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Disability Topics
- Center for Studying Disability Policy
- Children and Youth with Disabilities
- Working-Age Adults
- Adults of All Ages
- Collecting and Improving Disability Data
- Clients
Youth Transition Demonstration: Helping Youth with Disabilities Enter the Workforce
Creating programs to help young people with disabilities make a successful transition from school to work is an important policy concern. Programs targeting teenagers and young adults are more likely to be effective than those initiated at later stages, when an individual's expectations about disability and dependence are more entrenched. In addition, interventions that reduce average lifetime duration on the disability rolls could generate substantial savings for the federal government.
In September 2005, the Social Security Administration (SSA) awarded
The YTD projects work with youth ages 14 to 25 who receive Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance, or Childhood Disability Benefits, and those who are at risk of receiving these benefits after leaving school. The projects, which can coordinate with schools and existing service providers in their communities, have flexibility in the interventions they develop, the subgroups of youths they serve, and the services and supports they provide.
Mathematica is developing and evaluating the interventions, which are expected to reduce the likelihood participants will experience a lifetime of dependence on disability benefits. Working with its subcontractors MDRC and TransCen, Inc., Mathematica developed intervention strategies, marketed them to potential sponsors, selected six projects to participate in a multiyear evaluation and assisted the sponsors in running their projects. The evaluation is based on an experimental design. Outcomes for participating youth are measured through administrative data sources and surveys conducted 12 and 36 months after they were randomly assigned to a treatment group, which receives the SSA waivers and full project services, or a control group, which is subject to all standard SSA rules and receives only those services that are available independently of the demonstration projects.
Key components of the evaluation include a process study of project implementation, an impact study of the interventions for youth with disabilities, and a cost-benefit analysis. Interim reports on each of the six random assignment YTD projects will be completed and released to the public starting in 2011. A comprehensive final report is scheduled for 2014.
Data Collection Highlights
Mathematica survey staff worked from lists of SSA beneficiaries and with the projects directly to locate youth with disabilities, determine their interest in enrolling, and obtain their consent for the research. We used special techniques to engage youth and collect accurate and complete baseline data from them. These techniques included developing materials and forms at a sixth-grade reading level, avoiding acquiescence bias and undue respondent burden, and allaying concerns of protective parents and gatekeepers. Our efforts were notably successful in convincing youth to participate—20 percent of those who were eligible enrolled in the study, compared with only 2 to 5 percent in similar evaluations in the past. In all, the study includes over 5,000 youth.
Our survey team conducted baseline interviewing by telephone and collected consent forms by mail with telephone reminders and in-person collection when necessary. We are conducting mixed-mode 12-month follow-up interviews by telephone with field followup. The response rate for the 12-month interviews is 89 percent. We are also conducting 36-month interviews. In addition, we are providing technical assistance to help programs improve their capacity to engage youth and their families.
Publications
"The Youth Transition Demonstration: Interim Findings and Lessons for Program Implementation" (October 2011)
"The Social Security Administration's Youth Transition Demonstration Projects: Interim Report on Colorado Youth WINS" (April 2011)
"The Social Security Administration's Youth Transition Demonstration Projects: Interim Report on Transition WORKS" (February 2011)
"The Social Security Administration's Youth Transition Demonstration Projects: Implementation Lessons from the Original Projects" (February 2010)
"The Social Security Administration’s Youth Transition Demonstration Projects: Evaluation Design Report" (January 2009)
"The Social Security Administration’s Youth Transition Demonstration Projects: Profiles of the Random Assignment Projects" (December 2008)
Published Articles
A special volume of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, September 2009, covers a range of issues facing child SSI recipients, including transitions to work and programs such as the Youth Transition Demonstration designed to address these issues.
"A Life-Cycle Perspective on the Transition to Adulthood Among Children Receiving Supplemental Security Income Payments" Paul S. Davies, Kalman Rupp, and David Wittenburg
"Family Caregiving and Employment Among Parents of Children with Disabilities on SSI" Kalman Rupp and Steve Ressler
"Unmet Health Care Needs and Medical Out-of-Pocket Expenses of SSI Children" Anne DeCesaro and Jeffrey Hemmeter
"Changing Circumstances: Experiences of Child SSI Recipients Before and After Their Age-18 Redetermination for Adult Benefits" Jeffrey Hemmeter, Jacqueline Kauff, and David Wittenburg
"The Social Security Administration's Youth Transition Demonstration Projects" Thomas Fraker and Anu Rangarajan
"Providing Supports to Youth with Disabilities Transitioning to Adulthood: Case Descriptions from the Youth Transition Demonstration" Richard G. Luecking and David Wittenburg