Summary Review of Data Sources for School to Work Transitions by Youth with Disabilities - Policy Brief

This brief summarizes our findings from a review of potential data sources to examine school-to-work transitions by youth with disabilities (Wittenburg and Stapleton, 2000). Our objective was to identify data sources for future school-to-work analyses that contain longitudinal information on youth with disabilities. We conclude that the following data sources are most promising based on our selection criteria: Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP); National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health); Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) 911 Database and RSA’s Longitudinal Study of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR); state administrative data (multiple states); National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88); National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students (NLTS); National Longitudinal Transition Study of Special Education Students-2 (NLTS-2); and National Longitudinal Survey of Youth: 1997 (NLSY:97)

A Guide to Disability Statistics from the Survey of Income and Program Participation

This paper discusses the utility of the SIPP in disability analyses, including a summary of descriptive statistics on people with disabilities from multiple SIPP panels, including the most recent SIPP panel (2001). The findings provide insights into the various health, employment, income, and program participation outcomes that may be associated with different definitions of disability and illustrates the potential for using SIPP data in further disability analyses. Our descriptive findings highlight the differences in the demographic composition and outcomes across disability definitions, underscoring the importance of carefully selecting an appropriate disability conceptualization in generating disability statistics

Review of Data Sources for School to Work Transitions by Youth with Disabilities

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Real Trends or Measurement Problems? Disability and Employment Trends from the Survey of Income and Program Participation

This paper addresses important concerns in using statistical data to track outcomes of people with disabilities and provides new evidence of employment trends of people with disabilities using alternative disability conceptualizations from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). This analysis comes at an important time because some researchers have criticized the data and definitions used to measure these trends. At the extreme, some have concluded that such analyses should cease because of major limitations in measuring disability that exists in current surveys (especially the SIPP). Because the SIPP has been used extensively to examine outcomes of people with disabilities, it is important to understand these data criticisms and test whether the trends from the SIPP mirror those in other data sources. We conclude that the different empirical results found by researchers are not caused by "problems" with the data but rather with the assumptions researchers make when using the data. We illustrate the importance of exercising caution when developing disability questions and measuring disability trends in existing data sources. While some measures of limitations may be problematic, we find that the relatively broad measures used in several disability studies provide reasonable estimations of important subgroups of people with disabilities. We also show that the timing and structure of specific questions affects disability prevalence rates and influences observed outcomes. When we use comparable definitions across panels, we consistently find that employment rates of men with disabilities have fallen from 1990 to 1996 and employment rates of women with disabilities have remained flat. The consistency of these findings across a variety of measures illustrates an important and disturbing trend of downward employment rates for people with disabilities. These findings are particularly disturbing because they suggest that the gap in employment rates between those with and without disabilities is growing

Choices, Challenges, and Options: Child SSI Recipients Preparing for the Transition to Adult Life

For young people receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI), a means-tested cash benefit for children with disabilities, the transition into young adulthood is complicated for several reasons. Health issues, service needs, and lack of access to supports can complicate planning and preparing for future schooling, work, and independent living. These issues are especially pressing at age 18 because, following legislative changes in 1996, child SSI recipients have their benefits redetermined under the adult disability criteria. Some child SSI beneficiaries lose eligibility at this redetermination because they do not meet the adult SSI disability criteria. This paper uses newly released data from the Social Security Administration (SSA), the National Survey of Children and Families (NSCF), to study this transition period for cohorts of child SSI recipients just prior to and after the age 18 redetermination. To date, information on the transition experiences of child SSI recipients has been hampered by data limitations. Our analysis addresses this gap by providing detailed information on an array of program, school, training, rehabilitation, and employment issues facing youth during this transition period

More Work Focused Disability Program? Challenges and Options

This paper presents options for incorporating a strong return-to-work focus in the disability eligibility requirements for the Social Security Administration's (SSA) disability programs. In developing options, we first review alternative disability concepts from other private and public disability programs that focus on an individual's residual capacity to work, rather than an inability to work. We then examine the potential implications of applying different components of these alternative conceptualizations to the current disability eligibility requirements. Our analysis illustrates that policy makers must struggle with the real costs of creating a more expansive set of disability eligibility criteria that focus on work (which will significantly increase the size of the caseload), with the other costs of having an all-or-nothing disability definition

School to where? A literature review on economic outcomes of youth with Disabilities

This paper summarizes the recent empirical literature on post-secondary school outcomes of youth with disabilities. Our summary illustrates the variation in characteristics and outcomes that exist in several subpopulations generally defined as youth with disabilities. Unfortunately, a major limitation of this literature, particularly for special education students and SSI recipients, is a lack of information on recent outcomes. Specifically, there were no major data collection efforts, at least at the national level, to track these populations in the mid to late nineties. While upcoming data sources, such as the National Longitudinal Transition Survey2 (NLTS2) and National Survey of Children and Families (NSCF), should fill major gaps in existing knowledge, other data initiatives are necessary to ensure that policy makers continuously have current information. We suggest several types of survey and administrative data initiatives, as well as new research projects using current data, to address current gaps

Policy Options for Assisting Child SSI Recipients in Transition

The transition process for a child Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipient nearing the age of 18 can be quite complicated. From a programmatic standpoint, all child SSI recipients have their eligibility redetermined under the adult SSI disability requirements at age 18. Potentially more important, many child SSI recipients are also at the age when they must prepare for life beyond secondary school. The choices made during this important transition could have long-term implications for a child's future employment prospects, particularly given the typically long durations of participation and strong work disincentives associated with SSI participation. The purpose of our analysis is to examine concerns related to this transition process and suggest policy options for consideration by the Social Security Administration's (SSA) Ticket Advisory Panel. Our findings are based on an extensive literature review of programs that serve child SSI recipients and semi-structured interviews with experts familiar with the problems facing youth during this transition. In previous reports, the Ticket Advisory Panel has suggested expanding eligibility for the Ticket program to child SSI recipients age 17 to 18 as one possible mechanism for improving independent living options for this population (Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Advisory Panel 2001). We build off this initial suggestion by examining other possible mechanisms for improving independent living options for "transition age" (i.e., youth nearing age 18) child SSI recipients

Transitions from AFDC to SSI Prior to Welfare Reform – Policy Brief

The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs serve overlapping target groups. SSI serves adults and children with disabilities from low-income families, while TANF serves low-income families with children. Consequently, policy changes in one program can affect the other. The target group for Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), TANF’s predecessor, also overlapped with SSI’s target group. Many have anticipated that the replacement of AFDC with TANF in August 1996 would eventually increase SSI participation as TANF recipients with disabilities sought SSI benefits to avoid TANF work requirements and time limits

Health-Conscious Safety Net? Health Problems and Program Use among Low-Income Adults with Disabilities

Many low-income adults have a health problem or impairment that limits their ability to participate in social activities, including work. A health problem or impairment can also increase personal costs on medical expenditures and accommodations (e.g., wheelchair ramps). These combined factors represent an important potential barrier to social and economic mobility. Policymakers have developed several federal and state programs and other supports to offset the costs and lost earnings associated with the onset of a disability. These programs share a general goal to provide income or in-kind assistance to offset the "costs" of a disability, but their target populations vary. As a result, a patchwork of programs and policies targets different segments of the population. For example, some programs provide benefits to offset the lost income of workers, including those injured on the job, while others provide benefits specifically targeted to low-income populations with severe permanent disabilities (e.g., means-tested benefits). In recent years, policymakers and the disability community have increased momentum to create laws, policies, and programs that promote integrating people with disabilities into the mainstream, especially in work activities. One key factor in attaining these goals is expanding employment opportunities, as emphasized in the ratification of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in 1990. Unlike most income support programs that make eligibility determinations based on a person's inability to complete certain activities, employment-focused policies, such as ADA, emphasize an individual's ability to participate in social activities. This brief examines the employment and program participation patterns of low-income adults with disabilities, and how well the current safety net meets their needs. It compares low-income adults with and without disabilities across employment, program participation, and income status. These comparisons highlight some of the unique challenges faced by low-income adults with disabilities and motivate broader discussion of gaps in the safety net. Particularly striking are the possibly conflicting messages regarding work and program participation sent by existing programs and policies. The findings question the current structure of the benefits and services safety net. A significant share of low-income adults report a limitation, and the employment rates of those with limitations are much lower than those of low-income adults without disabilities. Although a number of disability programs exist, support options for many low-income adults with disabilities are limited to a small set of programs that will likely lead to a lifetime of benefit support