Ticket to Work LT: First off, when I hear “ticket,” I think of it as a passport to some place different, some place new that you haven’t been. JULIE: It’s something helpful or something good. ELIZABETH: It’s like an open door to the future. ANDREW: You need a ticket to have access to get into a sports event; you need a ticket to have access to anywhere. VINNIE: Ticket to Work sounds like a ride to work. Sounds like it says, here you go, here’s your permission to work. BOBBY SIMPSON: And in my mind, that ticket is an open door to opportunity which finally says that if you’re a person with a disability, you have every opportunity to succeed in life just like any other kid does, or any other adult does. NARRATOR-MALE: On December 17, 1999, President Clinton signed into law the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act. NARRATOR-FEMALE: The idea is to remove barriers and disincentives that keep people with disabilities from working. NARRATOR-MALE: The Ticket to Work is a Social Security Administration program that provides employment support services for people who want to work. The program is for people aged 18 to 64, receiving Supplemental Security Income, SSI, or Social Security Disability Insurance, SSDI. It also includes people receiving benefits as a disabled widow or widower, or an adult who is the disabled child of a wage earner under Social Security rules. NARRATOR-FEMALE: You’ll receive the Ticket in the mail with a letter explaining how the program works. NARRATOR-MALE: The letter you receive will tell you how to get a list of the employment networks and the Vocational Rehab agencies that you can choose from to receive these services. To use it, you take the ticket to an employment network of your choice to get services, such as vocational rehabilitation, job search assistance, job training, resume writing, job coaching, and more. NARRATOR-FEMALE: One thing that makes the Ticket to Work unique is that you can get services not only from your state's voc rehab center, but also from One-Stop career centers or even private service providers. Best of all, you have the power to choose. NARRATOR-MALE: The Social Security Administration has arranged with an organization called Maximus to manage portions of the Ticket to Work program, including a toll free Ticket to Work Help Line. If you have a question, call the Help Line, toll free, at 1-866-YOUR TICKET, that’s 1-866-968-7842. Or, for the hearing impaired, call 1-866-833-2967. That’s 1-866-833-2967. VINNIE: Hello. TTW EXPERT: Hello, Ticket to Work Help Line, may I help you? VINNIE: Yeah, I heard about the Ticket to Work on the news. What’s the deal? TTW EXPERT: Basically, the Ticket to Work program is designed to help people with disabilities find work and become self-sufficient. It provides services that can help you find and keep a job, including vocational rehabilitation and employment support services. VINNIE: Hey, thanks a lot for helping! TTW EXPERT: Thank you for calling the Ticket to Work Help Line. JULIE: Thinking about graduation is a little scary. LT: Do I want to go out into the real world? ALYSSA: Any transition period is tough for anybody. ANDREW: First and foremost graduate, get my degree. AMY: Get my masters in Health education and hopefully get into Diabetes education. ANDREW: My career goal is to be a sports agent. VINNIE: I want my own business. LT: I want to make a video game. JULIE: At this time, I'm thinking of becoming a Vocational Rehab counselor, actually. DONALD: To become a Personal Trainer. OSCAR: Something that has to do with law. LORETTA: I want to be a special education teacher. JEREMY: Hopefully have a good job where I don’t have to worry about not having money for medical needs. VINNIE: I think everybody deserves to have a job, if they want one. TTW EXPERT: Hello, Ticket to Work Help Line? LENORA: Yes, I was wondering, who's eligible for the program? TTW EXPERT: If you’re aged eighteen to sixty-four, you currently receive SSI or SSDI and meet the medical requirements, then you are eligible for the program. LENORA: Great, I have another question. When can I get started? TTW EXPERT: Well, different people will get their tickets at different times, but tickets will be available in every state by 2004. If you’re eligible, the ticket will come automatically in the mail. It is a voluntary program so you don’t have to use the ticket if you don’t want to, but it can help you get a job! NARRATOR-FEMALE: There are lots of jobs out there, lots of interesting things you could do for a career. NARRATOR-MALE: It's never too soon! NARRATOR-FEMALE: And never too late! NARRATOR-MALE: To start pursuing your career goals. ALYSSA: Hi! Can I get your credit card please? NARRATOR-MALE: Progress is slow but steady. NARRATOR-FEMALE: A Cornell University Study found that 93% of Federal employers. NARRATOR-MALE: And 82% of private employers. NARRATOR-FEMALE: Have modified facilities, jobs and work hours to improve access for people with disabilities. Did you know that the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits employers from discriminating against anyone based on their disability? LT: To just sit at home and do nothing, it wouldn’t be fulfilling for me. I want to be out there doing something that would make me feel good as a person. JULIE: It feels good to become independent from my parents. JEREMY: To get a job and just make money, have your own money, do your own thing. DONALD: Take care of my responsibilities. LORETTA: You have to have high self-esteem too, I believe, to do any job. ANDREW: I love going to work; it makes me feel independent. JILL: I like to help, know that I’m doing something. AMIL: I like the people I work with. OSCAR: I would like to feel like I'm contributing something to society or whatever. AMY: If I didn’t work, I would get bored. NARRATOR-FEMALE: If you want to learn more about the Ticket to Work program and how it can help you. NARRATOR-MALE: Call the Ticket To Work Help Line. It’s toll free at 1-866-YOUR TICKET. That’s 1-866-968-7842. Or, for the hearing impaired, call 1-866-833-2967. That’s 1- 866-833-2967. Or check out the Ticket to Work program on the SSA web site at www.ssa.gov/work. Or on the Maximus website at www.yourtickettowork.com. NARRATOR-FEMALE: So do it now! Start planning for your future. JILL: If there’s something you want to do. GLEN: Find something you truly love doing. DONALD: And just try hard no matter what. AMY: You don’t have to be perfect, you just have to try. LORETTA: Through a lot of hard work and determination. ALYSSA: Basically, everybody has challenges in life. Everybody has obstacles that they need to overcome, and overcoming them only makes you a stronger person and it makes life that much more worth it to look back and be able to say that I did that. ANDREW: Face your challenges and go through them the best that you can. LT: Don’t give up on your goals. Because I want to do something with my life and be a success. VINNIE: And don’t let anybody tell you that you can’t do it. You can, you can do it. NARRATOR-FEMALE: Get it? NARRATOR-MALE: It’s called Ticket to Work. NARRATOR-FEMALE: It’s from the Social Security Administration. NARRATOR-MALE: It’s for SSI and SSDI beneficiaries. NARRATOR-FEMALE: It provides employment support services. NARRATOR-MALE: It can help you get and keep a job.