SSA OESP Work Site | CESSI Recruitment & Outreach | MAXIMUS Operations

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• Partnerships: The Key to it All
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VR’s Role in Developing Partnerships

While developing and recruiting ENs is not explicitly a responsibility of a State VR agency, the success of the Partnership Plus model depends on a pool of ENs being available to assist Ticket Holders after VR case closure. Whether the VR agency is operating under the Partnership Plus option or serving as an EN and looking to others for support services after case closure, success relies to a large extent on the availability of entities that can provide those support services. As a result, many State VR agencies are actively partnering with SSA and CESSI, the Program Manager for Recruitment and Outreach, to educate potential ENs about the Ticket program and to recruit VR vendors to become ENs. Some State VR agencies are conducting such outreach activities on their own.  Some are partnering with their State Medicaid Infrastructure Grant to recruit service providers and employers to become ENs. 

Ticket Express

SSA and CESSI are courting a variety of entities to become ENs:

• Service providers (for-profit/non-profit, traditional/non-traditional, generic/disability specific)
• Educational organizations/programs (transition, community/4-year colleges, vocational/technical, ESL, etc.)
• State and local government (state agencies, city/county programs)
• National organizations (e.g., to function as EN of record for membership associations/affiliates who want to become ENs but don’t have the staff to handle the administrative tasks associated with the Ticket program)
• Individuals (e.g., retired VR Counselors)

Beneficiaries will not truly have choices until a national network of ENs is a reality. The success of Partnership Plus will depend on such a network.

CESSI is under contract with SSA to create such a network. In addition to a presence at many and varied national conferences, CESSI is conducting statewide outreach throughout the country. In partnership with State VR agencies and, in some states, MIGs and others, CESSI has been involved in many statewide conferences, seminars and training programs. During 2009, CESSI focused significant efforts on the largest states: CA, FL, IL and TX. The Ticket Express is expected to hit NY in the summer of 2009.

VR has been a key partner in the events that CESSI has conducted, forwarding invitations to Ticket events to the entire list of VR vendors, being key partners in presenting on Partnership Plus, and helping CESSI plan, conduct and finance recruitment events. If you have a statewide meeting that would be a good venue for recruiting ENs or if you are interested in working with CESSI to plan one, contact Joel Middleton at CESSI (jmiddleton@cessi.net, partnershiplus@cessi.net).

A couple of State VR agencies have gone even further in helping CESSI recruit additional ENs in their states by sending a letter to every approved VR vendor, encouraging them to become ENs. Check out the letters that were sent by the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (PDF) and the Texas Division of Rehabilitation Services (MS Word).