Based on the new Ticket Program rules, plus comments from State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies, NENA expects VR-EN relationships to improve substantially. NENA has been invited to represent the EN perspective at the Fall Conference of the Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), a trend-setting VR national association. NENA is also informed about Social Security Administration projects to support positive partnerships between State VRs and ENs.
The new Ticket Program rules will support voluntary referrals between State VRs and ENs. Participating VRs would provide initial services to Ticket-users, up to or including job placement, and then refer these consumers to ENs for follow-on services to confirm and maintain employment. For these referred consumers, ENs would forego Phase I payments, but they would also have less upfront work (job location, etc.) and could bill SSA for employment outcomes. This not only generates revenue for ENs, but will also make it possible for State VRs to qualify for increased revenue when their clients maintain employment for 9 months. It's a win-win for consumers, state VRs and ENs.
This is a voluntary business relationship that some State VRs may pursue and others may not, depending on how it helps each VR meet its own state-mandated goals. ENs do not have to accept referrals from State VRs, and ENs can continue to serve customers of their own as they do now, to earn all available payments from SSA, including Phase I. NENA expects that most participating State VRs will make referrals first to their approved list of private-sector providers, before exploring new ENs. Consequently, some State VRs may encourage their private-sector VR providers to become ENs so they can accept referrals.
Because NENA is actively engaged in VR/EN partnership projects, we have the expertise to help private-sector VR providers become ENs and develop this expansion of their VR contracting business.