Employer Partners to Get Hiring Advantage Through New Program for Jobseekers with Disabilities

OKLAHOMA CITY — Employers with a commitment to hiring Oklahomans with disabilities may now become Employer Partners through a Ticket to Work employment program administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA).

Ticket to Work is voluntary program that helps job seekers with disabilities, ages 16 to 64, get services and assistance needed to achieve their employment goals.

“Employer Partners have an opportunity to position their companies as a disability friendly employer because of participation in this program, but there are a number of other benefits,” said Susan Samuels, an employer specialist at CESSI, the SSA Ticket to Work program manager for recruitment and outreach.

Employer Partners may be eligible for:

• Federal Work Opportunity Tax Credits of up to $2,400 in wages paid during the first 12 months for each new qualifying person hired
• Assistance in meeting diversity hiring goals
• Increased visibility to local service providers who refer qualified job candidates free of charge
• Free posting of their company logo, link to job postings and company’s diversity hiring statement on CESSI’s Ticket to Work Web site

“The Employer Partners program strengthens our relationship with employers who hire our qualified job seekers with disabilities through our vocational rehabilitation programs,” Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Director Michael O’Brien, Ed. D., said. “We also created a special Ticket Plus unit inside DRS, which works with employers and community partners to support new employees and ensure that they are successful during their first nine months on the job.”

SSA pays providers of services, referred to as Employment Networks or ENs, for helping job seekers with disabilities reach “milestones” or steps in the process toward successful employment. The ultimate goal of this program is to reduce reliance on Social Security disability benefits and to promote increased self-sufficiency.

The milestone payment system was developed in Oklahoma by Dan O'Brien, who was then employed at the Oklahoma Department of Rehabilitation Services. He expanded the milestone concept at the Social Security Administration, where he is now the acting associate commissioner for the Office of Employment Support Programs.

Dan O’Brien officially launched the Employer Partner program in mid-Sept. at the U.S. Business Leadership Network, www.usbln.org.

For more information about Employer Partner requirements, visit www.cessi.net/ttw/employer/partners.html or contact Susan Samuels at: ssamuels@cessi.net or 703-448-6155 x235.

For more information about the Ticket to Work program, visit www.ssa.gov/work, www.cessi.net/ttw or www.yourtickettowork.com, or call MAXIMUS Operations Support Manager at 866-968-7842. The number 866-833-2967 is accessible by telecommunications equipment for the deaf.

To reach the nearest DRS office for more information about vocational rehabilitation and employment programs in Oklahoma, visit http://www.okrehab.org/directory/directory.asp or phone 800-487-4042. The number is accessible to the deaf.

(###)