Justification for the Non-Substantive Changes for 0960-0644

Justification for Non-Substantive Changes to Form SSA-1370 (Individual Work Plan)

The Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program

20 CFR 411

OMB No. 0960-0644

Background

The Social Security Administration (SSA) is requesting approval for a non-substantive change to the information collection Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (Ticket Program), authorized under Section 1148 of the Social Security Act. The Ticket Program provides Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients with expanded options for access to employment services, vocational rehabilitation (VR) services, and other employment-related support as they work to decrease dependence on Federal cash payments. The Ticket Program transitions SSDI and SSI recipients towards independence by allowing them to receive Social Security payments while maintaining employment under the auspices of the Program.

SSA uses service providers, both Employment Networks (EN) and VR agencies, to supervise participant progress through the stages of Ticket Program participation, education, job searches, interviews, progress reviews, and changes in ticket status. The Ticket Program allows the recipients to choose a service provider, who will guide and assist them in reaching their goals to obtain and retain self-supporting employment. The service providers are the primary respondents to the SSA-1370, Individual Work Plan (IWP).

20 CFR 411 of the Code of Federal Regulations house the regulations for the Ticket Program. 20 CFR 411, Subpart G presents the IWP in detail. The IWP outlines the ticket holder’s employment goals and the services the provider agrees to offer to help meet the objectives.

Justification for Changes to 0960-0644

Contractually, we are switching from a Request for Quotation (RFQ) to a Request for Application (RFA). An RFQ is a standard business process whose purpose is to invite suppliers into a bidding process to bid on specific products or services. An RFA typically outlines the eligible types of programs; the expectations we have for these programs; and our expectations for submitted applications as well as how we review applications. Because our Ticket Program is not an open competition for a specific product, our Office of Acquisitions and Grants and our Office of General Counsel advised that we move from an RFQ to an RFA for businesses that are seeking to become employment networks under the Ticket Program. In our RFA, we have specific guidelines on what qualifies a business to become an employment network under our program. It also explains the terms and conditions of the agreement. Once released, we plan to award Ticket Program agreements to ENs within 60 days of the issuance.

Revisions to the SSA-1370, Individual Work Plan (IWP)

The revised SSA-1370 is simplified; more user-friendly; eliminates government language; and improves wording. In addition, the revised form more accurately reflects current Ticket Program policies, updated Ticket Program language, and changes in definition. The revised form does not represent a substantive change from the existing SSA-1370, as we are making minimal revisions.

The expiration date for 0960-0644 is January 31, 2019. As discussed above, we plan to award new Ticket Program agreements well before the expiration date. Once the solicitation and award processes are complete, it is our intention that ENs (and VRs) will use the revised SSA-1370, IWP, reflecting up-to-date program language, to record beneficiary employment goals and supporting provider services. It is important to note that at the time of our last review of 0960‑0644 (2015 - 2016), we were not, yet, able to modify the SSA-1370 IWP and we were not in a position to hold up our assessment of the OMB package to do so. Therefore, we are modifying it now and submitting it for OMB approval.

Description of Changes to the SSA-1370

• Change #1: We removed the two additional Alternate Contact’s from Part One

Jus tification #1: We only request one Alternate Contact now

• Change #2: We added Part Two, Section 1, “Discussion Arrangement.”

Jus tification #2: We did this to clarify how the discussion took place, which is important for our data collection.

• Change #3: We moved the previous Part Three to Section 2.
  
  Jus tification #3: We updated the order of the sections to request the information in a sequential manor.
  
  

• Change #4: We moved the previous Part One to Section 3.

Justification #4: We updated the order of the sections to request the information in a sequential manor.

• Change #5: We moved the previous Part Two to Section 4.

Justification #5: We updated the order of the sections to request the information in a sequential manor.

• Change #6: We moved the previous Part Four to before Part Three.

Justification #6: We updated the order of the sections to request the information in a sequential manor.

• Change #7: We moved the Statement of Understanding to the end of the Form.

Justification #7: We made this change to put the Statement of Understanding just before the Signature lines.

Burden Information Changes for Form SSA-1370

We increased our burden hours for Form SSA-1370, Ticket to Work Individual Work Plan, to reflect the most current government data information. We only needed to update the burden for the one form, and it did not affect the burden for the SSA-1370 usage under the Virtual Job Fair Registration. The new burden figures for the SSA-1370 are as follows (we also updated them in ROCIS):

Number of respondents: 21,600

Number of responses: 1

Response time: 60 minutes

Annual burden: 21,600 hours

The increase in burden for this one form (SSA-1370) increases the total burden for the entire ICR (0960-0644) to 85,072.

We will implement these revisions upon OMB approval.