Announcement: A Message from David Weaver, Associate Commissioner of Social Security’s Office of Research, Demonstration and Employment Support

Greetings Employment Networks and State Vocational Rehabilitation Agencies,

Many of you will recall that last year former Associate Commissioner Bob Williams convened a group to discuss education and outreach to beneficiaries on behalf of the Ticket to Work program. That group, called the BOSS (Beneficiary Outreach and Supports for Success), met over a period of six months via teleconferences. During these meetings, Social Security briefed attendees on its outreach activities and attendees offered perspectives and suggestions for enhancing our collective efforts to reach and engage with our beneficiaries. Several individuals have expressed interest in resuming these meetings and we agree. The purpose of this message is, to solicit your opinions on how best to structure these calls and to identify potential topics for discussion.

Previously, meetings were open to all ENs and VRs and conducted with the assistance of an operator. The operator managed a caller queue so that participants could comment or raise questions sequentially. While efficient with a large audience, this method did not lend itself to collaborative discussion among participants. We would appreciate your input on whether this method provides a satisfactory forum for participants. Another option could be to host a smaller gathering that included EN and VR representatives and would be more interactive. A third option might be to identify topics for discussion in advance and ask people to pre-register to indicate their interest in participating. In that case, the level of interest could dictate the appropriate structure of the call. We are interested in hearing from a diverse group of individuals representing different service models and approaches to supporting beneficiaries.

With regard to topics, Social Security will present an updated overview of its current and planned outreach activities. However, we do not envision this to be a one-way conversation. We would like to hear about your outreach activities and experiences. To that end, we are asking you to send us your suggestions for topics or issues that you believe are important for the members of the group to share or address. We would also appreciate your thoughts on the frequency of such meetings and preferences regarding days and times.

We believe that the Ticket program stands to benefit if all of us pool our ideas and experiences.  Please send your thoughts and suggestions to us at BOSS.Discussion.Group@ssa.gov  by COB September 19th. We will then compile the responses and report back on what we have decided.

David A. Weaver, Associate Commissioner,

Social Security's Office of Research, Demonstration and Employment Support