‘‘(1) SELECTION AND QUALIFICATIONS OF PRO-
GRAM
MANAGERS.—The Commissioner shall enter
into agreements with 1 or more organizations in the
private or public sector for service as a program
manager to assist the Commissioner in admin-
istering the Program. Any such program manager
shall be selected by means of a competitive bidding
process, from among organizations in the private or
public sector with available expertise and experience
in the field of vocational rehabilitation and employ-
ment services.
‘‘(2) TENURE, RENEWAL, AND EARLY TERMI-
NATION.—Each agreement entered into under para-
graph (1) shall provide for early termination upon
failure to meet performance standards which shall be
specified in the agreement and which shall be
weighted to take into account any performance in
prior terms. Such performance standards shall
include—
‘‘(A) measures for ease of access by bene-
ficiaries to services; and
‘‘(B) measures for determining the extent
to which failures in obtaining services for bene-
ficiaries fall within acceptable parameters, as
determined by the Commissioner.
‘‘(3) PRECLUSION
FROM
DIRECT
PARTICIPA-
TION IN DELIVERY OF SERVICES IN OWN SERVICE
AREA.—Agreements under paragraph (1) shall
preclude—
‘‘(A) direct participation by a program
manager in the delivery of employment services,
vocational rehabilitation services, or other sup-
port services to beneficiaries in the service area
covered by the program manager’s agreement;
and
‘‘(B) the holding by a program manager of
a financial interest in an employment network
or service provider which provides services in a
geographic area covered under the program
manager’s agreement.
‘‘(4) 
SELECTION
OF
EMPLOYMENT
NET-
WORKS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Commissioner
shall select and enter into agreements with em-
ployment networks for service under the Pro-
gram. Such employment networks shall be in
addition to State agencies serving as employ-
ment networks pursuant to elections under sub-
section (c).
‘‘(B) ALTERNATE PARTICIPANTS.—In any
State where the Program is being implemented,
the Commissioner shall enter into an agreement
with any alternate participant that is operating
under the authority of section 222(d)(2) in the
State as of the date of enactment of this section
and chooses to serve as an employment network
under the Program.
‘‘(5) TERMINATION OF AGREEMENTS WITH EM-
PLOYMENT
NETWORKS.—The Commissioner shall
terminate agreements with employment networks for
inadequate performance, as determined by the Com-
missioner.
‘‘(6) QUALITY ASSURANCE.—The Commissioner
shall provide for such periodic reviews as are nec-
essary to provide for effective quality assurance in
the provision of services by employment networks.
The Commissioner shall solicit and consider the
views of consumers and the program manager under
which the employment networks serve and shall con-
sult with providers of services to develop perform-
ance measurements. The Commissioner shall ensure
that the results of the periodic reviews are made
available to beneficiaries who are prospective service
recipients as they select employment networks. The
Commissioner shall ensure that the periodic surveys
of beneficiaries receiving services under the Program
are designed to measure customer service satisfac-
tion.
‘‘(7) DISPUTE
RESOLUTION.—The Commis-
sioner shall provide for a mechanism for resolving
disputes between beneficiaries and employment net-
works, between program managers and employment
networks, and between program managers and pro-
viders of services. The Commissioner shall afford a
party to such a dispute a reasonable opportunity for
a full and fair review of the matter in dispute.
‘‘(e) PROGRAM MANAGERS.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A program manager shall
conduct tasks appropriate to assist the Commis-
sioner in carrying out the Commissioner’s duties in
administering the Program.
‘‘(2) RECRUITMENT
OF
EMPLOYMENT
NET-
WORKS.—A program manager shall recruit, and rec-
ommend for selection by the Commissioner, employ-
ment networks for service under the Program. The
program manager shall carry out such recruitment
and provide such recommendations, and shall mon-
itor all employment networks serving in the Program
in the geographic area covered under the program
manager’s agreement, to the extent necessary and
appropriate to ensure that adequate choices of serv-
ices are made available to beneficiaries. Employment
networks may serve under the Program only pursu-
ant to an agreement entered into with the Commis-
sioner under the Program incorporating the applica-
ble provisions of this section and regulations there-
under, and the program manager shall provide and
maintain assurances to the Commissioner that pay-
ment by the Commissioner to employment networks
pursuant to this section is warranted based on com-
pliance by such employment networks with the terms
of such agreement and this section. The program
manager shall not impose numerical limits on the
number of employment networks to be recommended
pursuant to this paragraph.
‘‘(3) FACILITATION
OF
ACCESS
BY
BENE-
FICIARIES
TO
EMPLOYMENT
NETWORKS.—A pro-
gram manager shall facilitate access by beneficiaries
to employment networks. The program manager
shall ensure that each beneficiary is allowed changes
in employment networks for good cause, as deter-
mined by the Commissioner, without being deemed
to have rejected services under the Program. The
program manager shall establish and maintain lists
of employment networks available to beneficiaries
and shall make such lists generally available to the
public. The program manager shall ensure that all
information provided to disabled beneficiaries pursu-
ant to this paragraph is provided in accessible for-
mats.
‘‘(4) ENSURING
AVAILABILITY
OF
ADEQUATE
SERVICES.—The program manager shall ensure that
employment services, vocational rehabilitation serv-
ices, and other support services are provided to
beneficiaries throughout the geographic area covered
under the program manager’s agreement, including
rural areas.
‘‘(5) REASONABLE ACCESS TO SERVICES.—The
program manager shall take such measures as are
necessary to ensure that sufficient employment net-
works are available and that each beneficiary receiv-
ing services under the Program has reasonable ac-
cess to employment services, vocational rehabilitation
services, and other support services. Services pro-
vided under the Program may include case manage-
ment, work incentives planning, supported employ-
ment, career planning, career plan development, vo-
cational assessment, job training, placement, fol-
lowup services, and such other services as may be
specified by the Commissioner under the Program.
The program manager shall ensure that such serv-
ices are available in each service area.
‘‘(f) EMPLOYMENT NETWORKS.—
‘‘(1) QUALIFICATIONS FOR EMPLOYMENT NET-
WORKS.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Each employment net-
work serving under the Program shall consist of
an agency or instrumentality of a State (or a
political subdivision thereof) or a private entity
that assumes responsibility for the coordination
and delivery of services under the Program to
individuals assigning to the employment net-
work tickets to work and self-sufficiency issued
under subsection (b).
‘‘(B) ONE-STOP DELIVERY SYSTEMS.—An
employment network serving under the Pro-
gram may consist of a one-stop delivery system
established under subtitle B of title I of the
Workforce Investment Act of 1998.
‘‘(C) COMPLIANCE WITH SELECTION CRI-
TERIA.—No employment network may serve
under the Program unless it meets and main-
tains compliance with both general selection cri-
teria (such as professional and educational
‘‘(1) REQUIREMENTS.—Each employment net-
work shall—
‘‘(A) take such measures as are necessary
to ensure that employment services, vocational
rehabilitation services, and other support serv-
ices provided under the Program by, or under
agreements entered into with, the employment
network are provided under appropriate indi-
vidual work plans that meet the requirements of
subparagraph (C);
‘‘(B) develop and implement each such in-
dividual work plan in partnership with each
beneficiary receiving such services in a manner
that affords the beneficiary the opportunity to
exercise informed choice in selecting an employ-
ment goal and specific services needed to
achieve that employment goal;
‘‘(C) ensure that each individual work plan
includes at least—
‘‘(i) a statement of the vocational goal
developed with the beneficiary;
‘‘(ii) a statement of the services and
supports that have been deemed necessary
for the beneficiary to accomplish that goal;
‘‘(iii) a statement of any terms and
conditions related to the provision of such
services and supports; and
‘‘(iv) a statement of understanding re-
garding the beneficiary’s rights under the
Program (such as the right to retrieve the
ticket to work and self-sufficiency if the
beneficiary is dissatisfied with the services
being provided by the employment net-
work) and remedies available to the indi-
vidual, including information on the avail-
ability of advocacy services and assistance
in resolving disputes through the State
grant program authorized under section
1150;
‘‘(D) provide a beneficiary the opportunity
to amend the individual work plan if a change
in circumstances necessitates a change in the
plan; and
‘‘(E) make each beneficiary’s individual
work plan available to the beneficiary in, as ap-
propriate, an accessible format chosen by the
beneficiary.
‘‘(2) EFFECTIVE UPON WRITTEN APPROVAL.—
A beneficiary’s individual work plan shall take effect
upon written approval by the beneficiary or a rep-
resentative of the beneficiary and a representative of
the employment network that, in providing such
written approval, acknowledges assignment of the
beneficiary’s ticket to work and self-sufficiency.
‘‘(h) EMPLOYMENT NETWORK PAYMENT SYSTEMS.—
‘‘(1) ELECTION OF PAYMENT SYSTEM BY EM-
PLOYMENT NETWORKS.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The Program shall
provide for payment authorized by the Commis-
sioner to employment networks under either an
outcome payment system or an outcome-mile-
stone payment system. Each employment net-
work shall elect which payment system will be
utilized by the employment network, and, for
such period of time as such election remains in
effect, the payment system so elected shall be
utilized exclusively in connection with such em-
ployment network (except as provided in sub-
paragraph (B)).
‘‘(B) NO
CHANGE
IN
METHOD
OF
PAY-
MENT FOR BENEFICIARIES WITH TICKETS AL-
READY ASSIGNED TO THE EMPLOYMENT NET-
WORKS.—Any election of a payment system by
an employment network that would result in a
change in the method of payment to the em-
ployment network for services provided to a
beneficiary who is receiving services from the
employment network at the time of the election
shall not be effective with respect to payment
for services provided to that beneficiary and the
method of payment previously selected shall
continue to apply with respect to such services.
‘‘(2) OUTCOME PAYMENT SYSTEM.—
‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The outcome payment
system shall consist of a payment structure gov-
erning employment networks electing such sys-
tem under paragraph (1)(A) which meets the
requirements of this paragraph.
‘‘(B) PAYMENTS MADE DURING OUTCOME
PAYMENT PERIOD.—The outcome payment sys-
tem shall provide for a schedule of payments to
an employment network in connection with each
individual who is a beneficiary for each month
during the individual’s outcome payment period
for which benefits (described in paragraphs (3)
and (4) of subsection (k)) are not payable to
such individual because of work or earnings.
‘‘(C) COMPUTATION OF PAYMENTS TO EM-
PLOYMENT NETWORK.—The payment schedule
of the outcome payment system shall be de-
signed so that—
‘‘(i) the payment for each of the 60
months during the outcome payment pe-
riod for which benefits (described in para-
graphs (3) and (4) of subsection (k)) are
not payable is equal to a fixed percentage
of the payment calculation base for the cal-
endar year in which such month occurs;
and
‘‘(ii) such fixed percentage is set at a
percentage which does not exceed 40 per-
cent.
‘‘(3) 
OUTCOME-MILESTONE
PAYMENT
SYS-
TEM.—
‘‘(A) IN
GENERAL.—The outcome-mile-
stone payment system shall consist of a pay-
ment structure governing employment networks
electing such system under paragraph (1)(A)
which meets the requirements of this para-
graph.
‘‘(B) EARLY
PAYMENTS
UPON
ATTAIN-
MENT OF MILESTONES IN ADVANCE OF OUT-
COME PAYMENT PERIODS.—The outcome-mile-
stone payment system shall provide for 1 or
more milestones with respect to beneficiaries re-
ceiving services from an employment network
under the Program that are directed toward the
goal of permanent employment. Such milestones
shall form a part of a payment structure that
provides, in addition to payments made during
outcome payment periods, payments made prior
to outcome payment periods in amounts based
on the attainment of such milestones.
‘‘(C) LIMITATION ON TOTAL PAYMENTS TO
EMPLOYMENT NETWORK.—The payment sched-
ule of the outcome-milestone payment system
shall be designed so that the total of the pay-
ments to the employment network with respect
to each beneficiary is less than, on a net
present value basis (using an interest rate de-
termined by the Commissioner that appro-
priately reflects the cost of funds faced by pro-
viders), the total amount to which payments to
the employment network with respect to the
beneficiary would be limited if the employment
network were paid under the outcome payment
system.
‘‘(4) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection:
‘‘(A) PAYMENT CALCULATION BASE.—The
term ‘payment calculation base’ means, for any
calendar year—
‘‘(i) in connection with a title II dis-
ability beneficiary, the average disability
insurance benefit payable under section
223 for all beneficiaries for months during
the preceding calendar year; and
‘‘(ii) in connection with a title XVI
disability beneficiary (who is not concur-
rently a title II disability beneficiary), the
average payment of supplemental security
income benefits based on disability payable
under title XVI (excluding State sup-
plementation) for months during the pre-
ceding calendar year to all beneficiaries
who have attained age 18 but have not at-
tained age 65.
‘‘(B) OUTCOME
PAYMENT
PERIOD.—The
term ‘outcome payment period’ means, in con-
nection with any individual who had assigned a
ticket to work and self-sufficiency to an employ-
ment network under the Program, a period—
‘‘(i) beginning with the first month,
ending after the date on which such ticket
was assigned to the employment network,
for which benefits (described in paragraphs
(3) and (4) of subsection (k)) are not pay-
able to such individual by reason of en-
gagement in substantial gainful activity or
by reason of earnings from work activity;
and
‘‘(ii) ending with the 60th month
(consecutive or otherwise), ending after
such date, for which such benefits are not
payable to such individual by reason of en-
gagement in substantial gainful activity or
by reason of earnings from work activity.
‘‘(5) PERIODIC REVIEW AND ALTERATIONS OF
PRESCRIBED SCHEDULES.—
‘‘(A) PERCENTAGES
AND
PERIODS.—The
Commissioner shall periodically review the per-
centage specified in paragraph (2)(C), the total
payments permissible under paragraph (3)(C),
and the period of time specified in paragraph
(4)(B) to determine whether such percentages,
such permissible payments, and such period
provide an adequate incentive for employment
networks to assist beneficiaries to enter the
workforce, while providing for appropriate
economies. The Commissioner may alter such
percentage, such total permissible payments, or
such period of time to the extent that the Com-
missioner determines, on the basis of the Com-
missioner’s review under this paragraph, that
such an alteration would better provide the in-
centive and economies described in the pre-
ceding sentence.
‘‘(B) NUMBER
AND
AMOUNTS
OF
MILE-
STONE
PAYMENTS.—The Commissioner shall
periodically review the number and amounts of
milestone payments established by the Commis-
sioner pursuant to this section to determine
whether they provide an adequate incentive for
employment networks to assist beneficiaries to
enter the workforce, taking into account infor-
mation provided to the Commissioner by pro-
gram managers, the Work Incentives Advisory
Panel established under section 201(f) of the
Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999, and
other reliable sources. The Commissioner may
from time to time alter the number and
amounts of milestone payments initially estab-
lished by the Commissioner pursuant to this
section to the extent that the Commissioner de-
termines that such an alteration would allow an
adequate incentive for employment networks to
assist beneficiaries to enter the workforce. Such
alteration shall be based on information pro-
vided to the Commissioner by program man-
agers, the Work Incentives Advisory Panel es-
tablished under section 201(f) of the Work In-
centives Improvement Act of 1999, or other re-
liable sources.
‘‘(i) SUSPENSION OF DISABILITY REVIEWS.—During
any period for which an individual is using, as defined by
the Commissioner, a ticket to work and self-sufficiency
issued under this section, the Commissioner (and any ap-
plicable State agency) may not initiate a continuing dis-
ability review or other review under section 221 of whether
the individual is or is not under a disability or a review
under title XVI similar to any such review under section
221.
‘‘(j) ALLOCATION OF COSTS.—
‘‘(1) 
PAYMENTS
TO
EMPLOYMENT
NET-
WORKS.—Payments to employment networks (in-
cluding State agencies that elect to participate in the
Program as an employment network) shall be made
from the Federal Old-Age and Survivors Insurance
Trust Fund or the Federal Disability Insurance
Trust Fund, as appropriate, in the case of ticketed
title II disability beneficiaries who return to work, or
from the appropriation made available for making
supplemental security income payments under title
XVI, in the case of title XVI disability beneficiaries
who return to work. With respect to ticketed bene-
ficiaries who concurrently are entitled to benefits
under title II and eligible for payments under title
XVI who return to work, the Commissioner shall al-
locate the cost of payments to employment networks
to which the tickets of such beneficiaries have been
assigned among such Trust Funds and appropria-
tion, as appropriate.
‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATIVE
EXPENSES.—The costs
of administering this section (other than payments
to employment networks) shall be paid from
amounts made available for the administration of
title II and amounts made available for the adminis-
tration of title XVI, and shall be allocated among
those amounts as appropriate.
‘‘(k) DEFINITIONS.—In this section:
‘‘(1) 
COMMISSIONER.—The 
term 
‘Commis-
sioner’ means the Commissioner of Social Security.