May 13, 2008

VCU Benefits From Ticket To Work

From the Richmond Times-Dispatch:

Virginia Commonwealth University has been awarded a $4.2 million contract to help people with disabilities find jobs that reduce their dependence on government assistance

The three-year contract from the Social Security Administration will allow VCU to provide training and technical assistance for more than 500 so-called community work incentives coordinators ...

Since 2000, the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance National Training Center at VCU has been awarded more than $14 million in federal contracts and provided training and technical assistance to 800 community-based professionals providing service to more than 250,000 Social Security beneficiaries.

And just what did Social Security get for that $14 million? Where are the success stories of Social Security disability recipients being put back to work? I have no doubt that has VCU fulfilled its contracts. The question is whether Ticket to Work has fulfilled its promise and the answer to that is obviously "No." That $14 million could have been better used for other purposes.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

At the field office level, Ticket to Work is a huge joke and is regarded with universal disdain. Complete waste of taxpayers' money. I have not encountered a single person who has become self-supporting and ended dependence on disability benefits through this sham.