POLICY GROUP
Valerie Brooke (Chair),
Dave Auxter, Bill Kiernan,
Ann Cook, and Steve Weinstein
Mission Statement:
The mission of the Policy Group of the Work Incentive
Transition Network is to provide rapid responses to administrative and
legislative developments of positions to be taken with specialized
strategies and dissemination to targeted groups.
It is important to note that public policy, for the most part,
in the area of SSI work incentive is extremely dynamic. Therefore, there
is a need for the WIT Net policy group to be in a position to rapidly
respond to changes as they develop. These responses or actions taken by
WIT Net will be proactive or retroactive in nature. Proactive responses
will attempt to assist with making policy. While our reactive responses
will be designed to inform groups how the implementation of policy
decisions will impact on the lives of transition aged students in
special education and their families/guardians.
Legislation and/or regulations will be selected for study based upon
their potential impact on the effectiveness of special education
programs for transitions aged students. The five areas of concern
targeted by the policy group are as follows: |
1 |
Special Education/SSI redetermination and implications of SSI Work
Incentives |
2 |
Inclusion of VR funded supported employment and SSI Work Incentives
into the IEP |
3 |
Increased opportunities for supported employment through HCBW. |
4 |
Work Incentive Counseling Assistance to be provided by special
education personnel similar to that, which currently exists within VR
agencies. |
5 |
Employment Networks assume the responsibility for coordination and
delivery of services under a program for which the "ticket to work" can
be used. |
These five public policy areas of concern have led the policy group in
the tracking of the following legislation and regulation:
|
|
S.1858: "Work Improvement Act |
|
H.R. 3433: "Ticket to Work and Self Sufficiency Act of 1998" |
|
Reauthorization of the Vocational Rehabilitation Act |
|
Balanced Budget Act of 1997 |
|
Redertermination of SSI Children and SSI youth at age (SSA) |
|
Loosening standards of the Medicaid Home and Community Based Waivers (HCBW) |
|