KATS Network

The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA)

The Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA) of 1999 was enacted on Dec. 17, 1999. This law:

increases beneficiary choice in obtaining rehabilitation and vocational services to help them go to work and attain their employment goals;
removes barriers that require people with disabilities to choose between health care coverage and work; and< /li>
assures that more Americans with disabilities have the opportunity to participate in the workforce and lessen their dependence on public benefits.

Qualified Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients receive a ticket in the mail. They may use their ticket to obtain vocational rehabilitation, employment or other support services from an approved provider of their choice to help them go to work and achieve their employment goals.

The Ticket to Work Program is voluntary. Social Security and SSI beneficiaries who receive a Ticket are not required to participate or go to work. They may choose to set their Ticket aside and not use it. They may choose to use their Ticket to attempt to go to work full time and reduce their cash benefits while maintaining health care coverage.

Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Program

In October 2006, the Social Security Administration (SSA) replaced the Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach Program with the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program. The Program was renamed because of an increased emphasis on work incentives, return to work supports and jobs for beneficiaries.

SSA, as authorized by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, awarded 99 cooperative agreements to a variety of community organizations to serve as WIPA projects. These WIPA projects provide all SSA beneficiaries with disabilities (including transition-to-work aged youth) access to benefits planning and assistance services.

The goal of the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Program is to better enable SSA`s beneficiaries with disabilities to make informed choices about work. Each WIPA Project has Community Work Incentive coordinators (CWICs) who will:

Provide work incentives planning and assistance directly to SSA`s beneficiaries with disabilities to assist them in their employment efforts;
Conduct outreach efforts in collaboration with SSA's Program Manager for Recruitment and Outreach contractor to beneficiaries with disabilities (and their families), who are potentially eligible to participate in Federal or State work incentives programs;
Work in cooperation with Federal, State, and private agencies and nonprofit organizations that serve beneficiaries with disabilities;
Refer beneficiaries with disabilities to appropriate Employment Networks based on the beneficiary's expressed needs and types of impairments;
Provide general information on the adequacy of health benefits coverage that may be offered by an employer of a beneficiary with a disability and the extent to which other health benefits coverage may be available to that beneficiary in coordination with Medicare and/or Medicaid; and
Provide information on the availability of protection and advocacy services for beneficiaries with disabilities and how to access such services.

For More Information about the WIPA Program, contact:

Center for Accessible Living, Inc.

981 South 3rd Street
Suite 102
Louisville, KY 40203
Phone: (502) 589-6620

Serving the counties of - Adair, Allen, Anderson, Ballard, Barren, Boone, Boyle, Breckinridge, Bullitt, Butler, Caldwell, Calloway, Campbell, Carlisle, Carroll, Casey, Christian, Clinton, Crittenden, Cumberland, Daviess, Edmonson, Fayette, Franklin, Fulton, Gallatin, Grant, Graves, Grayson, Green, Hancock, Hardin, Hart, Henderson, Henry, Hickman, Hopkins, Jefferson, Jessamine, Kenton, Larue, Lincoln, Livingston, Logan, Lyon, Marion, Marshall, McCracken, McLean, Meade, Mercer, Metcalfe, Monroe, Muhlenberg, Nelson, Ohio, Oldham, Owen, Pulaski, Russell, Scott, Shelby, Simpson, Spencer, Taylor, Todd, Trigg, Trimble, Union, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Webster and Woodford.

Transitional WIPA

Imagine Enterprises
Toll Free: 866-426-1132

Serving the counties of - Bath, Bell, Bourbon, Boyd, Bracken, Breathitt, Carter, Clark, Clay, Elliott, Estill, Fleming, Floyd, Garrard, Greenup, Harlan, Harrison, Jackson, Johnson, Knott, Knox, Laurel, Lawrence, Lee, Leslie, Letcher, Lewis, Madison, Magoffin, Martin, Mason, McCreary, Menifee, Montgomery, Morgan, Nicholas, Owsley, Pendleton, Perry, Pike, Powell, Robertson, Rockcastle, Rowan, Whitley, and Wolfe.

S	M	T	W	T	F	S
			1	2	3	4
5	6	7	8	9	10	11
12	13	14	15	16	17	18
19	20	21	22	23	24	25
26	27	28	29

“Disability Solutions through Technology”

Site Navigation