[Ray Cebula]
Good afternoon, everybody.
This is Ray Cebula from Cornell University’s  
Employment and Disability Institute.
I’d like to welcome you to today’s WISE event.
We’re going to be talking about the Ticket to Work, 
which provides free support for folks who have disabilities and want 
to return to work.
We’ve got a great group today from the State of New Mexico to talk 
with you about the Ticket  
and all of the Work Incentives  
that come along with the Social Security Benefits  
that you may be receiving.
Because we are using speakers from New Mexico does not mean that this 
stuff will not apply to you in your state.
We’re talking about a federal program,  
so despite the fact that these people have New Mexico experience does 
not mean it will not translate to New York or Massachusetts or 
wherever you may be.
Today you’ve been connected automatically to your speakers and your 
microphone in your computer.
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you’re having trouble hearing us through your computer,  
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Ashley will be watching that box  
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Now, I’m Ray.
I’ve already welcomed you and introduced you. 
We’ve got a bunch of great people today to talk about different 
aspects of the journey to work.
From the Work Incentive Planning and Assistance Program, 
we have Karen Wiley who is with  
the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation in New Mexico. 
She’s going to talk to us for a while about all of the Work Incentive 
Planning programs and services that are available, all of the Work 
Incentive programs and that Ticket to Work that you may have received 
from Social Security.
Ken Williams is with us who is at an Employment Network, somebody who 
can provide you with services  
that may very well help you to obtain that job.
We have Richard Smith,  
the Chief Information Officer from Santa Fe, New Mexico, 
who is with the State Rehabilitation Agency.
We’ll talk about what that agency has to offer to you  
on your journey to work.
Last, but not least, we have Bernadine Chavez  
who is with Protection and Advocacy for beneficiaries  
of Social Security programs.
That is a legal arm that can provide you  
with legal protection if you encounter a barrier  
on your way to work and leaving the benefits worlds.
We’ll give you some other resources, and then at the end I will ask 
the questions that have come in  
and hopefully direct them to the right source.
If one of the speakers can’t answer that question,  
there will be somebody else in this network that can.
Don’t worry about that.
What can you expect from today?
You can expect to get a lot of information,  
almost too much information very quickly. 
We’re going to talk about things in very general terms.
Your specific situation is going to differ  
from everybody else who’s listening in today.
In order to get that information that deals with your situation, 
you’re going to need to contact the Work Center which is a number I’ll 
give you later  
and someone like Karen.
Fortunately, there’s no wrong way into this program.
You can get information from any one of the agencies  
or people that I’ve talked with  
and you should always be steered into the proper first step. 
We’re going to answer a lot of those  
frequently asked questions.
We’re going to respond to a lot of those urban myths  
that exist out there,  
because lots of them are just simply incorrect.
Work is nothing that we should fear.
Where to get more information?
Again, we’re going to give you some generalities.
Your specific situation requires a lot of analysis  
and information collection, so we're going to tell you  
who can provide that service for you.
We have a success story from somebody who used  
the Ticket to Work and will talk to us  
over a video presentation.
Why are you going to work?
Earning more money is clearly the key here.
It’s important.
The benefits that are being paid by Social Security  
and the other agencies that are providing benefits  
are not keeping people out of poverty.
Work is a sure way to get out of poverty.
What we're going to talk to you about today is the way  
you can combine those benefits with earnings  
while you are increasing your overall income  
so that you don’t need those benefits any longer.
Gaining independence is one of the trademarks  
and one of the mantras of the benefits-planning world.
We are hoping that every client puts us out of a job.
We want a client to come to us,  
we want to help that client manage their own benefits, 
get to work, become financially literate,  
and not need our services in the future.
That independence is a very good thing.
Learning new skills.
We will show you how you can get skills training  
via a trade school or a technical school  
or education through a community college  
or a four year college.
Meeting new people.
Work comes with a lot of goodies.
Meeting new people is one of them.
People who do not work tend to be more isolated  
and don’t participate in our greater society.
That is not a good thing.
What we would like to do is to get you out into the world, make sure 
everybody has access to participate.
And, you know, I met my spouse at work.
You can meet new people  
and it can dramatically change your life.
Now, we’ve got Victor, who used his ticket,  
and very successfully, and has a great story to tell you.
I'm going to ask Mike to get that video up,  
and please bear with us while Mike gets the video  
up and running and you can hear Victor's story.
[Victor Quibas?]
To me, personally, being on disability was  
making it through every day just barely,  
not having anything extra for my wife and kids.
It was tough on me.
It was hard to handle.
What made me choose work was a golden opportunity  
that was provided to me through my wife.
My wife, Carla, met someone at our church  
who is affiliated with Goodwill.
This person directed me to the Ticket to Work program.
That in itself was amazing.
That experience has brought me to where I am today.
My expectation for- I was pretty scared  
trying to enter the workforce again  
because I was afraid that I was going to lose my benefits.
Those things were very important to me  
because that is all I had to keep my family and myself afloat.
Through the ticket to work program, you learn that  
there is no need to be afraid,  
you're going to keep your benefits until you sustain work, and it was 
like a safety net, so to speak,  
until I could completely go on my own and make it.
Through each process, they guide you.
It is extremely helpful to you.
Some of the things my Employment Network done  
to help me through the process was they made sure they went through 
the paperwork and explained the Ticket to Work program thoroughly to 
me,  
which helped me to fill much more at ease about the program once I was 
able to understand it.
They set me up for customer service skills classes  
and then helped me to get back into the workforce. 
Career-wise, I am doing much better than I was  
before I was disabled.
In my old job, I was a Manufacturing technician for Intel which was an 
amazing job, and I loved it dearly.
But it was much more physical than I can do now.
Now that I'm in communications,  
I have advanced from a basic operator to supervisor  
and hopefully will soon be a manager.
Today, having employment and having a better situation  
for myself and my family, it’s great.
We live each day.
We take advantage of all of our lives.
We go out, we do things together, we spend time together.
It is amazingly hopeful for us and our future.
We're actually able to interact with the community  
and get involved in things like Goodwill and Ticket to Work and 
Freedom to Work and Access and things of that nature, very helpful and 
fun.
The ticket to work program is amazing because  
it takes away all of the barriers and challenges  
that there are to get to the workplace,  
and frees you to make choices and to learn again  
and to be happy with your life, and to move forward.
It’s just a great opportunity.
The first thing that I would recommend to a potential beneficiary 
would be to get to an Employment Network  
of your choice, get signed up, get your ticket in there  
and start the process.
There is no need to be afraid.
Everything is going to be all right.
[Ray Cebula]
As always, I like to thank Victor,  
even though he is not here with us in person,  
for sharing his story.
That is just one success story.
There are at least, I am looking at 220 potential  
success stories that are listening in today.
As you can hear from Victor,  
he has pretty much let you know about what is coming  
and that there is nothing to be afraid of.
Now, some common concerns.
These are both common concerns and those urban myths  
that I talked about.
Will I lose my benefits?
Well, no, not until you're ready to.
This return to work the journey can take a very long time.
Is the goal for you to lose benefits?
No, the goal is for you to work to an extent  
that you no longer need benefits.
Karen will talk a little bit about how the math works  
and the fact that you’re not likely to have less  
when we finish with this.
How do I get skills and experience that I need?
That is a really good question because all of those skills, all of 
those experiences, the educational process  
that you need can be very expensive and how do you do that?
Well, we’ve got a private EN here and a VR Director,  
or Chief Information Officer, I like that title, 
who will help talk about that and give you some direction as to what 
they may be able to provide.
What if I have to stop working?
Yes, that happens a lot too.
We are dealing with people with disabilities.
Some of those disabilities are like roller coasters.
You feel great one week, bad the next, great for 3 months, and then 
bad for another couple of months.
If you have to stop working, Karen will let you know  
about the various safety nets Social Security has built-in, 
built in even after you have been terminated,  
even after you have fully succeeded in returning to work and have lost 
those benefits.
There are still safety nets for you  
to get back into the system.
With that being said,  
Karen Wiley from the Division of Voc. Rehab.,  
the Benefits Information Center, will be talking to you about the Work 
Incentive Planning and Assistance projects.
Take it away Karen.
Karen, if you have muted your phone, you have to un-mute it.
[Karen Wiley] When you hear me?
[Ray Cebula] Now I can hear you.
[Karen Wiley] I wasn’t muted but then I muted and un-muted.
It’s New Mexico.
I want to thank you all for coming  
and really appreciate you attending this workshop today.
I really appreciate Ray's start.
What I'm going to start doing is teaching you  
a little bit of a language lesson as we go through this.
Social Security has its own language which I call,  
“Social Securinese.”
The office people here laugh at me when I say it.
The first one is WIPA.
What that stands for is  
“Work Incentive Planning and Assistance project.”
What it is are Social Security approved organizations.
These are people that Social Security has approved  
to assist beneficiaries in making choices  
about what kind of work and where to go for work.
All my services are free, all WIPAs are free.
What you need to know about us is that  
we are trained to provide information.
We have gone through oodles of training  
to understand what is going on  
and we continually keep learning.
We can answer your questions about how work affects  
your Social Security benefits from the very beginning to when you’re 
thinking about accepting a job,  
all the way to when you don’t need us anymore,  
maybe when you retire.
We can help you with resources and find services  
that you might need in order to go back to work.
We are not everything at a WIPA,  
but we do know where to find the help you might need.
We also host Work Incentive seminar events,  
which is what we're doing today.
The other language lesson I wanted to do is,  
frequently we are going to talk about beneficiaries.
Those are all people who are already  
on Social Security Disability.
They are already receiving Social Security, or SSI,  
because of a disability.
I want to re-emphasize that this is free.
You don’t have to pay a cent to come see any of us.
So if we’ll go to the next slide.
Now that I have told you there are free services out there, you are 
just ready now to go explore the idea  
of returning back to work.
Where do you go from here?
First, you need to learn about what Work Incentives  
apply to you.
The most frequent phone call I get is,  
somebody will call me and the first thing,  
even before I said my name, they will ask me,  
how much money can I earn?
I have to tell people, it depends on what benefits  
you are getting and it depends on where you are  
within the benefit and what Work Incentives you’re using.
There are two types of Social Security that we're going to talk about 
in a little bit.
And there are Work Incentives that apply to different particular Work 
Incentives that are going on.
The other thing we need to know is, 
What do you want to achieve in your work?
Do you want to work just to start getting out of the house?
Do you want to make a new career?
Whatever is going on, we can help you figure out  
which worker set-ups apply to you.
I know this may sound confusing and complicated,  
but realize there are a lot of rules out there  
that can help you reach your goals.
We didn’t want to make it- 
Social Security didn’t want to make a few rules.
Next slide.
So, we're still exploring the idea of returning to work.
The next thing you need to do is build your employment team.
We all meet as a team to go back to work.
Even at the very beginning,  
when you had your very first job,  
maybe your parents were helping you, or your neighbor, 
that is how I got my first job, was through my neighbor.
You need to build your employment team.
You need to find the person who is going to help you  
find the work,  
those people who know about what the jobs are out there,  
getting word of mouth, maybe One Stop,  
getting VR or other employment networks.
Or, if you have a case manager wherever you’re at,  
that case manager is a great person  
to get on your employment team.
You’re going to have questions about your benefits,  
that will be Social Security and WIPAs can help you,  
or Maximus. 
The next one, dealing with your day-to-day successes  
or issues on your job,  
you need to build that part of your team.
How to deal with a boss that’s in a bad mood,  
or PAVs to help you with your accommodation questions.
Please go back one.
The last one is, so you're ready to go back to work.
You need to stay positive and look for your opportunities.
Remember, everyone has to go through  
the process of getting a job.
Sometimes, it’s really hard to stay positive.
I remember when I graduated with my Masters degree, 
it took me a year to find a job.
No one would hire me because I didn’t have experience.
I had to end up volunteering for six months  
before I got enough express  
and then I found three jobs in one week.
You have to stay positive and keep looking  
for your opportunities.
Next slide.
Now we're going to talk about some of the Work Incentives.
As we move to working on the Work Incentives,  
we need to decide which Social Security disability program you’re on.
Most people don’t know what program they’re on.
They just get the letter, they know how much  
they’re getting and that is very normal.
I have some questions I ask people to get a general idea.
The first benefit is Social Security Disability Insurance.
This is based on a work history.
You paid into it or your parents have.
It has Medicare attached to it.
Whenever they take taxes out of your check,  
it goes into Social Security.
It’s there for your retirement or if you become disabled.
Most people I meet just call that Social Security.
The next one is Supplemental Security Income, or SSI.
I told you I would give a language lesson, here.
SSI supplements anybody’s income if they have a disability to bring 
them up to a certain level of income.
For people who are way older than me,  
I was only 11 when this happened, but before 1974,  
each state had their own welfare program  
and that is what became SSI later.
You also hear people have resource limits on SSI.
The last one, if you go to the next slide,  
is what they call Concurrent.
Another language lesson.
Concurrent means you're getting both SSDI and SSI.
Frequently, I will hear people ask me, 
how come I am getting both of them?
The answer is because you didn't get enough SSDI  
to bring you up to a certain level  
so they supplemented it with SSI  
to bring you up the level that everyone else is at.
Next slide.
Let's talk about some more common concerns.
We had talked about some common concerns previously.
These are also some.
People are not alone in having this.
The first common concern people have is, 
“What risk am I taking by getting a new job, training,  
or going back to school?”
There are people out there who can tell you what is going to happen 
and how the benefits are going to work and how, if you get financial 
aid, or take work-study,  
or whatever, is going to happen to everything.
There are people who are trained to tell you  
and answer all of those questions, to answer those risks.
The second one is,  
“I'm concerned that my SSI check will be reduced  
or I will be jeopardizing my SSDI entitlement  
by getting a job.”
We’re here to tell you exactly what happens when –  
and I'm going to give you a taste of it all  
through my presentation, so that you know  
what’s going to happen and you can plan for it  
and you know that it’s the right thing for you  
and you also know what to do to protect yourself.
The last concern people have is, 
“What happens if I get into an overpayment situation?
How can I prevent it from happening?”
I can answer the first part of that.
There is not 100% way to help prevent overpayment.
Some things happen sometimes.
Most of the time, as long as you’re reporting your income  
to Social Security and you know the rule,  
you won’t get into overpayment.
The second is, on the first part of it, 
you could get into an overpayment situation  
and then there’s people who can help you look  
for the Work Incentives.
I had a person, when I first started,  
who just walked in to me and had a letter that said  
they were $42,000 in overpayment.
We looked at using Work Incentives and we got it all erased.
They had plenty of Work Incentives to protect them.
WIPAs are always there to help people do that.
Although change is scary,  
it’s a lot less scary if you know what’s going on  
and we can help you know what’s going on and plan for it.
Next slide.
So, we are going to debunk a few myths that always happen when people 
are looking at going back to work.
The first one is,  
“If I go to work, I am going to automatically lose  
my health insurance, either my Medicare or Medicaid.”
I am here to tell you, no, that is not going to happen.
This is a myth.
If you're still getting a cash payment from your benefits, you will 
keep your health insurance.
If you get to a point that you are not,  
there are many ways to keep health insurance.
If you’re on SSDI, then you can keep your Medicare  
for at least 93 months after your cash benefits stop.
There are ways to keep it even longer than that.
But I usually don’t tell people on the first visit 
because that that’s 7 years, 9 months from today, at least.
You probably won’t remember that.
Just know that you can keep your Medicare.
If you are on Medicaid,  
then we have something that’s called an Income Threshold.
Each state has a different one.
Basically, during that time,  
you can earn up to a certain level and know that  
although you are not getting your cash payment from SSI, you are going 
to keep your Medicaid.
We hope you apply for that and we hope you make sure  
that Social Security gives you what you’re supposed to have.
Next slide.
Myth number two.
If I use my Ticket to go to work,  
Social Security is going to know that I am working  
and do a Medical Review and I will lose all of my benefits.
The good news on this one is,  
if you're using your Ticket to Work,  
you will not have a Medical Review as long as  
you’re meeting your timely progress.
The whole idea for the Ticket was to do 3 things.
It was to tell people that  
even though you're on Social Security, you can work.
There is nothing in the rules that says you cannot work.
The second is that if you’re looking for a job  
and you need help finding a job,  
the Ticket will help you do that.
The third is that while you're using your Ticket,  
you’re protected from Medical Reviews.
We just have to keep doing the paperwork.
Social Security loves paperwork, and while you go to work, we're going 
to learn to love paperwork together.
I have some tricks for that.
Next slide.
The third myth is,  
“If I go to work and I have to stop working,  
I will have to reapply and start all over again.
It took me forever to get on in the first place.”
No, that is a myth, too.
There is a new rule in Social Security  
that is called Expedited Reinstatement,  
and I’m going to talk about it in more depth,  
but as long as, if you terminate from Social Security because you are 
working,  
you have 5 years, that if your illness prevents you  
from working at the same level or you cannot work at all, you do not 
have to reapply.
You can get back on Social Security and get  
at least 6 months of temporary cash  
while they are doing a review to make sure  
that you had to quit work because of the condition  
that got you on Social Security in the first place.
Again, you don't have to do that alone.
Part of your team can be your WIPA  
to help you out with that.
Next slide.
Now I'm going to talk more in-depth  
about the Ticket to Work.
As you can tell, I'm a little excited  
about the Ticket to Work.
I started doing benefits advisement when-  
actually 3 months before this came out.
What is the Ticket?
It’s a free and voluntary program to assist you  
on going back to work or increasing your work hours.
You have to have a disability,  
you have to be between the ages of 18 to 64  
and it’s voluntary.
You do not have to use this to go back to work.
I have some people who havn’t used it.
One of my favorite stories is, one Friday afternoon,  
I was talking to somebody and telling him about his SSDI and going 
back to work.
He left my office at 4pm on Friday.
At 4pm on Monday, he called me and said,  
“I have a job. Now how do we start reporting?”
I have other people who start  
with finding Employment Network,  
assign their ticket and go back to work  
within weeks of getting their ticket assigned.
It’s voluntary when you use it and how you use it.
The idea is to give you some support  
and to remove the biggest fears that most people have.
That is, Social Security is going to find me  
medically improved because I have gone back to work.
Not while you are using your Ticket.
You have that medical protection.
Next slide.
What does the Ticket to Work do for you?
Let's say that you are saying to yourself,  
“I am ready to make more money.”
The Ticket to Work will say, 
“I can help you improve your earning potential.”
There are lots of little things they can do to do that.
They can offer you services and people  
who are on contract with Social Security to go back to work.
They offer free answers to your questions  
about what happens to your benefits.
They offer you health insurance that lasts longer  
and lots and lots of safety nets  
so that you can increase your earning potential  
to the best of your disability or your medical condition.
Now you are saying to yourself,  
“I am in need of a personal fulfillment  
and working will really boost my self-esteem.”
The Ticket says we can provide the assurance  
and stability you need to feel confident  
while you’re pursuing employment.
The safety net, the support,  
the cheerleaders are there to help you.
One of the people who I am working with went to school,  
got his degree on being a VR counselor  
and is now working as a rehab counselor  
with assistive technology.
He’s married, he has a baby girl,  
and he is involved with his community and church,  
all because he started getting back to work.
Identity is so much tied to-
The first thing people ask you is, 
what you do for a living, after your name.
So, you say “I am discouraged.
What if no one wants to hire me?”
The Ticket to Work says, 
“We’ll help you build the confidence and a sense of control while you 
research your job options.”
Everybody doesn’t get the first job they apply for.
It is for any number of reasons.
Just keep trying.
The Ticket to Work will help you build the confidence  
to keep going on that.
Here's another language lesson  
I’m going to talk about in a minute.
You’re saying to yourself,  
“I am afraid that I will lose my benefits  
and I won't be able to get them back.”
The Ticket gives you a piece of mind  
while you prepare for going back to work.
As long as you’re making progress in the program,  
that timely progress, you won’t lose your benefits  
until you’re able to earn SGA amount on a sustained level.
Now, I told you, a language lesson.
We have letters here, SGA, that’s Social Securinese.
It stands for Substantial Gainful Activity.
What that means is,  
it’s a ruler that Social Security uses to say, 
Are you disabled?
Do we give your check?
Things like that at different times.
They use it when you’re doing the Expedited Reinstatement.
They use it during all sorts of checks and balances.
You won’t lose your benefits and you’ll know  
when you're sneaking up on that,  
what you can do to protect yourself.
Next one.
You’re afraid that you won’t be able  
to get your benefits back if your job doesn't work out.
The Ticket to Work has a fast track  
to getting you back on your benefits  
if the job doesn’t work out because of your disability.
I have a niece who lost her job the other week.
She doesn’t have this safety net.
She has to start all over again.
She’s also 25, so she’s kind of young.
There are safety nets to help people get back  
on benefits if the job doesn’t work out.
You have a safety net that most people don’t have.
Next slide.
So you say to yourself, “I am overwhelmed.
Who can help me get started and stay with me  
through the entire process?”
There are lots of people.
The ticket to work will help you connect with those people, those 
resources and the service you need  
for you to develop your work plan and put it into play.
The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives connect you  
with people and they help you develop your work plan  
and these are all free.
Everything I talked about here is free to you.
You can make all of the changes that your life wants.
[Ray Cebula] Karen I just wanted to interrupt you 
and remind folks that we do have  
that question-and-answer box.
If you have any questions about the information  
that Karen is talking about right now,  
don’t be afraid to ask.
[Karen Wiley] Please ask questions. 
I know I'm going through this very fast.
Luckily I’ve learned how to talk very fast in my home town,
You didn’t talk fast, you didn’t get heard.
If you have questions, please put them in.
Now, if you're ready to explore work,  
then let's take the following steps.
The first thing you need to do  
is meet with your benefits counselor.
That is at your local WIPA project.
You can find that either through Maximus,  
which I talked about earlier,  
and their phone number is 1-866-968-7842.
It’s right here on the bottom of the slide.
They will tell you how to get with your benefits counselor to find out 
what the Work Incentives you have are.
You can start with finding an Employment Network  
that suits your Ticket.
Again, Maximus has the list of all  
the Employment Networks to your zip code.
It’s real fun to find out.
I pull it up occasionally just to go calling people.
And then stay connected to your Employment Network  
and your benefits counselor as you explore these things.
You know, well if I go this way and become a brain surgeon and I make 
this amount of money,  
versus starting my own business as a counselor,  
what is going to happen?
The Employment Network and the WIPA people  
can help you decide and make those choices.
Remember, people change their careers,  
not their jobs, five times in their lifetime.
You have a chance now to make those changes  
and be on the same average as everybody else.
Next slide.
So, I keep mentioning these mythical creatures  
called Work Incentives.
Now I'm going to tell you about them.
What are work incentives?
They are there to help you reach success.
How you define your success is entirely up to you.
Many people define it differently.
Some people define it by family,  
some people by work, and things like that.
But the Work Incentives can help you reach  
your employment success goals.
One of the things about the Work Incentives  
is that they are set up in steps so that you can- 
you might need this one for right now,  
and then later you can let go of it and just slowly  
make the steps to becoming more self-sufficient  
and working to the best of your ability.
The big thing with success is reaching the point where  
you can support yourself to the best of your ability  
and keep your life and balance and your health and balance.
Next slide.
So Work Incentives.
Work Incentives provide you with a variety of safety nets.
Let's talk about the first one.
Work Incentives can help you receive training  
for new skills.
Say you need a job coach to go back to work.
There are Work Incentives that can help protect your income while you 
are using that service to help you get new skills.
There are rules that help you make sure  
that people don’t cause problems by helping you out  
and reaching your new skills.
Sorry, it blinked on me and I got distracted.
I am one of those people – oh look, a chicken,  
a little attention deficit at times.
The next thing the Work Incentives can provide for you  
is improve the skills that you already have.
I had a person who came into see me  
who had a disability that was blindness.
He wanted to start to work.
He had some computer experience but he didn’t want  
to lose his benefits yet because his kids were getting  
a benefit off of him and he knew he couldn’t make  
enough money to cover all of it.
We used the Work Incentives to get him a job at Home Depot and with 
the use of the Work Incentives and all that  
he was able to keep his Social Security  
until his kids graduated.
But he also changed the computer system  
through the whole Home Depot system  
so that no matter who is using it,  
whether they had blindness or not,  
they were able to use the computers more efficiently.
It can help to improve your skills and give you  
a sense of worth and that.
Next slide.
Many people use the Work Incentive to pursue  
some sort of education.
Applying for financial aid like grants, loans, scholarships and work 
study,  
the Work Incentives can help you protect  
your Social Security while you're getting that other money so that you 
can use it to go back to school to become,  
to get your education.
I had a person who was working on their Masters  
in Social Work and they wanted to work at the same time they were in 
school.
They worked very little so they could keep  
all of their trial work months  
so that when they started their job full-time,  
they had all of that earnings to prepare,  
to become self-sufficient.
The Work Incentives can help you try different jobs.
I have a friend who has probably had 53 jobs  
in his lifetime so far.
People do change their jobs all the time.
The Work Incentives can help you do that  
and know that you have the cushion or the safety net  
of your Social Security.
I had a person so far who has come to see me,  
who has had a job where he was going to retrain as a nurse, so he 
became a nurse's aide.
He then started teaching at the college 
because he had a Fine Arts degree.
Then he started working at a gallery,  
selling paintings, and now he works at the Humane Society and he 
actually really loves this job.
It took him a while to find a job  
that helped him feel fulfilled and still met his needs.
The next one is starting a career.
The Work Incentives can start a career  
like I talked earlier about the lady who got her MSW.
I have another lady who I'm working with right now  
who owns her own business as a therapist.
She used up all her trial work months, 
her cash payments are stopped.
At one point she became a little ill  
so she had to stop earning as much as she wanted  
and they had the safety net  
so that her Social Security check started again.
And then she went back to work  
and is now not getting her cash payment again.
It can go in and out,  
those safety nets can go around what’s going on  
in your illness.
The last one is it can help you gain confidence.
In the Las Cruces area, I was talking to one of my people and she said 
she’s got 5 people who are using  
the subsidy Work Incentive which I’m going to talk about, don’t worry 
yet.
With it, they have all - as they built up their stamina  
and their health got a little bit better -  
they have increased their hours and used  
this Work Incentives to still keep the safety nets  
of the cash payment.
These are examples of what Work Incentives can do.
I keep promising you I was going to talk about  
the Work Incentives.
Now, this is where we are going to do it.
I'm also going to tell you,  
remember way back in the beginning I told you that different Work 
Incentives, how much a person can earn depends on which benefit 
they’re on?
That’s because different Work Incentives  
are for different programs.
The first one I mentioned was the Trial Work Period.
This allows you to test your ability to work.
The neat thing about the Trial Work Period is  
it allows you to earn as much money as you can physically and keep 
your full Social Security check.
Remember, you have to report those earnings  
to Social Security.
After that is an Extended Period of Eligibility,  
which is a 3-year period that,  
if you stop getting your cash payment  
and you can’t keep working,  
like I was just talking about that one lady,  
then you can get back on your Social Security,  
restart it, without a new application.
You don’t have to have a waiting period.
She got it started next month.
There is Earned Income Exclusion, that is for SSI only.
This is where only half of your income is taken away  
for SSI so you end up making a whole lot more money.
And I sit down and show people that.
There’s expedited reinstatement,  
I’ve mentioned it twice already.
This is if you terminate because you’ve worked yourself  
off of Social Security because you’re earning so well,  
then you can get back on Social Security  
with only an application  
and you can get temporary benefits for 6 months  
and you do not have to repay those six months of benefits.
There is protection from the medical CDRs  
that we’ve talked about  
and this is both the SSDI and SSI as well.
This is where you will not go under  
a Medical Continuing Disability Review  
as long as you're participating in the Ticket to Work program meaning 
you’re Ticket’s assigned  
and you’re meeting the progress review.
Last slide on my section.
You’re ready to go to use your Ticket to Work.
Here's what you need to do.
Build your team, get your Employment Network.
You might want to get with DDR.
And we have both people will be talking in a minute.
Get with your Work Incentive Planning and Assistance.
That’s me, if you can see me,  
my hands are in the air like I’m saying, “yay!”
There is a State Protection and Advocacy to help people, and you’ll 
have somebody here in a minute talk about that.
There’s your area Work Incentive coordinator.
Your WIPA always knows who it is or if you walk into  
any Social Security office they will tell you who it is.
Each Social Security office has a Work Incentive liaison and that 
person is there to help you.
These are all people on your team.
Get them on your team and use them mercilessly.
Thank you.
[Ray Cebula] Thank you very much, Karen.
We’d like to move along now and talk  
about Employment Networks and what are the services  
that they might be able to offer you  
while you are returning to work.
We are happy to have Kenneth Williams who is  
the Program Administrator of Adelante Development Center.
Kenneth, if you can hear us, take it away.
[Kenneth Williams] Do you guys hear me?
[Ray Cebula] Yes.
[Kenneth Williams] Hi everyone.
Thank you very much for the introduction, Ray.
I am a Program Administrator,  
I oversee a Ticket to Work program here  
in Albuquerque, New Mexico for Adelante Development Center.
I've held this position for just over a year now.
Very, very good program.
Lots of resources, lots of success stories.
Let's start right in. 
The big question seems to be, 
Where can a person start when they are ready to use  
their ticket?
This is a very common question and a very good question  
as many beneficiaries simply do not know where to begin.
We are going to share with you a number of  
very good resources that you can use  
to get your help started.
One very good place to start with  
is the Ticket to Work helpline at 1-866-968-7842 for voice, and for 
those individuals in need of TTY services,  
that number is 1-866-833-2967.
Here you will be able to speak directly  
with a benefits counselor  
and request a list of Employment Networks  
that serve your area.
They will also be able to answer many of the questions  
you may have about the Ticket to Work program  
and how your working will affect your benefits.
This is an important aspect, important information to know as there 
are many safeguards, or safety nets in place  
to help protect a person’s benefit while working  
under the Ticket to Work program  
and exploring these abilities to go to work.
A second good resource would be to visit  
your Ticket to Work website at www.yourtickettowork.com
Here you can access an EN directory, 
that’s an Employment Network directory,  
and by putting in your city and your state, 
you can find Employment Networks that are near you.
A third good resource would be to visit  
the Social Security website at www.socialsecurity.gov/work.
Here you can access the service provider lists  
of Work Incentives Planning and Assistance projects  
in your area.
I would also like to mention that it is very important  
that that you open and read any information  
that is sent to you by Social Security  
as this may contain important information on your benefits and also 
the Ticket to Work program.
Next slide, Ray, please.
Now, once you have picked a few Employment Networks  
to contact, what questions do you want to ask them?
We have some good examples to share with you.
One good question to start with is to ask, 
“How many people have you helped  
through the Ticket to Work program?”
This is an important question to ask as you want to know that the EN 
has a successful track record  
and that they have experience 
in areas that you’re looking for assistance.
Another good question is, 
“What kinds of companies or employers do you work with  
for job placements?”
This also is very important especially -  
let’s say you’re looking to find a job  
working in a particular area of interest  
or perhaps you would like to find a job working from home.
It is important to remember that  
each EN will have services that are common to one another.
However, each EN will have services that are special  
to their EN, such as at-home jobs  
or having a partnership with certain local employers.
You can also ask, 
“What kind of jobs might be available to me?”
This is a good question and normally it is focused around looking at 
the types of employers that you have worked for and pulling out those 
transferable skills  
so that you can apply them towards areas in which  
that Employment Network may work with.
Another very important question is, 
“How often will we communicate and meet?”
And, as importantly, 
“By what methods will we communicate? 
Will this be by e-mail? 
Will this be by phone? 
Maybe in person? 
Or maybe a combination of all of the above?”
You want to feel comfortable  
with how you will communicate with the Employment Network as this will 
be very important in receiving information  
on job leads, going over interviewing skills,  
putting in online applications and so forth.
There are a number of good tips to remember when calling  
an Employment Network.
The Employment Network should explain  
how the Ticket to Work program works  
and explain the services that they will provide to you.
The EN should discuss your work goals  
and intentions about work.
This can include, where you want to start with employment and how to 
prepare so that you can advance in employment because that is an 
important aspect of this program,  
is to work yourself, in a position to where  
you can advance in employment  
and eventually get off of your need for your benefit.
The EN should talk with you about any fears you may have.
This can include accounting for long absences in employment, what 
types of questions you might be asked  
during an interview  
or even how are my earnings going to affect my benefits?
You and the EN will develop an Individual Work Plan  
also referred to as an IWP  
that includes your employment goals  
and the services the EN will provide to help you get there.
Again, this should cover where you want to start employment, and what 
steps are needed so that you can advance  
in employment.
These are some helpful tips to remember when calling an EN.
Next slide, Ray.
As much as there are questions that you want to ask  
when calling an EN,  
there are also good tips to remember when actually going in and 
visiting with an EN.
The one thing to remember is,  
your signature on the Individual Work Plan,  
or sometimes, as we said, referred to as the IWP,  
assigns your Ticket to that EN.
This allows you and the EN to now work together  
on your job development goals.
The EN may also have other routine forms  
for you to sign, allowing them to work with you  
on your case with Social Security  
and possibly other local providers on your behalf.
These forms may include what is called the BBQY request.
This allows an EN to together important information  
from Social Security that will allow them to work better with you and 
serve you better.
Remember that you can un-assign your Ticket at any time.
If you change your mind or you decide  
the EN is just not a good match for you.
This can be done simply by writing a letter requesting that your 
Ticket be unassigned from the current EN  
and mailing or faxing this letter to Maximus.
Another important note to remember is that  
your Continuing Disability Reviews, known as CDRs,  
are exempted while working with the Employment Network  
and you are making timely progress towards your employment.
Next slide, Ray.
What types of services will an EN provide?
Again, you’re going to find that EN's have similar services and some 
that have specialized services unique to their EN.
One of the services that they provide is,  
develop a resume and provide advice  
on how to fill out a good application,  
which is very important.
This is important as you want to align your job skills  
as best as you can to be noticed by that employer.
They provide interviewing skills and tips  
on how to explain long absences from work  
without disclosing your disability.
Some ENs, like our own, will conduct practice interviews  
so you can have an idea of what types of questions  
might be asked during an interview  
and also help you with how to answer those questions.
Job accommodation information and resources,  
another important area and an EN can help assist  
with the best way to approach an employer 
to receive accommodation, if that is required.
Another good feature is the Tax Incentive Information  
such as the WOTC Opportunity Tax Credit, 
also known as the WOTC.
Many employers are actively seeking individuals  
that qualify for this tax incentive  
which can be an added advantage  
when you are seeking placement with an employer,  
especially if it’s one of those employers  
that is seeking out that benefit.
Referrals to other resources in your area.
There can be many resources in your local area  
that you may not be aware of,  
such as free computer or typing skill classes  
or maybe even a free class on how to create a resume  
for federal jobs, 
Job leads and information on employers who are hiring,  
job fairs, recruiting events and more.
It is a great resource to have an Employment Network  
that can show you how to find jobs  
before they hit the newspapers,  
or how to work a job fair to get the contact information that you will 
need to follow up on your application  
with that employer.
Another service may be access to resource centers,  
such as, access to use computers, the Internet, e-mail, phones and fax.
These are great resources and greatly needed  
when actively seeking out employment.
Job development on your behalf.
This is where you and the EN work together  
to put together a plan on what types of jobs  
you're going to seek  
and how you are going to go about seeking those jobs.
This is important as you will then have a means  
of measuring your progress  
by having a plan like this in place.
Another service they may provide is referrals to agencies, I'm sorry, 
agency partners, such as VR  
and assure a smooth transition of your Ticket assignment with the 
state VR office.
I know that we have covered a great deal of information that is very 
important to you,  
so I would like to just take a quick moment,  
just to revisit a good place to start and that would be  
the Ticket to Work help line.
That number again is 1-866-968-7842 for voice  
and for those individuals in need of TTY services,  
that number is 1-866-833-2967.
Thank you very much for allowing us to share this time  
with you today.
Ray, back to you.
[Ray Cebula] Thank you very much Kenneth.
That was great information.
Now, as you can see, my name is on this slide  
to cover Rehabilitation Services by state VR agencies.
However, Richard Smith who is the Chief Information Officer for New 
Mexico VR in Santa Fe has come to my rescue.
Please take it away Richard.
[Richard Smith] I am not rescuing anybody.
I think you're doing a great job, Ray.
I want to commend all of the people that are here today because what 
you are doing is  
taking that first step of trying to find information,  
that desire for change,  
that things aren’t as you would want them to be.
Being a rehabilitation counselor for some 26 years,  
I understand that real well,  
the point that you find yourselves in.
The Vocational Rehabilitation services  
that you find throughout the various states  
are sort of uniquely qualified to do that,  
to help people out.
As Kenneth was talking about EN's,  
the DDR agencies throughout the states or ENs as well, 
the connection that we are trying to make  
is between the needs, desires and hopes that you have because really I 
think that most people can find a job  
if we can find a job that fits for you.
There is this idea that we talk about on the slide  
of presumptive eligibility.
That is a smart thing that Social Security has done  
in saying that,  
if you come to our office, we are going to presume  
that you’re eligible when you walk in to speak with me about your 
background and what it is  
you might want to do with your work career.
Many agencies in the states now are strapped for funds.
It is no surprise that Washington is having  
some difficulties with knowing what to do with the budget and we are 
affected by that as well.
That means that in some cases,  
people that are eligible may have to be on a waiting list for a period 
of time before they are capable  
of starting work with a Vocational Rehabilitation counselor.
The connection that we are making is  
the understanding of your background, your knowledge,  
your skills, your abilities, 
your particular disability.
If I were to have an accident,  
say, where I were to need to work out of a wheelchair,  
I was a paraplegic, that would be my disability.
But at the same time, since I work out of this office, which is 
accessible, I don’t really have a barrier to work.
I could wheel on in here and do just fine.
On the other hand,  
other individuals will have skills and abilities  
that they used in the past  
that their disability precludes them from working.
There is a barrier there.
If I were a master carpenter prior to that  
and had the same accident,  
all of a sudden I have a huge barrier to work.
The job between you and a VR counselor, then, 
is to look at your residual knowledge, skills, abilities, what your 
needs, desires, and hopes are  
and determine what sort of vocational goal you may need, what it is 
that you want  
and what is it going to take to get there.
I know that I want to go to Philly.
Well, I can map that out and get there, here from Santa Fe.
I know that you wanted to work, say, with computers,  
and I know your background,  
we’d would map out what sort of training it might take  
in order for you to be able to do that.
It’s a very exciting process, actually,  
of examining the ways that you can use  
the skills that you have  
and the ways that you can learn new ones  
towards some new vocational goal and that is fantastic.
As Kenneth was saying, your Ticket,  
we consider to be in use as that plan is made.
That plan, of course,  
is individual for you as it would be individual  
for any other one person that is listening today  
because it is always different,  
there are always different needs.
The VR agencies are particularly set to be able  
to help people in a number of ways  
because, for the most part,  
regulations with an agency like ours are very flexible.
There is so much more that we can do 
and very little that we can’t do,
as long as you and your counselor are coming up  
with a good plan, you can justify many things to get there.
Obviously, the part of Continuing Disability Reviews  
being exempt is a great idea.
If you were to work as if you were in a schooling program with a VR 
agency, those reviews would be exempted throughout that process.
Each one of us rehab counselors would refer you to  
one of the Community Work Incentive Coordinators  
and Karen Wiley spoke so well  
about the Work Incentive Planning Assistance  
that she provides.
I work with Karen and she is absolutely marvelous.
You can go to the next slide, Ray.
You begin to use your Ticket with a counselor  
as you develop that individual plan,  
whatever that goal may be.
For some it’s self-employment, for others it is going to be part-time 
employment, for others it is full-time employment.
It is really matching the person to the goal.
So as we work with that  
and come towards a point where you are able to go to work and we 
follow you for a period of time,  
the law would tell us,  
we would follow a person for 90 days  
after they have found work.
If they were successful, we could then close them.
That is a general guide.
It depends on the person, again.
Occasionally, we will follow people  
for a longer period of time  
until we’re comfortable to know  
that they have adjusted well.
As we know, with disabilities, things do occur.
EN is able to provide follow-up services  
and supports after you go to work.
Those are entirely smart on the part of Social Security because we 
don’t know exactly  
how that adjustment is going to go  
or what adaptive equipment you may need  
or other types of support that is individualized  
to your disability and your experience with your new job.
The thing that I would leave you with is that  
working with a VR agency, is really an exciting period.
They can help find a job that will fit  
for a person with a disability  
and you have the supports of benefits advisors,  
you have supports of ENs after you do return to work  
that help monitor and maintain.
I think a lot of people identify with  
what sort of work they do.
I would be encouraged, if I were you,  
that there are many types of jobs that could work  
for almost any of you if we find the job that fits for you.
I think that’s the great ability  
of Master’s level rehabilitation counselors,  
they make that connection with you.
Having said that,  
if no one has any questions for me,  
I will pass things along to Protection and Advocacy.
[Ray Cebula] Okay, thank you very much, Richard.
We're going to be holding questions until the end.
We would like to move along to the Protection and Advocacy for 
beneficiaries of Social Security.
We are real happy to have Bernadine Chavez  
who is the director of the Disability Rights New Mexico.
Take it away, Bernadine.
Bernadine, if you have muted your phone, please un-mute.
We seem to be having a little bit of trouble with Bernadine.
[Richard Smith] This is Rich again with DDR in New Mexico.
I actually work with Bernadine  
from Protection and Advocacy  
and we meet at least on a quarterly basis to discuss  
the things that keep us working smoothly together.
I can speak to some of those things if you would wish.
Actually, while we get Bernadine- hello Bernadine?
There you are!
[Bernadine Chavez] Hello, technical difficulties.
My apologies.
Good afternoon everyone.
As Ray said, my name is Bernadine Chavez 
and I am with Disability Rights New Mexico.
We are the Protection and Advocacy  
and every state has a Protection and Advocacy  
including our Native American Protection and Advocacy that serves the 
Navajo nation.
They also serve beneficiaries.
I'm going to talk about Protection and Advocacy  
for beneficiaries of Social Security  
which is a program within the Protection and Advocacy.
If you want to find the Protection and Advocacy  
in your state you can either  
call the Ticket to Work helpline  
or you can also look on the website  
for National Disability Rights Network and click  
on your state and it will give you the number  
to your particular PABSS program  
at your Protection and Advocacy.
The PABSS program is designed to help  
SSI and SSDI beneficiaries with disabilities  
in removing barriers in obtaining work or retaining work.
That can mean a whole lot of things.
We will get into that in a little bit.
Our services are free to everyone that receives  
Social Security benefits or Medicare or Medicaid  
based on disability.
Lately, we've been getting calls from someone who says,
“I’ve moved from Disability to retirement.”
They are not eligible for PABSS services.
It has to be based on Social Security benefit  
and disability.
Our services are available to everyone who is a beneficiary of Social 
Security because of disability, but you do not have to assign your 
ticket.
The ticket is completely voluntary.
Our services will be geared toward those who want 
to go to work and assisting people with those barriers.

PABSS assist people in advocating for work place accommodations and to 
give you an example, we have been working with a young man who has a 
traumatic brain injury and has difficulty with short-term memory 
issues.
There was a reorganization at his place of employment and he had 
multiple layers of supervisors that would all give him direction.
They would never write anything down for him so he would get confused.
It started affecting his ability to do the work.
He was qualified to do the job, but he could not filter things out 
from multiple layers of supervisors and multiple directions so PABSS 
went in and assisted him in negotiating with his employer to have 
reasonable accommodations where he would have one supervisor where it 
would be written clearly and concisely and he would have a daily 
schedule.
And he is now doing great.
In fact, he was employee of the month last month.
It just worked out really well - because of his disability, he needed 
that accommodation.
The other thing that we do, is we advocate for those receiving 
vocational services from employment networks or state vocational 
rehabilitation programs.
You have heard Ken talk today, so if Ken has a client or a beneficiary 
he is working with that has a disagreement with him, then we would 
look at that as an area where we can advocate on behalf of the 
beneficiary.

We have worked on some cases where the employment network has worked 
it out with the beneficiary to pay them a portion of what they have 
gotten reimbursed from Social Security and for some reason the person 
hasn't received the money, or they have not received what they have 
agreed upon, so we have negotiated with that employment network to 
find out, to get those monies to the beneficiary.

With the vocational rehabilitation agency, if the beneficiary feels 
like the services are not what they expected, or they are having 
difficulty with communicating with that vocational rehabilitation 
counselor, then we can come in and we can assist and advocate on 
behalf of the beneficiary.

That may include someone wants to go to a fair hearing.
Maybe they disagree on their vocational goal or the services that are 
supposed to be provided.
We can then see that through the appeal process and help the 
beneficiary obtain the services that they have the choice.
What is called in vocational rehabilitation is informed choice, and we 
advocate for the person to have all of the information that they need 
and make an informed choice.

We also assist beneficiaries, as I said earlier in removing barriers 
to work that could be issues of transportation, issues at the 
university level, we were working with a young woman at a local 
university who has a guide dog and a particular professor would not 
allow her to take her guide dog into the class.
That was a barrier for her in obtaining the training that she needed 
to go to work.

We worked with university and we explained what the law was and what 
the requirement was and making sure that this person has full access 
to her classes with her guide dog.
That is an example of what we do in that area.

Addressing overpayment issues, social security has given that option 
to the protection and advocacies.
Not all of the protection and advocacies or the PABSS program have 
decided to address that issue.
New Mexico does not address overpayment issues for beneficiaries.
However there are other PABSS programs that have selected to do that 
as a priority for their services.
It would be important to call your local protection and advocacy and 
ask if their PABSS addresses overpayment issues.

I think that is it.
I think Ray is going to talk about other resources.

Thank you Bernadine.
I can see I already have a question for you.
Before we get to those questions, we need to move on to share some 
extra resources with you.
Ken shared some of these, www.socialsecurity.gov and they have a 
special work site that will help you find your local WIPA, your local 
Employment Networks including your state VR agency, and lots of 
information concerning work incentives.
You can call the ticket to work helpline for those of you whose 
questions we do not get to today that number is 866-968-7842 for voice, 
and 866-833-2967 86683329674 TTY.

We have a couple of questions.

Karen, I think I'm going to start with you.
Somebody wants to know how long you will work with somebody?

There is not a deadline on how long we can work with the person.
We can work with them as long as they are eligible for Social Security 
benefits meaning that they have a disability under the rules or until 
they retire.
I do not know the retirement and if I can give you guys my dad’s phone 
number, if you will let him know that I do not know the retirement 
rules, I would appreciate that because he just does not get that.
[Ray Cebula]
I have got one of those too, Karen.
[ Laughter ].

We deal with people from the age of 14 to reaching full retirement age.

Okay, Bernadine, do I have to tell my future employer that I have a 
disability?

No, you do not have to disclose that you have a disability.
Of course, if you have an obvious disability, they're going to know 
that you have a disability, but when we do trainings with people who 
are looking for work, people with disabilities, we let them know that 
you do not talk about a reasonable accommodation until the job offer 
is made.
It is illegal for an employer to bring up reasonable accommodation 
before a job offer is made.
They cannot base hiring on the person's need for reasonable 
accommodation.

Great, thank you very much.

I have one for both Ken and Richard.
Is home-based work an option?

This is can, absolutely.
There are a lot of home-based businesses.
A lot of call services, you can utilize your own computer, there are 
certain requirements that you have to meet by that employer to do that, 
but we have been successful at providing the information and helping 
our clients go through that process and in fact we have a number of 
them in case files that are actually working from home, utilizing 
their computer.

Richard, do you have anything to add to that?

Yes.
More and more, we are finding that self-employment is becoming a 
viable option.
I have stayed in contact with a lady who has an environmental illness.
She is allergic to so many of the things that we have around, plastics, 
paints and all sorts of inorganic things.

While she is not a DVR client anymore, she is a working independently 
and doing fairly well.
She has a new project, and we were chatting about how she might get to 
work on that.
I would encourage people that they have the capability of working on 
your own, to certainly consider that.
We surely would.

All right, thank you very much.
I want to say thank you to all of those hundreds of people who have 
joined us today and thank our great panel, and I hope you received 
some great information from them.

Once again, just to give you that phone number. Remember, there is no 
wrong way into this program, but one of the quickest way in is to dial 
that phone number.
That is 866-968-7842 or for TTY 866-833-2967.
We would like to thank our panelists once again and hope you enjoyed 
the webinar.
If anybody has any other questions that need to be answered, give 
those numbers a call, people will help you out.
Thanks for being with us today.

[ Event Concluded ]