Ticket to Work Program Evaluation

In compliance with the Ticket to Work Incentives Improvement Act if 1999 (Pub. L. 106-170) Section 101(d)(4)(A), SSA is contracting with Mathematica to conduct an independent evaluation to assess (1) the effects of the program on work outcomes and self-sufficiency, and (2) their cost effectiveness. The Ticket Act established supports designed to increase the availability of and access to employment services for adults with disabilities receiving Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), hereafter referred to as Ticketholders . Among the supports created by the Ticket Act were three programs: • Ticket To Work (TTW). • Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA). • Protection and Advocacy for Beneficiaries of Social Security (PABSS). Purpose of the Evaluation To comply with P.L. 106-170, the evaluation will document the extent to which Ticket Act programs are effective, meaning that they achieve their legislative intent: to allow individuals with disabilities to seek the services necessary to obtain and retain employment and reduce their dependency on cash benefit programs. The evaluation findings on these components will support SSA’s understanding of: (1) Whether the programs achieve their legislative intent; (2) The factors contributing to this achievement or lack thereof, and (3) Opportunities for improvement of the programs’ efficiency and effectiveness. The evaluation will also document the cost effectiveness of Ticket Act programs as currently structured, identifying opportunities to deliver the same outcomes at lower costs or improve outcomes with additional investments. As SSA implemented many changes to the Ticket Act programs since our last comprehensive evaluation in 2013, we are also conducting this evaluation to assess these revisions to the programs, including: The increased prevalence of remote service delivery, which makes services more broadly available to Ticketholders, but may reduce the effectiveness of services offered; Changes to the number of ENs and VR agencies participating in the program, as well as changes to the types of services they offer. These changes may affect the overall effectiveness of the program; Revisions that changed the programs’ operations, for instance the implementation of electronic submissions, which may also affect the overall effectiveness of the program; and Investment in a marketing program to support EN outreach, which may have affected the overall use of the TTW program. We expect this comprehensive evaluation will provide updated information regarding: (1) the ability of the Ticket Programs to achieve their legislative intent; and (2) the evidence base necessary to determine the need for potential programmatic changes or other proposals to maximize program effectiveness. We will use surveys and qualitative interviews to evaluate the TTW program. The Respondents are service providers for the Ticket to Work program, specifically one staff member from each EN, state VR, WIPA project and P&A agency with a PABSS grant (“Providers”), as well as Ticketholders. We are submitting a non-substantial change request to clarify language to the response options for question A2 of the EN-VR Provider Survey Instrument

The latest form for Ticket to Work Program Evaluation expires 2029-03-31 and can be found here.