Time Is Running Out - Extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to help more people like Angela get back to work

SUCCESS STORY - PERSONAL  STORY

Resident: South Bend, Indiana

Time Is Running Out

Extend the Work Opportunity Tax Credit to help employers hire more people like Angela get back to work and self sufficiency

Angela, 54, is a resident of Indiana, and was working as a certified nursing assistant when she injured her back. About the same time, her asthma also worsened and her doctor told her she could no longer work. She applied for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) benefits and was unable to work for nine years.

But then Allsup Employment Services, a Social Security-certified Employment Network, reached out to her. They helped Angela make a plan for returning to work and using the Ticket to Work program, which provides support and free help to attempt returning to work again. “The Ticket to Work program is excellent and it really worked for me,” Angela said. “It’s helped me out in a big way.”

Angela now earns $10 an hour working in maintenance for a cleaning corporation, in spaces like doctor’s offices. “It can work at my own pace, and it’s not stressful,” she said, adding she works about 15 hours a week.

She said the support she received from her Employment Network made all the difference. “It’s just wonderful, and it’s good to have people behind you. They are always calling me, asking how my health is doing, asking if I need anything,” she said. “This needs to be out there nationwide, I think more people need to know about this help.

“I referred a friend and now he’s in the Ticket to Work program,” she said. “My doctor said I could not work again, but I wanted to see if I could. It’s a good opportunity.”

Angela is one of tens of thousands of former workers who could see improved opportunity for employment if the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) is extended past its Dec. 31, 2019, expiration and if SSDI recipients are added as a target population. The revenue impact of the adding SSDI beneficiaries is estimated at only $8.5 million a year. These steps mean more incentives for employers to hire individuals with disabilities who want to try to work again.

A Success Story from Secure Work Coalition

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