Center for Studying Disability Policy at Mathematica Announces March Forum Date

Focus Is Early Intervention for Adults with Potentially Disabling Conditions

Contact: Natalia Rojas, (202) 250-3539

WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 19, 2010)—The Center for Studying Disability Policy at Mathematica Policy Research announces the ninth forum in a bimonthly lunchtime seminar series aimed at providing policymakers and others with an opportunity to hear about the latest disability policy research findings. “Staying Employed: Early Intervention for Adults with Potentially Disabling Conditions,” is scheduled for Thursday, March 18, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. at Mathematica’s office at 600 Maryland Ave., SW, Suite 550, Washington, D.C. Speakers will be Henry Ireys, senior fellow, Mathematica; Gilbert Gimm, researcher, Mathematica; and Patricia Owens, senior level expert, Disability Programs and Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office.

The speakers will discuss findings from the national Demonstration to Maintain Independence and Employment (DMIE) evaluation. This initiative, sponsored by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, is intended to help states assist workers with potentially disabling conditions. Ireys will give an overview of DMIE, discuss the rationale and core goals, and describe how four states have implemented the program. Gimm will present preliminary quantitative and qualitative findings from the national DMIE evaluation, discuss the program’s impacts on employment and federal disability outcomes, and highlight lessons learned. Owens will comment on the implications of the findings for disability policy.

The disability policy forums can be attended in person or via webinar. Go to www.disabilitypolicyresearch.org/researchforums.asp to register to attend or request any necessary accommodations. Lunch will be provided.

The Center for Studying Disability Policy’s mission is to inform disability policy formation with rigorous, objective research and data collected from the people disability policy aims to serve. The center was formed in 2007 to coalesce and further strengthen Mathematica’s extensive disability policy research and data collection efforts, and to ensure that the results of Mathematica’s work are accessible to the disability policy community.

Mathematica Policy Research, 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 assessment and interpretation, and program performance/data management, 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 disability, health care, education, family support, employment, nutrition, and early childhood policies and programs.