[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 141 (Monday, July 23, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 38333-38334]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-18282]


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SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION


The Ticket To Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel Design and 
Evaluation Committee Meeting

AGENCY: Social Security Administration (SSA).

ACTION: Notice of meeting.

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DATES: July 27, 2001, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Holiday Inn-Capitol, 550 C Street, SW., Washington, DC 20024 
Phone: (202) 479-4000, (202) 479-4353 Fax. The hotel is located near 
the Federal Center, SW and the L'Enfant Metro Stations. Call-in number: 
1-888-790-1713. Pass code 12211.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Type of meeting: This is a meeting of the 
Design and Evaluation Committee of the Ticket to Work and Work 
Incentives Advisory Panel (the Panel). The meeting is a research 
roundtable meeting and is open to the public. The public is invited to 
participate by coming to the address listed above or calling in to the 
number listed. Public comment will be taken. The public is also invited 
to submit comments in writing on the implementation of the Ticket to 
Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act (TWWIIA) of 1999 at any time.
    Purpose: In accordance with section 10(a)(2) of the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act, the Social Security Administration announces 
that the Design and Evaluation committee of the Ticket to Work and Work 
Incentives Advisory Panel (the Panel) will host an Expert Roundtable on 
the Ticket Program Evaluation for People with Significant Disabilities 
and the Adequacy of Incentives Study. Interested parties are invited to 
attend the meeting. The Panel will use the meeting time to receive 
public testimony, hear presentations from invited experts, receive 
briefings on the implementation of TWWIIA and conduct discussions. The 
roundtable discussion will focus on questions and issues presented in 
this announcement.
    Agenda: Interested parties may attend the meeting or call in to 
listen between the hours of 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time. Public 
testimony will be heard on Friday, July 27, 2001 from 11 a.m. to 12 
noon. Individuals interested in providing testimony in person should 
contact the Panel staff as outlined below to schedule time slots. 
Members of the public must schedule a timeslot in order to comment. 
Since the time slot is limited, persons interested in providing 
testimony at the meeting should contact the Panel staff by e-mailing 
Theda Zawaiza at [email protected] or calling (202) 358-6421.
    Each presenter will be called on by the Chair in the order in which 
they are scheduled to testify and is limited to a maximum five-minute 
verbal presentation. Full written testimony on TWWIIA Implementation, 
no longer than 5 pages, may be submitted in person or by mail, fax or 
e-mail on an on-going basis to the Panel for consideration.
    In the event that the public comments do not take up the scheduled 
time period for public comment, the Panel will use that time to 
deliberate and conduct other Panel business.

[[Page 38334]]

    The full agenda for the meeting will be posted on the Internet at 
http://www.ssa.gov/work/panel/ one week before the meeting or can be 
received in advance electronically or by fax upon request.
    Contact Information: Anyone requiring information regarding the 
Panel should contact the TWWIIA Panel staff. Records are being kept of 
all Panel proceedings and will be available for public inspection by 
appointment at the Panel office. Anyone requiring information regarding 
the Panel should contact the Panel staff by:
     Mail addressed to Social Security Administration, Ticket 
to Work and Work Incentives Advisory.
     Panel Staff, 400 Virginia Avenue, SW., Suite 700, 
Washington, DC 20024.
     Telephone contact with Kristen Breland by telephone at 
(202) 358-6423.
     Fax at (202) 358-6440.
     E-mail to [email protected].

    Dated: July 16, 2001.
Deborah M. Morrison,
Designated Federal Officer.

Expert Roundtable on the Ticket Program Evaluation for People With 
Significant Disabilities and the Adequacy of Incentives Study

    Date: July 27, 2001, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Roundtable Questions and Issues

     Discussion of SSA's overall evaluation and Adequacy of 
Incentives Study design and methodology. SSA question: What are the 
outcomes of interest? What needs to be accomplished by the study, 
included in the Report to Congress, and implemented prior to the end of 
the three-year period? What does Congress need to know and how should 
the information be provided?
     Discussion of SSA's question: ``What are objective means 
of identifying, through SSA administrative data, the target populations 
as defined in Section 101(h)(5)(C) of P. L. 106-170, the Ticket to Work 
and Work Incentives Improvement Act? What other sources are available 
to identify the target population as defined in the statute?
     Who are the experts and what information resources should 
be considered regarding current and past projects and successful 
efforts to support individuals with significant disabilities to achieve 
integrated jobs in the community, at or above minimum wage? (i.e. What 
have we learned from the PASS plans, Choice projects, successful 
supported employment and other employment?)
     What other means of identifying the information needed in 
order for individuals in the target populations to achieve employment 
should be considered, i.e. review of the literature and best practice, 
targeted studies, demonstration projects? What should the timing and 
design be, and what expertise is necessary to conduct reviews, 
projects, studies, etc.?''
     How can SSA study/review/demonstrate how individualized 
milestones \1\ could be used effectively to achieve employment for 
these individuals?
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    \1\ SSA will address, in the Adequacy of Incentives Report due 
to Congress in December 2002, the efficacy of individualized 
milestones. The Work Incentives Advisory Panel recommends that SSA 
should also consider the immediate implementation of an 
individualized milestone system. The system would provide 
individualized milestones for individuals with a need for on-going 
support services, individuals who need high-cost accommodations, 
individuals who earn a sub-minimum wage, and individuals who work 
and receive partial cash benefits along the lines of systems already 
in use in Massachusetts, Oklahoma and other states. These systems 
use the individualized planning process to determine if and when a 
different set of milestones is necessary, and establish a plan for 
payments and accountability for payments.
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     What is the best way to address the SSA question: What 
about the array of services, e.g. cost, is of interest? How can SSA 
determine what services are most effective in assisting individuals in 
the four categories obtain and retain successful employment? What do 
the services cost and how are they provided?
     What are the best ways to ensure that various and diverse 
populations are represented in the research study?
     How should consumers, family members, and/or their 
representatives be included in the study design planning process and 
study implementation?
     How should Employment Networks \2\ be consulted as part of 
the Adequacy of Incentives Study regarding the incentives needed to 
serve individuals in the four target populations defined in the 
statute?

    \2\ Each EN serving under the Ticket to Work program shall 
consist of an agency or instrumentality of a State (or political 
subdivision thereof) or a private entity that assumes responsibility 
for the coordination and delivery of services under the program to 
beneficiaries assigning tickets to it. An EN may consist of a one-
stop delivery system established under subtitle B of title I of the 
Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
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[FR Doc. 01-18282 Filed 7-20-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-U