SSA Ticket to Work Program is Launched

On February 5th, 2002, 4 people from the state of Delaware became the first ticket recipients in SSA’s new initiative "Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (Ticket Program)." This is only the first step in making this program available to recipients of SSI (Supplemental Security Income) all over the country.

SSA Commissioner Jo Anne Barnhart presented these first tickets at an event at Discover Bank, in New Castle, Delaware. Discover has a program called BOOST (Business Organization & Occupational Services Training), which is designed to help people with disabilities return to the workforce.

Regarding the importance of this new Ticket program, the Commissioner stated that, "Today, only about one percent of the people who get Social Security and SSI disability benefits leave the rolls each year to go to work. We can do better, and we must do better. President Bush said, 'My Administration is committed to tearing down any barriers that unreasonably prevent the full participation of Americans with disabilities.' And he said that he will work 'to help disabled Americans realize their dreams through meaningful and successful careers.' And the Ticket to Work gets us there."

This event marked the first day of a 5-month period in which about 2.4 million residents of Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Iowa, Illinois, Massachusetts, New York, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina, Vermont and Wisconsin will receive their tickets to work. Residents of other states will receive their tickets in either late 2002 or 2003 depending on which phase their state is in. All phases will be completed by January 2004.

These tickets will enable people receiving SSI, or Supplemental Security Income, to access free services throughout the country, which will help them find jobs, become self-sufficient, and get off of SSI.

Questions on this program should be directed to the program coordinator, Maximus, at 1-866-968-7842 (1-866-YOURTICKET) or 1-866-833-2967 (1-866- TDD2WORK) for users of TDD/TTY. Their website for this program is located at www.yourtickettowork.com and includes a FAQ page.

More general information on Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act, can be found at the SSA website: www.ssa.gov/work/.

You can also consult our web site resource center at our resource article, "You no longer have to choose between work and loosing your benefits, SSA Ticket to Work Program: Some Answers to your Questions."

AARP Launches Spanish Language Newsletter for the Elderly Latino Population

AARP (The American Association of Retired Persons, web site at www.aarp.org) has developed a quarterly newsletter for Spanish speaking individuals entitled "Segunda Juventud" (Second Youth). This is in response to the ever-growing elderly Hispanic population within the US.

Initially, 20,000 Hispanics in Houston, New York City, Los Angeles, Miami, and Puerto Rico will receive the newsletter. The newsletter will also be available at 53 AARP state offices and at Hispanic events throughout the US.

The goal of this publication is to "keep readers up to date on important social issues and lifestyle trends and introduce them to fascinating people who are living and loving their second youth." It will provide up-to-date and accurate information on topics that would be of interest to the over-50 crowd.

Linea Latina: connecting young women through the web
The Latina Magazine, dedicated to Hispanic women in the US and abroad, is now offering through its web site Latina Online, a free subscription to an e-mail update service called Linea Latina. This service will provide readers with updates on their website, upcoming issues, as well as special promotions for those on the e-mailing list. To subscribe, go to www.latina.com and type your e-mail address in the space provided on the homepage.

New Initiative to Address Language Barriers, Access and Delivery of Health Care for Latinos

Hablamos Juntos: Improving Patient-Provider Communication for Latinos is a new nation-wide program initiated by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Its goal is to improve access to quality health care for Latinos with limited English skills by exploring ways in which providers can use interpretation and translation to better service the monolingual Spanish-speaking community. For more information on this project please visit the program's web site.

NY Times Publishes Personal Story on Finding a Job as a Person with a Disability

The New York Times published a story on January 20th, 2001 in the NY region section about the difficulties of finding a job when you have a disability by using a personal approach. This story chronicles the job search process/disappointments of Marie Jimenez, a woman with a hearing loss in NYC, who lost her temporary clerical job and is trying to find another while utilizing legal and governmental resources to advocate her case. She now utilizes SSI (Supplemental Security Income) to pay for her living costs while she seeks employment.

Although you have to register/subscribe to view the article, subscription is free and only takes a few minutes. To subscribe, go to www.nytimes.com.

Online Training Opportunity on Web Accessibility to Take Place in April 2002

WebAIM (Web Accessibility In Mind) will host a series of five online training events that focus on accessibility during the month of April 2002. Each week will focus on a different aspect of accessibility but will focus on issues related to web accessibility in post-secondary education.

The first week will focus on the perspective and experience of the user of the website and the second week will focus on the choice to make a website accessible. HTML will be addressed in the third week while media development will be the topic of the fourth week. The fifth and final chat will focus on institutional reform.

This conference is free of charge and open to anyone interested in Web accessibility that would like to register to participate in it. Participants can access the conference in a variety of formats, such as real-time video and audio, text chat, and a threaded discussion board. For more specific information, times, and other registration details, visit the above website link and click on the links that interest you. For those unable to participate in the chat at the given times, the proceedings will be archived on the website after the conference is complete.

FCA Launches free Spanish Language Newsletter for Caregivers
Family Care Givers Alliance is pleased to announce the publication of Al Día, a new, free newsletter written in Spanish for family caregivers.

Al Día will be issued three times a year. Articles cover caregiving concerns, information on workshops and support groups, helpful community services and advice on how to care for a loved one affected by Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, Parkinson’s or other conditions.

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