Greater Covington Center
317 N. Jefferson Avenue, Covington, LA 70433
Work Pays Panel Presentation to be held on 3/26/10 from 3-4 PM
Speakers: Patty Ghiossi, Terry Kennedy
Please visit www.biala.org for further details on registration and agnda
Next Work Pays Meeting March 4th, 2010
Baton Rouge
9AM-4PM
Meeting location to be announced
click on meeting minutes on side bar for details on the September Work Pays Meeting
WORK PAYS CREDO
Statements of Principle
Mission
WORK PAYS is a consortium of
agencies working together to increase the employment opportunities of persons
with disabilities in Louisiana.
Vision
To address the employment barriers and obstacles to
employment in Louisiana by understanding the available resources and services
of the consortium agencies.
Philosophy
To promote a central message by
communicating and demonstrating that people with disabilities make valuable
contributions to Louisiana through employment.
Why Hire Individuals with Disabilities?
- Individuals with disabilities are a large and growing consumer segment
representing approximately $175 billion in discretionary purchasing power
- They are a large pool of competitive individuals who are qualified and motivated
to work, but are often overlooked.
- They are responsible and loyal individuals who are looking for a long term
career - not just a short term job.
- There are many programs that support businesses who hire qualified
individuals with disabilities.
Individuals with
disabilities are looking for the same opportunities, no more or less, as other
people in society. Just like all
members of society they are looking for the chance to work in competitive,
gainful employment and thereby enhance the quality of their lives and their
communities.
Source: Louisiana Medicaid Infrastructure Grant (MIG 2008).
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WIPA is available to answer and provide assistance on how work affects
Social Security benefits.
Click on the link below to go to the on-line
WIPA Referral form:
Click Below on WIPA Online Referral Form-
WIPA Online Referral Form
See below for the .pdf WIPA Referral form. You may also print and Fax referral forms to David Gallegos at dgallegos@advocacyla.org
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See attached "Working for Tomorrow" Center for Workers With Disabilities Newsletter below-
Topics include:
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Website Launched to Support Partnerships between State VR Agencies and Employment Networks
The Partnership Plus Online Toolkit is designed to assist State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies in taking advantage of the new service delivery option under the NEW Ticket to Work program. Under the new Ticket regulations, the Ticket of a beneficiary whom a State VR agency served under the traditional Cost Reimbursement program (available only to VR agencies) still has value after the VR case is closed. As a result, an EN that gets the Ticket assignment after VR closes a Cost Reimbursement case can qualify for Milestone and Outcome payments as the beneficiary attains specific levels of work or earnings.
The Toolkit, located at http://partnershipplus.cessi.net/, is designed to assist State VR agencies in:
- Assessing and choosing among agency options for serving beneficiaries with disabilities.
- Identifying potential partners and developing partnerships with ENs.
- Maximizing program income received from SSA.
- Communicating effectively with beneficiaries, partners, potential partners, and other interested stakeholders.
- Creating systems and processes associated with both the Ticket program and the Cost Reimbursement program.
Partnership Plus offers many benefits to all involved. It has the potential to be a win-win-win situation for beneficiaries, VR agencies and ENs. To learn more about Partnership Plus and the benefits to beneficiaries, ENs and VR agencies, check out the Toolkit at: http://partnershipplus.cessi.net/
Other Key Tools for VR Agencies
To learn more about the traditional Cost Reimbursement program and how State VR agencies work with Social Security beneficiaries with disabilities, visit SSA’s Work Site to access the most up-to-date version of the VR Providers Handbook: www.socialsecurity.gov/work/documents/VRProviderHandbook.doc.
For more information on the Ticket to Work Program, please visit:
www.ssa.gov/work - SSA’s Work Site
www.yourtickettowork.com - MAXIMUS, Ticket Operations Manager
www.cessi.net/ttw - CESSI, Ticket Recruitment and Outreach Manager
