Prior to the implementation of the Ticket to Work program, each FO was required to consider each claimant's potential to benefit from rehabilitation services and provide referral information. (See DI 26520.000 – DI 26520.035.) These FO referral requirements were eliminated once the Ticket to Work program was implemented.

Upon implementation of the Ticket to Work program , P.L. 106-170 removed the statutory authority under which DDSs made referrals of allowed or denied SSDI/SSI disability applicants or beneficiaries whose benefits continued or ceased to a State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agency for rehabilitation services.

1. a. 

   Question. Can we include or invite a representative from our local State VR agency to participate in presentations we make about SSA's Ticket to Work program?

   Answer. Yes. You should invite Employment Networks (ENs) to participate as well. Also, if you receive a request from an EN to participate in presentations you are making, they must be allowed to participate if you would have allowed your local State VR agency to participate.

2. b. 

   Question. For years we have displayed public information (PI) about our State's VR program in our office. Can we continue to display this information?

   Answer. Yes, if you display PI about other programs that would benefit our customers. Also, if ENs in your service area request to place their PI information in the office, it must be displayed in the same manner that you allow for the display of PI materials or information from other entities.

3. c. 

   Question. We have staff from the local State VR agency onsite weekly to discuss their services with disability applicants. Must we also allow ENs to have discussions with disability applicants?

   Answer. Yes. The issue is one of providing a balanced opportunity to explain a provider's services. If you afford your local State VR agency the opportunity to talk to applicants, you must also afford ENs the same opportunity. If you make space available in the FO for State VR agency staff you must make space available for EN staff. Remember SSA must avoid any display of favoritism or give the impression that one entity has a greater opportunity to market its services to beneficiaries.

4. d. 

   Question. What should I do if an individual inquires about State VR agency services?

   Answer. You can provide any general information you may have about the local State VR agency, including its address and telephone number. If the individual also aged 18 through 64 and a title II beneficiary, title XVI recipient, or a concurrent beneficiary, you should refer the individual to the Ticket Program Manager (TPM) via 1-866-968-7842 or 1-866-833-2967 (TTY).

1. a. 

   Question. Why can't we refer denials and CDR cessations to State VR agencies? Some of these individuals could possibly benefit from VR services.

   Answer. When the Ticket to Work program was implemented, Public Law 106-170 repealed the statutory authority SSA had to make referrals to State VR agencies. Thus, the authority under which a DDS made referrals of SSA beneficiary/recipient's information to the State VR agency ceased to exist once the Ticket to Work program was implemented. However, DDSs are still required to refer any blind or disabled individual who has not attained age 16 and to whom SSI benefits are paid, to the appropriate State agency in the DDS' State administering the State program under title V of the Social Security Act.

2. b. 

   Question. I realize that a DDS can no longer make SSA disability case referrals to the State VR agency, but is it permissible for a State VR agency to have its staff review Social Security/SSI disability claims in the DDS to identify potential customers?

   Answer. DDS records and information used in the adjudication of applications for SSDI and SSI disabled or blind benefits, or in the determination of continued eligibility for disability benefits under a CDR, are confidential and cannot be disclosed without a written Authorization for Release of Information signed by the beneficiary or the beneficiary's authorized representative.