The Center

PROS

Review the background and keep up on the latest developments.

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External Resources

Our external resources list can be useful in providing resources and information towards professional development.

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Resources

As part of its mission, the Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery provides resources and information that can be helpful to community mental health providers.

Index to Resources

 

Job Aids

We have packaged some information in the form of Job Aids. They are designed to better equip agency staff to deliver recovery-focused services.

All of the Job Aids listed in this section can be easily downloaded and reproduced. To print a specific Job Aid, simply click on the title that interests you. If you do not have Adobe Reader, download it free at: http://get.adobe.com/reader/.

Defining Recovery
Person Centered Approaches
Enhancing Motivation thru Change Talk
Defining Natural Supports
Assessing Group Behavior
Supported Education:  Four Student Perspectives
Supported Education:  Demonstrated Positive Outcomes
Supported Employment: Core Principles
Powerful Staff Meetings: Creating a Culture of Recovery
Recovery Internet Resources

Medicaid Buy-in Update

Since September, 2007, The Center has facilitated a work group focused on ways to increase enrollment in the Medicaid Buy-in Program for Working People with Disabilities (MBI-WPD) among people with psychiatric disabilities. This initiative is being undertaken in collaboration with NYSOMH, NYSDOH, NYCDOHMH, consumers, and providers. 

• On November 26, 2008 The Center released an easy to understand fact sheet designed to give consumers and providers the most current and important information on the Buy-In Program.  We encourage you to download, post and distribute this new flyer.

The flyer is available in full color or printer friendly black and white.

• On September 15th, 2008, The New York State Assembly’s Task Force on People with Disabilities, Committee on Health held a hearing focused on the Buy-in.  Marc Kutner, Director of Special Initiatives, provided testimony on work group suggestions for better promoting and improving access to this vital program. To read the testimony, CLICK HERE. 

Ticket to Work

Ticket to Work is a voluntary employment program for people with disabilities administered by the Social Security Administration (SSA). The Ticket program offers people receiving Social Security disability benefits age 18 through 64 expanded opportunities to obtain the services and supports that they need to work and to achieve their employment goals. SSA does this by paying approved service providers, referred to as “Employment Networks” or “ENs”, for assisting beneficiaries to reach designated Milestones and Outcomes associated with achieving self-supporting employment. An EN can be any agency or organization that provides or is equipped to provide employment- related services and supports to individuals who have disabilities.

The Ticket program may be of particular interest to providers of Personalized Recovery Oriented Services (PROS) programs. PROS programs may apply to become an EN and use ticket revenue to finance employment services, such as the Individual Placement and Support (IPS) model of Supported Employment. It is also worth noting that SSA revised the Ticket program in 2008 to facilitate payments to ENs.  Now ENs can be paid sooner, more frequently and at higher amounts for the services they provide.

To learn more about the Ticket program and how to become an Employment Network, please utilize the information and Internet resources below:

All information has been gathered from SSA and its contract agencies (CESSI, a private company focused on Ticket program recruitment and outreach, and MAXIMUS, a private company that provides oversight and management for the Ticket program).

Ticket to Work: Basic Information & Breaking News

Visit www.yourtickettowork.com for a variety of payment-related resources

Ticket to Work: Frequently Asked Questions

Visit www.cessi.net/ttw/faqs/ for answers to frequently asked questions.

Website for Ticket Holders (People with Disabilities)

Visit Choose Work web site (www.choosework.net) to see testimonials of people with disabilities who have benefited from the Ticket program.

Ticket to Work & Mental Health Organizations

Program Mental Health Web site at www.cessi.net/ttw/EN/mental_health/index.asp.

Employment Network Application--Request for Proposal (EN RFP)

If your organization would like to become an Employment Network (EN), please follow the link to download the RFP: www.ssa.gov/work/enrfp.html.

To learn how to complete the EN application visit www.cessi.net/ttw/walkthru-app.html  

Don’t hesitate to get in touch with the CESSI Account Manager specializing in Mental Health: David Jones, at 703 448 6155 x 201 if you or others at your organization still have questions about becoming an EN.

Ticket Quick Start

This link provides information on the Individual Work Plan (IWP), EN payment amounts, and other tools that can be downloaded by your organization for reference and training. www.yourtickettowork.com/training_2

Payment Process Resources

This link provides information about the items needed to submit a payment request.
www.yourtickettowork.com/payment_options

EN Capitalization Resource Directory

This link provides information on tapping into government and private funding for upfront capital to implement employment and support services for beneficiaries under the Ticket to Work Program. www.yourtickettowork.com/en_cap_resource

SSA’s 2009 Ticket to Work Mental Health Summit: Recovery Through Work

In mid-November 2009, the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Office of Employment Support Programs (OESP), Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) hosted a summit with a first-ever focus on its Ticket to Work Program and mental health employment services.

Presentations and related Summit materials are now available for download at the following address: www.cessi.net/ticketmentalhealthsummit/program.html. Just click on any presenter’s name that is a live link and you will be able to open or save the associated documents.

CMS Issues Policy Clarification: Medicaid Providers Participating In Ticket Program as ENs are NOT “Double-Dipping”

Many providers have been concerned that receiving payments for Ticket related services and Medicaid reimbursement constitutes “double dipping” and would be disallowed. In response to these concerns, the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a policy clarification in a letter sent to State Medicaid Directors on January 28, 2010. The letter states that “Ticket Outcome and Milestone payments do not conflict with regulatory requirements and do not constitute an overpayment of Federal dollars for services provided since EN payments are payment for an outcome, rather than for a Medicaid service rendered. Furthermore, State agencies and/or providers interested in participating in the Ticket to Work program as ENs are encouraged to do so.” This policy clarification paves the way for Medicaid providers to fully benefit from Ticket revenue.

CMS Policy Clarification Ltr—2010-01-28

Archived Webinars

SSA and CESSI, the Ticket to Work Program Manager for Recruitment and Outreach (PMRO), hold regular Webinars on a variety of important topics for both prospective and current Employment Networks. These are available for continued access via the Web at www.ilr.cornell.edu/edi/m-cessi-webinars.cfm; Webinars with a specific mental health focus are archived at www.cessi.net/ttw/en_menthealth-UCP/en_info4.html.

Additional Resources

Visit www.cessi.net/ttw/resources/  for more Ticket program resources.

Documents to Download

Basics 
Beneficiary Ticket Holder 
Overview of New Ticket Program 
Social Security—Your Ticket to Work Brochure 
Contact Info—Program Manager for Recruitment and Outreach 
Ticket to Work Resources of Interest

EN Handbook for Service Providers 
EN Resources 
EN—RFP Application

Psychiatric Rehabilitation

The Psychiatric Rehabilitation Approach includes a philosophy and an evidence-based process for involving recipients in rehabilitative activities underscoring particular psychiatric rehabilitative values that will be reflected in the trainings. The focus is on recovery and the approach is a well defined service that is complimentary to treatment, case management, and other types of mental health services. This approach can be applied in a range of programs and settings.

Cognitive Remediation

The Center undertook a research study to examine the effectiveness of combining cognitive remediation and supported employment services for mental health recipients. The study targeted four community based employment programs in New York City since the beginning of the project in January 2003.

Ways to Work

The Ways to Work demonstration project began in January 2002. Five New York City community mental health agencies received grants from the Center to employ employment staff and to integrate clinical and vocational services. The main goal was to increase employment outcomes for mental health consumers attending Continuing Day Treatment and Clinic Programs.

Work and Recovery Project

The Work and Recovery Project was a two-year initiative that began in July 2002 and ended in June 2004, under the Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery (The Center) and the Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies at the request of the New York State Office of Mental Health. The project was aimed at improving consumer employment opportunities and outcomes in five New York City Continuing Day Treatment Programs. The following documents illustrate how the project shifted programming, trained staff towards targeted skill and role development, and promoted collaboration among programs.

Working with Employers

The Center in collaboration with Columbia University's Workplace Center undertook a two year study started in 2002 involving eleven mental health agencies and Human Resource Departments in New York City. Various reports and usable forms were generated from this project that looked at creative ways to develop jobs and utilize existing agency relationships fostering a lucrative network towards increased employment outcomes for mental health recipients.

Reports:

Usable Forms:

Employment and Clubhouses

The employment enhancement project with the International Center for Clubhouse Development (ICCD) was undertaken by the Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery in 2002. With involvement of the New York City Clubhouse Coalition (NYCCC), the project resulted in the development of a best practices manual on employment, technical assistance efforts with specific New York City clubhouses, and training on developing and operating diverse employment programs in clubhouses.

Cost Analysis (Measuring the True Cost of Providing Supported Employment Services in New York City)

The Center undertook a study to measure the true cost of providing supported employment to individuals with psychiatric disabilities. This study was spurred by a RFP released by Vocational and Educational Services for Individuals with Disabilities (VESID), the New York State Vocational Rehabilitation agency. The two methodologies employed for this project were process mapping and staff questionnaires. The following documents assist the reader in understanding the need for this project in a rapidly changing funding environment, the process involved, and the results of the actual costs of providing supported employment services.

The Role of Employee Assistance Programs in Supporting Workers with Mental Health Conditions

The Center for Rehabilitation and Recovery and Columbia University's Workplace Center of the School of Social Work undertook a study to look at the role of employee assistance programs (EAPs) in supporting workers with mental health conditions. This report examines ways that EAPs can collaborate with providers of the mental health community to improve employment retention. The following documents reflect the scope of the project and show practical ways to implement these ideas through three different training manuals that help to enhance the connection between EAPs and the mental health community:

The Quality of Supported Employment Implementation Scale (QSEIS)

Supported employment services designed for persons with mental health disabilities vary. The Center along with researchers from Indiana University, Purdue University examined the properties of supported employment utilizing the QSEIS (Quality of Supported Employment Implementation Scale) a 33-item scale measuring the implementation of evidence-based supported employment. The following documents are the tools and products of the study:

Statewide Educational Advisory Board (SWEAB)

A Statewide Educational Advisory Board was convened by the Center in collaboration with the State Office of Mental Health and Cornell University to develop a portfolio of employment services educational curricula that could be of use throughout New York State. Membership consisted of individuals from both public and private universities, think tanks, consultants, consumer organizations, and selected state, city, and federal agencies. One of the goals of SWEAB was to blend evidence-based practices and perspectives on recovery. The following are documents describing this project and include products of the Board's efforts:

The Role of Unions in Promoting the Employment of Individuals with Mental Health Conditions

The Center along with Columbia University's Workplace Center of the School of Social Work undertook a study to examine the role of unions as a potential conduit between the workplace and individuals seeking employment from within the mental health system. This report is a description of unions as a potential resource for consumers and providers. Training materials for union representatives, mental health providers, and consumers of mental health services are also available.