and how to become an EN
– Why job centers fit into the Ticket to Work program intent
– How Ticket fits into the DEI project
• Bringing the Ticket concept to state / local level
– EN development / infrastructure
– EN Business Model planning (refined over time)
• Learning Ticket Basics
• Applying and being awarded agreement as EN
• Let’s look more closely
Phase II:
Intermediate – Post Award
• Meeting your support team
– National Workforce EN Team and services offered
– Links to valuable resources
• Implementing your EN operations
–
–
–
–
–
Security Clearance (needed if operating under RFQ)
Infrastructure Set Up
Individual Work Plan, assessments, Ticket assignments
Internal marketing
Tracking information
• Building your Expertise
Phase III: Advanced
• Engaging entire job center operations
– EN included in workforce marketing materials
– Expertise is broadened throughout the job center
• Policy and practices include EN operations
– Practice of WIA and other case-management enrollment
• Benefits Planning is incorporated into service delivery
• Actively marketing your EN to disability community
• Jointly promoting employment for persons with disabilities
as coordinated effort with VR, other ENs, community
providers
Phase IV: Proficient / Mature
• Mastered and embedded operations
– Providing a responsive system
– Able to continue operating even during changes
• Achieving Ticket desired outcomes
– Beneficiaries at Phase 2 or Outcomes
– Job center EN receiving regular payments
• Sustaining subject matter expert
• Supporting benefits-planning
• Capacity to fill unmet service gaps
• Knowledge is wide spread and job center is viewed as
value-added service for the disability community
Workforce EN Maturity Scale
Checklist
• Tool serves as a checklist for Workforce EN
• Compliments the Workforce EN Maturity Scale
• Identifies competencies related to each phase
• Can view snapshot of where you and where you are
headed as an EN
• Obtain from download today, off DEI Website, and/or from
your TA Liaison
• If you get stuck, ask for resources from your TA Liaison
Summary
In today’s presentation we covered the following:
• Explanation of why Employment Networks are needed
• Explanation of why Job Centers are good fit as an
Employment Network and how the Ticket program fits
with the DEI project
• Introduced the Workforce EN Maturity Scale and
related Checklist
• Components that identify beginner, intermediate, and
advanced and proficient levels of maturity
Next Steps
Attend the next training on Wednesday, January 23rd from 3pm to 4pm EDT
Workforce Employment Network (EN) Business Plan
The NDI team will be providing the “Workforce EN Business Plan”” webinar
training to assist job centers in developing a successful business plan for their
EN operations. This training will be presented by Kevin Nickerson and Mary Lynn
ReVoir and will be hosted by Miranda Kennedy with the NDI Technical
Assistance Team.
This webinar will cover the following information:
• Recent Ticket efforts related to job centers operating as Employment
Networks
• Examples of various EN Business Models
• Explanation and tools to develop a business plan for your
Employment Network
Questions/Comments
If you have a comment or
question you can:
A: Submit it to the host in writing
via the Chat or Q&A Box to the
right, or…
B: Click on the “raise hand” icon
to have your line un-muted and
ask your question/make your
comment.
Contact Information
Kevin Nickerson
NDI Technical Assistance Team
P: (607) 272-7570 Ext. 136
E:knickerson@ndi-inc.org
Mary Lynn ReVoir
NDI Technical Assistance Team
P: (515) 975-2344
E: mlrevoir@ndi-inc.org