TO:  Community Employment Network Participants

FROM:   Robert E. Davis, State Director, Michigan Rehabilitation Services

RE:  Employment Network (EN) Agreements under the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999

DATE:  April 2003

The passage of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 created a whole new opportunity for community rehabilitation providers, schools, employers, and many other providers to receive outcome payments from the Social Security Administration for successfully and gainfully employed SSA recipients. 

As an authorized EN, you may wish to refer your Ticket holders to MRS for services which you do not provide in the course of your business.  A section of the Ticket Regulation requires that agreements be entered into between MRS and any EN before an EN can refer one of its customers to MRS.  Once the EN Agreement is in place, we can accept referrals from your agency under the Ticket program. 

The Agreement must be signed by a representative of your agency authorized to sign such agreements and the MRS State Director.  Send all signed  EN Agreements to June Morse, Ticket Coordinator, Michigan Rehabilitation Services, 201 N. Washington Sq, 4^th Floor Victor Center, Lansing, MI  48909  Once approved and signed, the Agreements are statewide. All Agreements will be maintained centrally so that all MRS staff will have access to a database of entities with whom  we have referral agreements.   

We have also developed a R eferral Packet   which, we hope, will make the referral   process as easy as possible.  You can find the materials on this Web site as well as with your local MRS district office.  

We look forward to working with you in the Ticket program.  If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please feel free to contact your local MRS District Manager or, Lori Shader-Patterson, our Senior Manager in charge of our SSA Initiative, shader-pattersonl@michigan.gov; or Jennie Tunnell, our Field Manager for the SSA Initiative, tunnellj@michigan.gov.