**Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel**

**Quarterly Public Meeting**

**Doubletree Crystal City Hotel**

**Arlington,Virginia**

**August 16-18, 2006**

**[Day One -- Wednesday, August 16, 2006]{.underline}**

**Attendees**

[Advisory Panel Members]{.underline}

Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte, Panel Chairperson, Katie Beckett, Libby Child,
Loretta Goff, Thomas Golden, Frances Gracechild, Cheryl Bates-Harris,
Andrew Imparato, David Miller, Dorothy Watson, Torrey Westrom.

[Advisory Panel Staff]{.underline}

Jill Houghton, Executive Director, Debra Tidwell-Peters, Mike Anzick,
Pat Laird, Jenn Rigger, and Tinya White-Taylor.

[Designated Federal Officer]{.underline}

Chris Silanskis

[Presenters]{.underline}

Social Security Administration - Pamela Mazerski, Associate
Commissioner, Office of Program Development and Research, and Sue Suter,
Associate Commissioner, Office of Employment Support Programs; Celane
McWhorter, Executive Director, APSE; Paul Marchand, Staff Director, The
Arc and UCP Public Policy Collaboration; Rita Martin, Assistant
Director, Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation;
Curt Decker, Chairman, Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD);
John Lancaster, Executive Director, National Council on Independent
Living (NCIL); Robert Chamberlin, President and Chief Executive Officer,
NISH; Andrew Houghton, Chairperson, The Committee for Purchase From
People Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled; Nancy Starnes, Vice President
and Chief of Staff, National Organization on Disability; Robin Savinar,
Manager, Proyecto Visión, World Institute on Disability.

[Members of the Public]{.underline}

Susan Goodman, Deborah Granberry, Brenda Metstroy, Becky Roberts,
Dorothy Firsching, Donna Martinez, Allen Jensen, Susan Prokop, Alaine
Perry, Joanne Butler, Anthony Chavez, Bob Hart, Jane Rath, Gene Murphy,
Ann Osborne, Laverdia Roach, David Forgash, Ken McGill, Danita Owens,
John Marginis, Grace Verney, Julia Dahl, Bradford Turner-Little, Kerry
Lida, Jacob Kaplan, J. Rhodes Perry, Donna Szamatowcz

**Call to Order**

Chris Silanskis, Designated Federal Officer, called the meeting to order
at approximately 9:02 a.m. turned the meeting over to the Panel
Chairperson, Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte.

**Welcome, Introductions, and Review of the Agenda**

Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte, Panel Chairperson, began by welcoming Panel
members, staff and guests. She continued by asking meeting attendees to
make brief introductions, and she reviewed the meeting agenda.

**Social Security Administration Update**

Pam Mazerski, Associate Commissioner, Office of Program Development and
Research and Sue Suter, Associate Commissioner, Office of Employment
Support Programs, SSA presented an update of SSA activities. They
presented the Panel with several highlights of SSA activities, outreach
and marketing efforts, field office initiatives and national studies and
demonstrations.

Ms. Mazerski began by providing an update on SSA's demonstration
projects. The final comprehensive health benefit design for the Benefits
Offset Demonstration Project should be completed by Abt Associates
September 2006. Currently, Abt Associates is in the process of putting
together a data warehouse, benefit calculator and work support
organizations.

In addition, the Mental Health Treatment study is ready for enrollees.
They are working through security clearance issues before enrolling
participants.

Under the Youth Transition Demonstration, Mathematica Policy Research
Inc. (MPR) will be choosing five new sites by October.

The California HIV project was awarded to MPR for the implementation and
evaluation. Participant enrollment is projected to begin around April
2007.

Ms. Mazerski reported that the Accelerated Benefits Demonstration
Project is moving along well. Enrollments for the Accelerated Benefits
Demonstration Project are expected to begin in early spring 2007.

In the area of regulations, Ms. Mazerski reported that the FACA final
rules for serving on advisory panels were published in January 2006, and
the final rules for the PASS changes were made effective June 15, 2006.
Next, were data on expedited reinstatement (EXR), impairment-related
work expenses (IRWE), plan to achieve self-support (PASS), 1619 (a)(b),
and ticket evaluation participation rates. The data indicated that for
EXR 90% were re-entitled, 0.1% are using IRWEs and these are
concentrated in 10 States, there's still an under-utilization of PASS
(.03%) and 1619 (0.3% for (a) and 1.4% for (b) ), and ticket usage
continued to rise slightly with more beneficiaries using
employment-related services. A research demonstration timeline was
provided revealing the estimated length of time from design to
implementation was 44 months.

The Panel was presented with the following issues for their assistance:

1\) recommendations for marketing PASS; 2) recommendations for research
agenda and legislative proposals; 3) consider automatic VR referrals for
denied applicants; 4) health insurance as an IRWE.

Ms. Suter began by stating that the final draft of the SSA Ticket
Regulations will be going to SSA's Office of the Chief Actuary soon and
then over to the Office of Management and Budget. The new regulations
are still scheduled for publication in fall 2006. In the area of ENs,
Ms. Suter explained that the application process was streamlined and a
redesigned application will be available mid-September on SSA's website.
There's a new EN contract team that will work directly with ENs, a Help
Desk will be established, along with an 800# on SSA's web site, and
staff organizational changes are being planned. SSA received 152
applications for the WIPA projects and September 30 is the planned award
date. The solicitation for the regional training centers should be
posted in the next few months and these fall under SSA's Office of
Program Development and Research. Ten pilot work incentive seminars
(WISE) are being planned for this fall and input on the messages would
be welcomed. The web site is being redesigned and Panel feedback was
requested. There will be a re-launch of the Ticket once the final
regulations are published. She also requested assistance from the Panel
in identifying EN best practices.

After the presentation the floor was opened for questions and comments.

**Panel Deliberation and Discussion on the "Gradual Reduction Choice
Proposal---A**

**Comprehensive Strategy for Improving SSDI/SSI Work Incentives"**

Cheryl Bates-Harris, member of the Continuous Improvement (CIC)
Subcommittee, facilitated the deliberation and discussion. She began by
providing an overview of the Panel's 2002 Advice Report on SSA's
Statutory Requirements and Design Issues Related to SSDI \$1 for \$2
Benefit Offset Research. She emphasized major points from the report
which have relevance to the Silverstein-Jensen proposal. These were 1)
pros and cons of disregard at level of SGA or lower than SGA, 2) choice,
and 3) other offsets.

The Panel in 2002 had deliberated and made recommendations on many of
the key concepts that are also contained in the Silverstein-Jensen
proposal. At the time, the concern was that if the disregard was at SGA
with a \$2 for \$1 offset, there would be reduced exit from the rolls.
This is the reason for the high cost estimated by the SSA's Office of
the Chief Actuary and Congressional Budget Office. A concept not dealt
with in 2002 was beneficiaries working while receiving partial cash
benefits. The environment has changed since then. The Silverstein-Jensen
proposal provides for the SGA disregard following the trial work period
and the three month grace period.

Another issue in the 2002 report was a lower than SGA level and how
beneficiaries at some earnings levels would be worse off, such as those
with significant disabilities with support needs which may include part
time and low wage workers. A significant unresolved issue in the 2002
Report was how to provide informed choice and at the same time do no
harm. If someone is allowed to opt out of the demo, how does this affect
evaluation results? Most experts agreed that lower than SGA was
preferred and that this could be obtained by extrapolating downward from
tests of various disregard levels, but this could be unreliable. In the
matter of offsets, the Panel 2002 report considered higher benefit
offset breaks with an imposed earnings cap for eligibility. There was
also consideration of a two-tiered structure with high earners subject
to a higher benefit offset rate for earning above a specified threshold.

SSA has followed the advice in the 2002 report by implementing a
national research design that involves random assignment, is nationally
represented, and is an experimental design. And they are testing the SGA
as the income disregard amount, which is in line with holding
beneficiaries harmless. The question now for the Panel is whether to
recommend testing other disregard levels than the SGA, recognizing that
adding another treatment group could add significant costs.

The current Panel members examined the issue of choice at length noting
accurate information must be provided, who provides it are generally
individuals close to the beneficiary, and choice is activated when it's
best for the individual. The elimination of harm is impossible and there
will always be an element of risk for the beneficiary. The CIC
Subcommittee will consider the comments and report back at the next
Panel meeting.

**Public Comments**

Ms. Donna Martinez, a parent from Virginia, shared her experience in
trying to set up a plan, using the Ticket, with the goal of employment
for her 20 year old son with Down Syndrome. She explained the
informational and bureaucratic barriers at the Federal and state levels
that hamper this goal.

Ms. Jamie Kayhill, related her difficulties in maintaining full-time,
paid work because she would lose eligibility for personal assistance
services funded through Medicare which she needs to go to work. Due to
boundary restrictions in Federal rules she can't be served by the
paratransit system. She suggested the Federal government needs to remove
monetary caps for receipt of services if disabled people are expected to
work.

Ms. Mary Beck heads an AgrAbility project at the University of Madison,
Wisconsin, where they tested the use of work incentives by farmers with
a disability. The demonstration results revealed lack of use of
incentives, fear of losing benefits, the inability of PASS to meet
immediate needs (adapted agriculture equipment), and distrust of the
Federal government. She recommended that PASS allow for funds to be used
for immediate needs.

Alaine Perry of the United Spinal Association, provided comments on the
Panel's proposed national employment investment policy. She recommended
that any new policy do no harm to those who are dependent on these
programs and should be guided by 4 basic principles (no change to
definition of disability, preparation for work activities is voluntary,
no time limits to cash benefits, and no cuts in existing programs to
create new programs).

*Post meeting follow-up: sent BPAO/WIPA program contact information to
Donna Martinez.*

**National Efforts to Increase Employment Opportunities for People with
Disabilities**

Ms. Celane McWhorter, Executive Director of APSE, explained, using an
example of a young man who started his own business with supports, that
for some people with disabilities the Ticket program will not be
sufficient to provide the supports they need. APSE has created a
national marketing initiative aimed at the business community, the
public and policy makers. She referenced the SSA's 2004 Adequacy of
Incentives report as the best thinking on solutions to some of the
problems and the importance of the Medicaid Infrastructure Grants and
the Buy-In programs for employment of people needing supports. Also, an
infrastructure for the training of employment support providers is
needed.

Mr. Paul Marchand, Staff Director, The Arc and UCP Public Policy
Collaboration, reinforced the principles outlined by Alaine Perry of
United Spinal Association and provided a list of improvements to the
Social Security and Medicare programs to assist in maximizing people
with disabilities potential for work. He pointed out that TANF policies
are hurting some people with disabilities and placing others in serious
jeopardy. He warned against using it as a template for disability
employment and cash assistance reform.

Ms. Rita Martin, Assistant Director, Council of State Administrators of
Vocational Rehabilitation (CSAVR), described a new national VR business
on-line network that will connect businesses, clients and VR agencies.
Some aspects of it are still being developed. She shared other
activities CSAVR has undertaken related to the business network. CSAVR
would support the development of the NEIP once it has clarity on the
beneficiary population the policy is intended to address and meets
certain conditions as outlined.

The next presenter was Curt Decker, Chairman, Consortium for Citizens
with Disabilities (CCD), who shared his belief that the Ticket program
hasn't been as successful as originally intended and that there's an
opportunity through the work of the Panel and the efforts of SSA to
understand why and what can be done differently. He emphasized this
requires a definition of the population the Panel is considering under
the National Employment Investment Policy (NEIP) and to work
collaboratively with others who have an interest in a new employment
policy. He shared concerns about the openness of the Panel's
subcommittee meetings. He reported that the employment of people with
disabilities is a major issue for CCD and much of its work is directed
toward that goal.

Robert Chamberlin, President and Chief Executive Officer of NISH, shared
some of the ways his organization is addressing employment opportunities
for people with severe disabilities. NISH will be establishing a new
Institute on Economic Empowerment For Individuals With Significant
Disability-Related Barriers to Employment. The objectives of the
Institute are to explore new approaches to determine their technical
merit and feasibility, conduct evidence-based research that provides
validation and measures of the results, and develop practical long-term
solutions that will yield operational results. He provided a list of
policy recommendations for consideration by the Panel as it develops the
NEIP.

Andrew Houghton, Chairperson of The Committee for Purchase From People
Who Are Blind or Severely Disabled, disclosed how his organization is
undertaking new work opportunities in the areas of call centers,
document management, military clothing and equipment, and vehicle
maintenance. His organization is exploring how to remove barriers under
SSDI and SSI, and ways to modernize the Javits-Wagner-O'Day (JWOD)
program. The JWOD program will be working to improve quality wages and
opportunities and changing the work environment through a commitment to
more integrated work settings, enhancing career ladders and career
mobility. His organization would like to be a collaborative partner as
the Panel addresses the barriers to employment.

John Lancaster, Executive Director, National Council on Independent
Living (NCIL), stated that NCIL will be examining the ideas in Bryon
MacDonald's "Being American: The Way Out of Poverty" proposal and
developing legislative concepts. He agreed that the whole system needs
to be reviewed keeping the things that work and adding what's missing.
He offered two avenues for policy change to improve employment
opportunities: decouple the two programs providing one program for
employment supports and another providing income, and tax policy reform
by combining the access tax credit and the architectural barriers and
transportation compliance tax credit into one disabled access credit. In
addition, there should be a new tax credit for employers who meet a
certain quota of hiring people with disabilities in full-time, gainful
employment with benefits.

Nancy Starnes, Vice President and Chief of Staff, National Organization
on Disability (NOD), reviewed the results from the 2004 Harris Poll on
Trends in Employment of People with Disabilities which show slight gains
in the areas of employment, income and social activities, with Poll
results showing the largest gains in education, though a significant gap
still remains. People with severe disabilities show the smallest gains
in these areas. Workplace discrimination hit a high in 2000 at 36% with
refusal of job interview being the most prevalent form. NOD has hired
someone so it can take a more active role in addressing these issues of
employment.

Robin Savinar is the manager of Proyecto Visión, a national technical
assistance center located at the World Institute on Disability (WID).
The purpose of the project is to increase employment opportunities for
Latinos with disabilities in the United States. The project offers
technical assistance in employment preparation and placement to job
seekers through their hotline and a web-based monthly newsletter and
listserv. It provides training to a variety of different groups,
including service providers, job seekers, students, employer
representatives, human resource managers, and chief diversity officers
about disability awareness, cultural competency, and employing people
with disabilities. The contacts gained have assisted in building a
national network of employers, service providers, and job seekers in
support of employment for Latinos with disabilities. The project has had
a good deal of success in making inroads into the Latino community
outside of the realm of disabilities. One of the strategies proving
successful is the use of the Latino media to reach job seekers with
disabilities. She mentioned two other WID projects focused on
employment: the California Work Incentives Initiative and Access to
Assets. She reminded the Panel about the importance of cultural
competency as it develops the NEIP by involving individuals from diverse
backgrounds and cultures in the process and making available the new
policy in other languages.

After the presentations the floor was opened for questions and comments
by Panel members.

The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:38 p.m.

**[Day Two -- Thursday, August 17, 2006]{.underline}**

**Attendees**

[Advisory Panel Members]{.underline}

Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte, Panel Chairperson, Katie Beckett, Libby Child,
Loretta Goff, Thomas Golden, Frances Gracechild, Cheryl Bates-Harris,
Andrew Imparato, David Miller, Dorothy Watson, Torrey Westrom.

[Advisory Panel Staff]{.underline}

Jill Houghton, Executive Director, Debra Tidwell-Peters, Mike Anzick,
Pat Laird, Jenn Rigger, and Tinya White-Taylor.

[Designated Federal Officer]{.underline}

Chris Silanskis

[Members of the Public]{.underline}

Becky Roberts; Dorothy Firsching; Brad Turner-Little; Henry Claypool;
Kerry Lida; Bob Hart; Jonathan Young; Susan Goodman; David Ford; Michael
Morris; Susan Prokop; Joanne Butler.

**Call to Order**

Chris Silanskis, Designated Federal Officer, called the meeting to order
at approximately 1:30 p.m. and turned the meeting over to the Panel
Chairperson, Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte.

**Welcome Introductions and Review of the Agenda**

Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte, Panel Chairperson, began by welcoming Panel
members and meeting attendees to Day Two of the meeting. She then asked
meeting attendees to make brief introductions.

**Panel Deliberation and Discussion on Developing a National Employment
Investment Policy**

Andy Imparato, chair of the Transformation Subcommittee, presented draft
consensus points, guiding principles and policy objectives. These will
be used to guide their work as they develop the NEIP and were based on
previous work of the Panel, the preliminary literature review, the think
tanks and a range of stakeholders. He also offered definitions of these
categories. Upon conclusion of his presentation, the Panel deliberated
and discussed these three categories.

**Public Comment**

Leticia Fisher, who is a person with paraplegia working at the
University of Miami, Florida, recalled the extreme difficulties she has
had with her local SSA office in correcting an overpayment issue. She
said that she has always reported her wages but has encountered
misinformation from the office on the status of her case since 1998. Her
wages are being garnished placing her in an economic dilemma. At one
point she had no health insurance. Her case is now in appeal. She
expressed her exasperation with the system and stated she wouldn't have
returned to work if she had known the negative impact on her life.

David Cox from Alabama is currently working as an electrical engineer.
He's receiving Medicaid and has a PASS which is paying for his personal
assistant but this will be ending next April. Without Medicaid he will
be unable to afford his PA which enables him to work. He feels there
should be some program that allows a person to make a reasonable living
and still maintain benefits for the supports needed to work. He reported
that he would much rather be working and paying taxes.

Susan Prokop of Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA) informed the Panel
that there are 160,000 veterans under age 49 who were Social Security
disability beneficiaries. Although veterans receive healthcare, personal
care attendant services, assistive technology and home modifications,
most are unemployed. To address this problem, PVA is developing a
vocational outreach program in partnership with four Veterans
Administration Spinal Cord Injury Centers around the country. Elements
that will be incorporated into this project are peer to peer counseling,
co-located vocational rehabilitation counselors, placement of people in
work environments supportive of people with disabilities, and overcoming
employer misconceptions about the work capacity of people with
disabilities. She stated that veterans with disabilities who want to
work sometimes encounter unique disconnects between their status as
Social Security beneficiaries and their status as veterans. She asked
that the Panel take into account in its ongoing deliberations the needs
of Social Security disability beneficiaries who are also veterans.

Alaine Perry of the United Spinal Association provided feedback on the
Transformation Subcommittee's proposed consensus points, guiding
principles and policy objectives that were discussed earlier that day.
She commended the subcommittee on presenting some complicated ideas in a
very clear way and for incorporating much input from the disability
community. She clarified that the term "current benefits" should mean no
time limits for Title II and SSI disability benefits, any new programs
to promote employment should not be coupled with cutbacks to existing
Title II and SSI disability programs nor should eligibility criteria for
cash and healthcare benefits be narrowed, and that the population
intended to be targeted was any individual who would qualify under the
current definition of disability, whether or not they were currently on
the rolls.

Sally Atwater, Executive Director for the Presidents\' Committee for
People with Intellectual Disabilities, brought to the attention of the
Panel the recent release of new regulations regarding the hiring of
people in the Federal government with intellectual disabilities,
psychiatric disabilities and severe physical disabilities. She requested
the assistance of the Panel in identifying Federal jobs for people with
intellectual disabilities noting that the main Federal job web site,
usajobs.gov, isn't accessible to this population.

*Post meeting follow-up: sent BPAO/WIPA program contact information to
Leticia Fisher and David Cox.*

**Panel Deliberation and Discussion**

The panel deliberation session was facilitated by Becky Roberts,
President of Catoctin Consulting. The Panel identified the following
items for consideration by Panel subcommittees.

1\. Gain further information from SSA on MIE population (10%) that were
denied benefits under expedited reinstatement (MIE).

Assigned: TC, CIC, BVC

2\. Examine low usage of PASS, IRWEs and 1619 (a) & (b) and distribution
by State.

Assigned: CIC

3\. Respond to SSA request for ideas for research agenda, marketing
PASS, health insurance as work expense (IWRE), VR referral for denied
applicants, input on SSA redesigned web site, best practices on ENs.

Assigned: CIC

4\. Invite former Panel members to November Panel meeting for their
ideas on transformation (Bryon MacDonald, Steve Stark, Richard
Burkhauser, and Susan Webb).

5\. Explore issue of sub-minimum wage applied to people with severe
disabilities with low productivity rates.

Assigned: TC, BVC

6\. Ability of new WIPA projects to ensure cultural competency as
required by RFA

> Assigned: CIC,BVC,TC

7\. Examine suggestions for tax reform (people in sheltered workshops
should get FICA paid, tax credits for health care coverage, tax credits
for business community that meet quotas)

Assigned: TC

8\. Status of Disability Program Navigator

Assigned: CIC

9\. Provide brief follow-up action in minutes on input from
beneficiaries who testified.

Assigned: Staff

10\. Raise SGA level and reengineer work incentives

Assigned: CIC, TC

The meeting adjourned at approximately 5:00 p.m.

**[Day Three -- Friday, August 18, 2006]{.underline}**

**Attendees**

[Advisory Panel Members]{.underline}

Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte, Panel Chairperson, Katie Beckett, Libby Child,
Loretta Goff, Thomas Golden, Frances Gracechild, Cheryl Bates-Harris,
Andrew Imparato, David Miller, Dorothy Watson, Torrey Westrom.

[Advisory Panel Staff]{.underline}

Jill Houghton, Executive Director, Debra Tidwell-Peters, Mike Anzick,
Pat Laird, Jenn Rigger, and Tinya White-Taylor.

[Designated Federal Officer]{.underline}

Paul Kryglik, Acting DFO

[Members of the Public]{.underline}

Becky Roberts, Dorothy Firsching, Susan Prokop, Joanne Butler, Bob Hart,
Michael Morris, and David Forbash.

**Call to Order**

Paul Kryglik, Acting Designated Federal Officer, called the meeting to
order at approximately 9:00 a.m. and turned the meeting over to the
Panel Chairperson, Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte.

**Welcome Introductions and Review of the Agenda**

Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte, Panel Chairperson, began by welcoming Panel
members and meeting attendees. Panel members and staff were asked to
make brief introductions.

**Business Meeting**

Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte, Chairperson, welcomed everyone back and
reviewed the business agenda. The business meeting session was led by
Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte.

[June 7-9, 2006 Meeting Minutes]{.underline}

The meeting began with the review of the June 2006 meeting minutes and a
motion to accept the minutes into the record.

***Motion: The Panel passed a motion to accept the June 2006 minutes
into the record.***

[Discussion on the Letter from Congressman McCrery and Congressman
Levin]{.underline}

Ms. Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte explained that the Panel had received a
letter dated August 4, 2006, from Congressman McCrery and Congressman
Levin, the chairman and ranking member of the House Committee on Ways
and Means/Subcommittee on Social Security, which commented on the
Panel's current and future work. She stated the Panel is taking this
letter very seriously. She informed the Panel members that answers to
the questions contained in the letter were prepared and served as the
focal point of the Congressional staff briefing on July 18. Panel
members Libby Child, Thomas Golden, and David Miller who attended the
briefing reported on their participation. Mr. Golden felt that the
majority of issues highlighted in the letter were core to our operation
since the inception of the Panel and continue to be so under the new
strategic plan. He shared with the Congressional staff how the Panel is
addressing those issues, future work the CIC is undertaking related to
Ticket implementation and work incentives, and past and future research.
Mr. Miller provided updates on the activities of the BVC and efforts to
elevate the beneficiary voice as a central theme in all the work of the
Panel. The status of the Panel web page and how it's used as an outreach
tool was also discussed. Ms. Child explained the work being done in the
Transformation Subcommittee was in an infancy stage and the process
being used will inform positions that the Panel might take. She had
expressed to the Congressional staff a Panel consensus that there would
be no recommendations to undermine the Social Security disability
programs. She updated them on SSA's efforts to marketing the Ticket and
other work incentives and the status on the final regulations. Her
assistance to SSA on marketing to employers was also mentioned.

Ms. Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte then opened up the meeting for Panel
discussion and comment. The Panel had a lengthy discussion about the
letter. They agreed about the importance of the letter without coming to
consensus about the letter's purpose.

***Motion: The Panel passed a motion that Panel staff draft a letter in
response to the Congressional letter acknowledging the issues the Panel
would like to continue to dialogue on and request an additional meeting,
and this should be done promptly.***

[Executive Director Report]{.underline}

Jill Houghton announced that funds have been approved for the planned
Beneficiary Summit and an appropriate location is being sought. The plan
is for the Summit to occur February 6th and 7th, 2007, with a day of
preparation for the leaders the day before on February 5th, and the
Panel meeting following that on February 8th and 9th, 2007; with the
goal to have it in the same location. The Panel received approval to
exercise their option year three on the meeting support contract and
preparations have begun to find a location for the November Panel
meeting.

Ms. Houghton updated that Panel staff have been reaching out to members
of CCD. She and Mike Anzick attended the Work Incentive Implementation
Task Force for the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD).
There was a follow-up meeting by one of the Panel's contractors. She
reported that a meeting is planned for September 18 to bring together
CCD members of the Employment and Training Task Force, the Social
Security Task Force and the Work Incentives Implementation Task Force
with members of the Panel. Opportunities are being explored to continue
the dialog and to work together and to share information on the
activities of the Panel, and at the same time hear other ideas,
concerns, and questions for the Panel.

**Outreach Activities of the Panel**

[United Kingdom Pilot Pathways to Work]{.underline}

Panel member Dorothy Watson attended a presentation hosted by SSA. She
reported that the UK is currently testing the value of requiring
mandatory work interviews for disability beneficiaries. These work
interviews involve counseling and presentation of a job action plan.
This is called their Pathways to Work Pilot. The counseling and the
interviewing is similar to what SSA does with BPAOs. The early results
are showing success in people going back to work. They are planning to
roll out the pilot nationally in a couple of years, probably by 2008.
Their primary goal is for people to achieve self-sufficiency and get
into the workforce, but also to reduce the rolls over a period of time.
There are high administrative costs to conducting mandatory work
interviews. There are some sanctions, which haven't been implemented
yet. At this point it\'s only the interview that\'s mandatory. There was
much public debate about the process. Advocates and unions supported the
pilot.

[Social Security Advisory Board Public Meeting]{.underline}

Ms. Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte described the public meeting as a lively
discussion among groups from across the policy spectrum. Discussion
focused on how individuals receiving benefits could have those benefits
protected in a redesigned system and how healthcare could be maintained
for individuals. The discussion was broken out into adult and youth
policy.

Mr. Andy Imparato attended this meeting and informed the Panel that the
Advisory Board had received a letter from CCD expressing concerns and
making some recommendations with regards to the goals of the Advisory
Board. His work on their expert panel is completed and the Advisory
Board will be deciding what to do with the input they received. He
shared there are two things the Advisory Board is focusing on from the
expert panel: 1) timely intervention strategy for people that have adult
onset disabilities with some attachment to the workforce and build on
models from private disability insurance that is working; and 2) some
kind of a transition program for youth that will get young people
quality evaluations that are designed to help them function at the
highest possible level and achieve as much economic self-sufficiency as
they can.

[National Council on Disability Town Hall Meeting]{.underline}

Panel members Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte, Libby Child and Thomas Golden
attended a town hall meeting on July 26 with the topic of a national
dialogue on the state of disability. She presented at the session titled
"Economic Independence". She discussed the Panel\'s strategic plan and
the goals of each subcommittee. During the public comment session she
reported that the Panel is engaging youth in their work when an audience
member asked about youth involvement.

Ms. Libby Child felt the format was very informative and interactive.
There were three panels on different subject matters. The biggest lesson
learned was how important it is to keep the other Federal agencies
directly, as appropriate, tied to our work, and the need to keep them
updated on the work of the Panel.

Mr. Thomas Golden was disturbed by the lack of collaboration among the
Federal agencies represented that day on the panels and shared that the
only cutting edge piece discussed came from Martin Gerry of SSA. He felt
the shining stars in that day were the youth leaders that were
strategically positioned on the panels. This is the generation raised
under ADA that is obtaining outcomes and goals from the ADA.

[AAPD ADA Anniversary Event]{.underline}

Mr. Thomas Golden left the event thinking that an investment in our
youth is critical. The AAPD interns were recognized at that event. He
commented about the quality of the interns. He suggested that the Panel
may wish to consider participating in this intern program next year.

Ms. Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte was impressed with the number of senators
and congressmen who attended this event and their powerful comments.

[CCD Work Incentives Task Force]{.underline}

This was reported under the executive director's report.

[Meeting with Sue Suter of SSA]{.underline}

Ms. Libby Child had a teleconference with Sue Suter about marketing the
Ticket program to employers. She will be meeting with Sue again on
September 8.

**Committee Reports**

Berthy De La Rosa-Aponte requested committee chairpersons to give
reports on recent committee activities.

[Continuous Improvement Subcommittee]{.underline} - Torrey Westrom,
chairperson, reported the subcommittee will be drafting another advice
report similar to the 2002 report which would include a harm/benefit
analysis, refer to the Silverstein/Jensen Proposal and State Partnership
Initiative data, and explore the current merit of the SSDI \$1 for \$2.
CIC will also consider drafting other reports on the topics of: 1)
maximizing a \$1 for \$2 earnings disregard; 2) exploring work incentive
utilization (WIPA, PABSS, AWICS/WILs); and 3) exploring Ticket
implementation issues (marketing/outreach, EN issues, the Ticket
evaluation, and adequacy of incentives).

The subcommittee will be drafting a recommendation in the form of a
letter to Congress and SSA regarding the automatic referral to VR of
denied applicants. The subcommittee participated in a fact-finding
session with Sue Suter and Pam Mazerski of SSA and Jane Rath of CESSI on
marketing/outreach materials. Their recommendation to the Panel is to
advise SSA to assemble two focus groups (a group of providers and
beneficiaries from the BVC Planning Workgroup) to review the WISE
Seminars marketing material before the rollout of pilots this fall.

***Motion: The Panel passed a motion to send a letter to the SSA
Commissioner asking for their comprehensive marketing plan for the
Ticket to Work program and work incentives, and if can't provide this
plan then provide CESSI's statement of work and how they propose to meet
the statement of work. A deadline should be included.***

At this point, the Panel discussed ways to enhance communication between
the subcommittees and the public. Ms. Berthy De La Rosa first explained
that the subcommittees conduct fact-finding and not deliberation, they
bring items to the Panel for deliberation and agreement. The Panel was
informed it had received a formal legal opinion from SSA's Office of
General Counsel stating the way the Panel is conducting the
subcommittees is legal as long as the recommendations from subcommittees
are deliberated upon and decided by the full Panel in a public meeting.

***Motion: The Panel passed a motion to have full Panel teleconferences
between the in-person quarterly Panel meetings, with time for public
comment.***

[Transformation Subcommittee]{.underline} -- Andy Imparato, chairperson,
reported his subcommittee has divided up research areas between
themselves. A first draft of the literature review was received by the
subcommittee and comments given back. He hopes to be able to share it
with the Panel soon. His subcommittee has another think tank coming up
on September 7th that\'s focused on healthcare and long term services
and supports issues. Ms. Libby Child, a member of the subcommittee, is
going to be taking the lead on some employer outreach activities
including the National Business Group on Health conference in November.
It also has been doing outreach to Governors and members of Congress.
Governors Kaine and Ehrlich, and Congressman Pete Stark have expressed
an interest in meeting with us. Other outreach activities will be to CCD
task forces.

[Beneficiary Voice Subcommittee]{.underline} -- David Miller,
chairperson, began his report by summarizing activities of the
beneficiary planning workgroup that met earlier this week. At that
meeting, they discussed the purpose and objectives of the summit, a
report, participation of observers, format of the summit and an open
recruitment process. The participants would be given a lengthy
orientation period covering a range of information. Participants should
be selected by early November. The subcommittee has also met briefly
with both the Transformation and the CIC Committee to gain their
feedback.

The subcommittee has continued its dialog with relevant offices
concerning the process for responding to beneficiary comments or
feedback. It plans to meet with the Offices of Strategic Planning and
Operations.

**[PANEL DELIBERATIONS]{.smallcaps}**

The Panel session was led by Berthy De La Rosa Aponte and facilitated by
Becky Roberts, President of Catoctin Consulting. The Panel identified
the following items for the Congressional briefing.

1\. Beneficiary Summit -- invite representative from Summit Planning
Workgroup

2\. Respond to Congressional letter

3\. Draft consensus points, etc presented by Transformation Committee be
shared at briefing.

4\. Invite Congressional staff with interest in Medicaid Buy-In.

5\. Work triggered CDRs and Medicaid Buy-In report date -- get clarity

6\. Using health insurance premiums as IRWE -- Panel staff work on this
first

7\. Regulations -- concerns about delay

8\. SSA's requests to the Panel (see Day 1 Deliberations/Action Items)

9\. Info/data from SSA on use of PASS, IRWEs, etc.

10\. Ticket Marketing

11\. Info from Day 1 national organizations presentations -- UCP, etc.

**ADJOURNMENT**

The meeting was adjourned at 12:01 p.m..