Social Security Announces New Initiatives to Promote

Employment Opportunities for People with Disabilities

Social Security Announces New Initiatives to Promote Employment
Opportunities for People with Disabilities. Commissioner of Social
Security announced several new initiatives to assist people with
disabilities who want to go to work. The initiatives, announced at the
New Freedom Initiative Celebration of National Disability Employment
Awareness Month, include the Disability Program Navigator, a new position
formed jointly with the Department of Labor, and "Ticket to Hire", a
specialized referral network linking employers to job-seekers with
disabilities. Also announced at the celebration was a new web
site www.disabilityinfo.gov an on-line resource for Americans with
Disabilities.

The Navigators will link people with disabilities who visit the One-Stop
Career Centers with employers and benefit planning assistance and outreach
organizations. The Navigators, who will work in One-Stops, also will
provide information on Social Security work incentives, employment
networks and the Ticket to Work program.

As an offshoot of Ticket to Work, a new service has been developed with
the Department of Labor to help employers locate and recruit skilled
employment candidates with disabilities. The service, "Ticket to Hire",
is a free, national referral service for employers to recruit workers from
the Ticket to Work program. "Ticket to Hire" specialists, available at
1-866-TTW-HIRE (1-866-889-4473), will answer questions about the Ticket to
Work program.

Please visit www.ssa.gov for more information about Social Security's new
disability initiatives, the Ticket to Work program and more.