Related Federal Initiatives

Federal laws, programs and grants that may affect One-stop customers with disabilities

• Area Work Incentives Coordinators (AWICs)
  Information on and links to the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) Area Work Incentive Coordinators (AWICS). AWICS are SSA employees who provide assistance to SSA personnel, beneficiaries, ENs, State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Agencies, and WIPAs and other in the community on employment support and outreach issues.
• Department of Labor Notice on the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act
  Department of Labor Training and Employment Notice on the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act/Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program Implementation and how it impacts the One-Stop system.
• Federal Employment of People with Disabilities (Office of Personnel Management)
  Website with information for applicants for federal jobs who have disabilities, and for federal employers seeking to hire or accommodate workers with disabilities. The goal of the site is "to help Americans, with and without disabilities, better understand how to hire and retain persons with disabilities."
• New Freedom Initiative
  Comprehensive White House initiative designed to bring down societal barriers for people with disabilities by increasing their access to assistive technology, expanding educational opportunity, increasing access to employment, and promoting full integration into community life.
• One-Stop Career Centers Assisting the Asset Building Process for Low-Income Individuals
  [Power Point Presentation]   [WORD Version]
  Power point presentation from the US Department of Labor, Employment & Training Administration, webinar on “One-Stop Career Centers Assisting the Asset Building Process for Low-Income Individuals”. The webinar focused on the Real Economic Impact Tour and how the public workforce investment system is assisting to create economic transformation in regional economies across the nation through innovative asset building strategies. The Real Economic Impact Tour is a public-private partnership of business, federal, state, and local organizations that promotes financial self-sufficiency and economic independence for people of modest means through the expanded use of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), free tax preparation services, financial literacy education, and matched savings programs (i.e., individual development accounts).
• Promising Practices in Home and Community Based Services
  Website from the Department of Health and Human Service's Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that showcases best practices from the states for moving individuals with disabilities from institutional to community-based care.
• Telecommunications Act of 1996 (Federal Communications Commission)
  Major federal legislation aimed at opening up the communications market to all interested parties. Includes provisions for ensuring that people with disabilities have access to telecommunications technology.
• Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
  Federally funded program operated by the States that provides assistance and work opportunities to needy families. Replaces the two main federal welfare programs: Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) and Job Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS).
• Ticket to Work Program
  The Ticket to Work Program provides most people receiving Social Security benefits (beneficiaries) more choices for receiving employment services. Under this program the Social Security Administration (SSA) issues ticket to eligible beneficiaries who, in turn, may choose to assign those tickets to an Employment Network (EN) of their choice to obtain employment services, vocational rehabilitation services, or other support services necessary to achieve a vocational (work) goal. The EN, if they accept the ticket, will coordinate and provide appropriate services to help the beneficiary find and maintain employment.
• Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program Amendments; Final Rule
  SSA’s final regulations for the Ticket to Work and Self-Sufficiency Program (Ticket to Work program), authorized by the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999. The final regulations were published in the Federal Register on May 20, 2008 and will go in to effect on July 21, 2008. These new regulations are intended to significantly improve the Ticket Program and provide greater opportunities for service providers, Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Agencies, and employers to become Employment Networks, and expand the choices available to SSA beneficiaries who want to enter or re-enter the workforce.
• Training and Employment Notice No. 20-07: Ticket to Work Program-Employment Networks
  ETA Training and Employment Notice (TEN) to provide information on the Social Security Administration’s (SSA) proposed Ticket to Work Program regulations that are expected to become final by spring of 2008. A significant proposed change in the proposed regulations is that SSA proposes to recognize the workforce investment system as qualified Employment Networks (ENs) and simplify the process for the One-Stop Career Centers and Local Workforce Investment Boards (LWIBs) to become ENs.
• Urban Partnerships Initiative Online Toolkit
  The Urban Partnerships Initiative Online Toolkit is provided through the Urban Partnerships Initiative, a project designed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. The Toolkit is intended to improve outcomes for low-income families by facilitating peer exchange among TANF stakeholders in urban centers. The toolkit is a collection of resources, templates, examples, and instruments and is designed to help cities address some of the unique issues facing low-income populations, including those associated with substance abuse, poor mental health conditions, former incarceration, recent immigration, learning disabilities, and others.
• US Department of Labor Training and Employment Notice 05-07 on the Real Economic Impact Tour:TAX Facts + Campaign, “Building Healthy Economic Futures for Americans with Disabilities”
  Notice on the goals and activities under this initiative to promote financial literacy, economic self-sufficiency, and asset development for people with disabilities. The Notice describes how One-Stop Career Centers can get participate in the initiative by connecting with their local IRS office or contacting their local Disability Program Navigators.
• The Welfare Peer Technical Assistance Network (Welfare Peer TA)
  Welfare Peer TA is a technical assistance initiative sponsored by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families. Welfare Peer TA facilitates the sharing of information between and among States, counties, localities, Tribal organizations, and community-based organizations working with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) families. Welfare Peer TA highlights promising practices and service innovations in the field, and fosters strong peer-to-peer relationships that promote improved service delivery to families in need.
• Work Incentive Planning and Assistance (WIPA) Cooperative Agreement Awards
  Information on and links to the Social Security Administration’s Work Incentive Planning and Assistance Programs (WIPA), previously referred to as Benefits Planning, Assistance and Outreach (BPAO) projects.
• Your Ticket to Work
  A comprehensive website of Ticket to Work Program information and resources maintained by MAXIMUS, Inc., the Program Manager of the Ticket to Work Program.