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Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation Takes an In-Depth Look at Challenges Youth with Severe Disabilities and Their Families Face
Contact: Cheryl Pedersen, (609) 275-2258
WASHINGTON, D.C. (August 25, 2009)—Youth who receive benefits from the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, the largest federal program providing cash payments to low-income youth with severe disabilities and their families, face notable challenges transitioning to adulthood. Six articles in the September issue of the Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, by researchers from Mathematica Policy Research, TransCen Inc., and the Social Security Administration (SSA), explore the nature of these challenges and related policy responses.
The transition to adulthood can be a difficult time for all youth, but those with disabilities encounter special issues related to health, social isolation, high service needs, potential loss of benefits, and lack of supports. These challenges complicate planning for future education and work. They can also lead to poor education and employment outcomes, high risk of dependency on public programs, and a lifetime of poverty.
Highlights from the articles, which provide a rare in-depth look at the circumstances these youth face, include the following:
- The public cost of child dependence on SSI is large—in December 2007, approximately 721,000 youth ages 13 to 21 received SSI benefits at a monthly cost of more than $400 million.
- SSI youth are roughly equally divided by primary impairment into three groups: mental retardation, mental and behavioral disorders, and physical disabilities. These groups take different paths as they move toward adulthood—for example, 40 percent of those with mental impairments end up involved with the juvenile justice system.
- At age 18, many SSI youth are not working and not in school. A major concern is that some, particularly those with mental disorders other than mental retardation, might not be sufficiently prepared for life without SSI.
- Employment rates of former SSI youth after age 18 are low relative to other young adults.
- Parents of these youth face difficult tradeoffs between providing child care and entering the work place. Parents of youth with very severe health conditions have particularly limited opportunities to enter the workforce.
- Intervention strategies that emphasize the importance of work could potentially improve the outcomes of these youth and reduce long-term program dependency.
The volume also includes a summary of the SSA-funded Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) projects that are attempting to address some of the challenges SSI youth face as they move into young adulthood. Youth participating in the program are eligible for more generous earnings disregards and other incentives under waivers of program rules. In addition, they receive individualized employment and benefits planning services to increase their likelihood of becoming employed and earning enough to reduce their disability benefits and eventually leave the disability rolls. Mathematica is conducting an evaluation of the demonstration projects, which are currently operating in 12 sites across the country and includes a random assignment assessment of outcomes in 6 sites.
“For youth with severe disabilities, childhood experiences with health issues, family environment, and other factors can have a long-term influence on their path through adulthood,” noted David Wittenburg, Mathematica senior researcher and a guest editor of the volume. “This volume makes an important contribution to our understanding of their circumstances and suggests broader implications, such as the potential for interventions to assist youth during their transition to adulthood, for those who want to better understand the transition to adulthood and long-term outcomes for these individuals.”
Other guest editors for the issue were Paul Davies and Kalman Rupp, researchers at SSA. The articles are as follows:
"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
Mathematica, a nonpartisan research firm, provides a full range of research and data collection services, including program evaluation and policy research, survey design and data collection, research methods and standards, and program management/data system support, to improve public well-being. Its clients include federal and state governments, foundations, and private-sector and international organizations. The employee-owned company, with offices in Princeton, N.J., Ann Arbor, Mich., Cambridge, Mass., Chicago, Ill., Oakland, Calif., and Washington, D.C., has conducted some of the most important studies of health care, education, family support, employment, nutrition, and early childhood policies and programs.