Maine's CHOICES CEO Project

People with Disabilities Receiving Intensive Services From Maine One-Stop Career Centers

One-Stop Career Centers provide services to job seekers in the general population. The centers reported serving 123 people with disabilities in the Adult and Dislocated Workers programs in 2007. Of those, 91 (74 percent) entered employment.

Number Entering Competitive Employment: Maine Bureau of Rehabilitation Services

The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS) provides people with severe disabilities a variety of services to help them get or keep a job. These services include job development and placement, job training, and rehabilitation technology. In fiscal year 2007, 881 people with severe disabilities entered competitive employment and stayed employed for a minimum of 90 days after receiving BRS services. Of those, 697 were served by the General Vocational Rehabilitation program, and 184 were served by the Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

On average, people who got jobs in 2007 after participating in the General Vocational Rehabilitation program worked 28 hours per week and earned $11 per hour. People served by the Division for the Blind and Visually Impaired also worked about the same number of hours per week, but earned more -- an average of $14 per hour.

Employment Rate of Individuals on Supplemental Security Income (SSI)

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federal program that gives cash support to very poor people with severe disabilities. In 2007, there were 31,810 individuals receiving SSI in Maine, and 2,278 (7.2 percent) were working. The number of SSI beneficiaries in Maine rose steadily over the past eight years, from 27,000 in 2000 up to almost 32,000 in 2007. But the number of SSI beneficiaries who worked has remained at approximately 2,300 over the same period, so the proportion of SSI recipients who work fell from 8.6 percent in 2000 down to 7.2 percent in 2007.

Work incentives are special rules that make it possible for SSI beneficiaries to work and still receive monthly payments. Very few SSI beneficiaries in Maine utilize the available work incentives. Of 31,810 blind or disabled SSI recipients statewide, only 36 had a “Plan for Achieving Self-Support” and only 18 took advantage of the “Impairment-related Work Expenses” income exclusion.

Enrollment in the MaineCare Workers with Disabilities Option

The MaineCare Workers with Disabilities Option (WWD Option) allows low-income people with disabilities in Maine’s Medicaid program to earn more by working while keeping their health coverage. From 2003 to 2007, the number of people enrolled in the WWD Option went down and then climbed up again — from a low of 521 in the second quarter of 2003 back up to a high of 811 at the end of 2007. On average, enrollment in the WWD Option grew by 16 members each quarter from the second quarter of 2003 through the end of 2007.