Maximus to Help Disabled Job Seekers

By William Welsh, Staff Writer


OCT. 31 ? Maximus Inc. of McLean, Va., won a five-year, $56-million contract with the Social Security Administration to serve as program manager for the agency's Ticket-to-Work and Self Sufficiency Program.


The program links disabled beneficiaries to employment networks that provide services to help beneficiaries improve their job skills and obtain employment.


Maximus will recruit and manage of 4,500 nationwide employment networks, coordinate services to 13 million ticket recipients over the next five years and assist in processing payments to employment networks. The company also will operate a call center.


The program will be phased in over a three-year period beginning February 2001, and will be fully operational in all 50 states by February 2003, said company officials Oct. 31.


The new program builds on earlier models established by Maximus for Social Security Administration, said company officials.


In 1995, Maximus operated a nationwide program for the agency that provided case management and referral and monitoring services to more than 140,000 beneficiaries with drug or alcohol disabilities.