News from Disability Research Institute, based at Univeristy of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
January 2003 GAO Report Cites DRI Contributions Vital to the Debate about the Future of Social Security
The U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO) has issued a new report
dated January, 2003, detailing the operations of the SSA that is
complimentary of the DRI and its research. The report, 'Major
Management Challenges and Program Risks,' is part of the GAO's
Performance and Accountability Series and calls the work of the
DRI 'vital to informing the debate over the long-term solvency of
the Social Security system.'
It specifically highlights the following DRI efforts:
- Designing a demonstration to provide earlier return-to-work services to disability insurance (DI) applicants who are likely to be found eligible;
- Exploring the paths DI applicants and beneficiaries take to the benefit program to determine whether SSA might be able to redirect some applicants to work rather than a prolonged stay on the benefit rolls;
- Examining how the onset of disability early in life affects later employment outcomes;
- Analyzing and facilitating the transition to employment of youths with disabilities;
- Assessing the validity of medical criteria as measures of disability;
- Identifying the most salient job demands compared to a claimant's remaining capacity for work; and
- Examining the impact and cost of assistive technology on employment of persons with spinal cord injuries.
According to the GAO, these DRI projects represent positive steps
the agency has taken to strengthen its research and evaluation
activities. As a result, policy development issues that had been
cited in earlier reports no longer were considered to be a major
management challenge for the agency. The GAO suggested that the
DRI continue to assist SSA through investigations of the impact
of medical advances and social changes on disability. The
Institute was described as playing a pivotal role as the agency
develops a comprehensive return-to-work strategy that integrates
earlier intervention, including earlier and more effective
identification of work capacities, and the provision of essential
return-to-work assistance.
Call for Year 4 Major Research Proposals and for Year 4 Small Grants Research Proposals
The Disability Research Institute announces a call for major
research (approximately $100,000) and small grant (maximum of
$25,000) proposals for its next year of funding. The DRI, which
is beginning its fourth year of funding through a cooperative
agreement with the Social Security Administration, has supported
a broad range of research with disability policy implications for
programs administered by Social Security. For its Year 4 funding,
the DRI is particularly interested in projects addressing the
following research themes:
- Return-to-work and transition-to-work including studies that might utilize the DRI Longitudinal Rehabilitation Services Administration Database.
- Population changes impacting SSA programs, such as increases in incidence of mental health problems, the proportion of older individuals, etc.
- Investigation of programs providing benefits to persons with disabilities such as Worker's Compensation, private insurance, health insurance, etc.
- Investigation of the range of employer incentives for hiring SSA beneficiaries/applicants.
Submission Date - March 7, 2003
Award Period - 12-months
Average Award - Major Research Approximately $100,000 per year,
Small Grants Up to $25,000
Monitor the DRI web site for possible updates. Application
instructions are available on the DRI web site at
http://www.als.uiuc.edu/dri/. For additional information contact
Judee Richardson, Ph.D. (217) 244-1661 or jar@uiuc.edu.
Current DRI Research Projects
The DRI Has Funded a Range of Research Projects with Disability
Policy Implications for Social Security Programs.
I. Facilitating the Transition to Employment of Childhood SSI
Beneficiaries and Other Children With Disabilities
This project examines the young adult transitions to employment
of individuals who are limited in activities or experience
specific chronic health conditions in childhood. Particular
attention is paid to children who participate in the Supplemental
Security Income (SSI) program. The project proceeds in two
phases. In the first phase, a careful assessment of the patterns
of the young adult transition into the labor market is conducted.
The second phase of the project is concerned with identifying
specific factors that may mitigate the adverse consequences of
childhood health and activity limitations on the transition to
adult employment and economic self-sufficiency.
This analysis provides answers to basic questions such as:
when do children with health limitations begin working; are
their employment patterns continuous or fitful; do they
experience earnings growth; and are their earnings levels
commensurate with economic self-sufficiency?
Researcher: Elizabeth T. Powers, Ph.D. - University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign
II Employment Networks: The Supply Side of the Ticket to Work /
Work Incentives Improvement Act (PL 106-170)
The purpose of this project is to explore and describe the
experiences and attitudes of Employment Networks as factors in
the successful implementation of PL 106-170. This new and
groundbreaking legislation, which allows beneficiaries to choose
a vocational rehabilitation provider, can be conceptualized in
terms of supply and demand. The 'demand' side of the law is
simply the number of beneficiaries who will be interested in
receiving services so that they can return to work. The 'supply'
side is the number of rehabilitation providers who will be
equally interested in becoming Employment Networks and assisting
beneficiaries in obtaining employment. The overall success of PL
106-170 w ill be measured not only by the number of beneficiaries
who take advantage of these new incentives, but also by the
number and quality of the rehabilitation providers who become and
remain an Employment Network.
Little has been done to explore and describe the experiences
and attitudes of rehabilitation providers who have become,
or want to become, Employment Networks.
Researchers: Bruce Growick, Ph.D., and Judith Drew, M.A. - The
Ohio State University
III. Age of Disability Onset and Employment Outcomes:
Results From the National Health Interview Study -
Disability Supplement(NHIS-D)
The purpose of this research is to examine the impact of onset of
disability early in life on later employment outcomes. The early
onset of disability (at birth through young adulthood) can affect
a person's employment outcomes in many ways. In addition to the
direct impact of disability on employment, early onset of
disability likely affects the acquisition of education and job
skills (human capital). This reduced 'investment' in human
capital in turn may reduce the individual's employment and
earnings prospects throughout his or her lifetime. Historically,
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Vocational
Rehabilitation (VR) served persons with disabilities who had
significant work histories and accumulated human capital before
experiencing a disability. Persons with earlier onset of
disability may require different types of support. Policies and
programs that intervene at the time schooling and early human
capital investment decisions are being made may be essential to
increasing employment outcomes across an entire lifetime.
How can the reduced investment in the 'human capital' of
education and work skills due to earlier onset of disability
be better supported by intervention programs?
Researchers: Pamela Loprest, Ph.D., and Elaine Maag, M.S. - The
Urban Institute
IV. Community Rehabilitation Programs: Phase I
The study explores the University of Wisconsin-Stout (UWS)
database on the universe of Community Rehabilitation Programs
(CRPs). This database includes basic information on services,
staffing, outcomes, needs, resources, and programs to serve
people with disabilities, though not specific to SSDI/SSI
recipients. The proposed study will build upon this existing
foundation of information and will examine how CRPs currently
serve SSDI/SSI beneficiaries, their effectiveness in enabling
beneficiaries to return to work and to sustain work, and develop
recommendations on what may be done to increase their
effectiveness in serving the SSDI/SSI population.
Are there specific structural models for community-based
programs that may be applicable to SSA recipients?
Researcher: Frederick Menz, Ph.D. - University of Wisconsin-Stout
V. The Impact of Changes in the Occupational and Industrial Mix
Between 1970 and 2000 On the Employment of Persons With and
Without Disabilities
The project is based on the observations of the investigator and
others that changes in the nature of work itself affect the
probability of employment among persons with disabilities. In the
project, we focus on the impact of longer-term changes in the
structure of the economy, particularly the shift over the past 30
years from an economy based on the production and distribution of
goods to one based on services and information. The overarching
aim is to evaluate the impact of changes in the distribution of
occupations and industries between 1970 and 2000 on the
employment situation of persons with disabilities during this
period. The project draws upon data from the National Health
Interview Survey (NHIS).
Has change in the distribution of occupations and industries
between 1970 and 2000 affected the probability of employment
of persons with disabilities?
Researchers: Edward Yelin, Ph.D., and Laura Trupin, M.P.H. -
University of California, San Francisco
Martin H. Gerry Addresses the DRI Annual Symposium
The DRI Annual Symposium, 'SSA Disability Benefits: Apply,
Qualify...Return to Work," was held June 6, 2002, at the
National Press Club in Washington, DC. It was attended by many
leading policy makers, academics, administrators and other
professionals in fields involving disability issues and research.
The focus of the sessions was primarily on the integration of
persons with disabilities into the work economy - what has been
done, what is being done now, and what could be done to improve
work opportunities in the future. Highlights of the remarks
offered at the symposium are offered below.
Martin H. Gerry, recently appointed by President Bush as Deputy
Commissioner, Office of Disability and Income Security Programs,
addressed three areas of greatest concern to his agency. First,
the Ticket to Work program, because it is a new effort, requires
careful review to determine what actually works and what does not
work to meet the program's goals. Second, because the level of
effort required of applicants as they pursue a disability
determination is unacceptable, sometimes requiring 3-5 years, a
thorough overhaul of the application process is essential.
Finally, the president's New Freedom Initiative requires a
comprehensive evaluation of 'how people with disabilities in the
United States are affected by the range of programs, formal and
informal, and their benefits, strategies, and policies, and how
those together do or do not advance the goal of economic
self-sufficiency for as many people as possible, involving work.'
Deputy Commissioner Gerry continued by outlining four efforts the
Office of Disability and Income Security Programs is pursing as
part of the New Freedom Initiative's broad review of disability
programs. The Office has undertaken new partnerships with three
other government agencies to fund demonstration programs with
individual states in three areas: transition-to-work, the
population which qualifies for home- and community-based waivers,
and the population with affective or mood disorders. The Office
is also pursuing outsourcing of the work needed to create an
electronic folder for its applicants. The outsourcing
organizations will be required to hire disability program
beneficiaries as workers.
The honorable Congressman Tim Johnson (Illinois 15th District)
spoke about the importance of the research conducted by the DRI
in helping to ensure that all citizens are able to work
productively and that the economy remains strong. He commended
the DRI for pursuing interagency cooperation, noting that the DRI
serves as a nationwide model for effective cooperation. He
expressed his personal pride in the leadership role that the
University of Illinois has taken in its pioneering work to
promote educational services to people with disabilities.
Speaker of the House, Dennis Hastert, sent a letter which was
read by Congressman Johnson. Speaker Hastert wrote that the DRI's
'service to our citizens, our researchers, and the Social
Security Administration has been unparalleled and has allowed us
to ensure all citizens are receiving the best possible services
of the government.'
Paul N. Van de Water, Acting Deputy Commissioner, Office of
Policy, Social Security Administration, provided an overview of
the three goals for the establishment of the DRI: disseminating
research findings to scholars and policy analysts, developing
scholars and analysts of the future, and encouraging research and
analysis on the critical issues facing Social Security disability
programs. He remarked that this symposium was part of the greater
effort to ensure that 'our future is not one of social
fragmentation, but...one of solidarity, inclusion, and
opportunity' between researchers and policy makers.
Ruth Brannon, Associate Director, Division of Research Sciences,
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research,
discussed the range of factors which are needed in order to
support effective interagency cooperation. These include:
avoiding the overlapping of services, exploring technological
innovation, examining attendant services, improving communication
to all parties involved in the employment experience, studying
the policy initiatives of the last few years more closely,
pursuing research on best practices and the effectiveness of
intervention, and formalizing the mechanisms for discussing
research findings.
Thomas Hale, Economist, Bureau of Labor Statistics, discussed two
major difficulties that face researchers in the field of
disability: first, it is dificult to define what constitutes a
disability; and second, researchers know little about the
population of people with disabilities who respond to research
surveys and why they respond as they do. He encouraged the use of
qualitative analysis to help clarify the definition of disability
as well as to gather more information about the population being
studied.
Harold B. Kay, Jr., Director of Evaluation, Rehabilitation
Services Administration (RSA) since 1992, discussed the
Longitudinal Study undertaken by the RSA to gather data about its
program participants. He noted that the research finding of most
interest to the RSA is that the variable most strongly correlated
with earnings is literacy. Next year the RSA will issue a new
research design to examine literacy levels in the study
population.
Edward D. Berkowitz, George Washington University, an authority
on the history of the Social Security program, was the keynote
speaker. Dr. Berkowitz provided a fascinating historical account
of the evolution of social benefits policy in the United States.
His presentation began with a review of 19th century asylums and
Civil War pension issues, and moved into issues of compensation
for victims of social accidents in 1910 and disability insurance
initiatives in 1926. He described the social programs of the New
Deal and the social welfare and benefits programs of the 1960s
and early 1970s. He explained that since reformers seldom destroy
ongoing programs when they build new ones, 'we live with the
consequences of our very oldest as well as very newest programs.'
Visit the DRI web site to see slides presented by the symposium
speakers: http://www.als.uiuc.edu/dri/events/2002symposium
Symposium Presenters
Fabricio E. Balcazar - Associate Professor, Department of
Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois at
Chicago
Edward D. Berkowitz - Chair, Department of History, George
Washington University
Monroe Berkowitz - Professor of Economics, Emeritus, Rutgers
Scott Bilder - Project Director and Data Analyst, Institute for
Health, Health Care Policy, and Aging Research, Rutgers
Ruth Brannon - Associate Director, Division of Research Sciences,
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
Debra Brucker - Associate Director, Disability Research and
Education Program, Rutgers
Thomas DeLeire - Assistant Professor, Labor Economics, University
of Chicago
Tanya M. Gallagher - Scientific Director, DRI, and Dean, College
of Applied Life Studies, UIUC
Martin H. Gerry - Deputy Commissioner, Office of Disability and
Income Security Programs, SSA
Susan Grad - Acting Associate Commissioner, Office of Research,
Evaluation and Statistics, SSA
Thomas Hale - Economist, Bureau of Labor Statistics
Brad Hedrick - Director, Division of Rehabilitation Education
Services, UIUC
Allen Heinemann - Professor, Department of Physical Medicine
and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, Associate
Director, Research, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago
Todd Honeycutt - Research Analyst, Rutgers
Richard Horne - Senior Policy Advisor, Presidential Task Force on
Employment of Adults with Disabilities, Office of Disability
Employment Policy, Department of Labor
Tim Johnson - Congressman, Illinois 15th District
William Johnson - Professor, School of Health Administration and
Policy, Department of Economics, Arizona State University
Harold B. Kay, Jr. - Director of Evaluation, Rehabilitation
Services Administration
Mary Grace Kovar - Consultant, National Opinion Research
Center, University of Chicago
Douglas Kruse - Professor, Human Resources Management, Rutgers
Ken McGill - Associate Commissioner, Office of Employment Support
Programs, SSA
Fred Menz - Professor, Director, Rehabilitation, Research and
Training Center, University of Wisconsin-Stout
Mark V. Nadel - Associate Director, Income Security Issues,
General Accounting Office
Ken Nibali - Associate Commissioner, Office of Disability, SSA
Elizabeth Powers - Assistant Professor of Economics, Institute of
Government and Public Affairs, UIUC
Virginia Reno -Vice President, Research, National Academy of
Social Insurance
Richard Roessler - Professor Emeritus, Rehabilitation Education,
University of Arkansas
Chrisann Schiro-Geist -Managing Director, DRI, and Professor,
Community Health, UIUC
Lisa Schur - Assistant Professor, Labor Studies and Employment
Relations, Rutgers
Marlene Simon - Associate Division Director, Research to Practice
Division, Office of Special Education Programs
Sue Suter - Developmental Disability Program Specialist,
Administration for Children and Families, Department of
Health and Human Services
Denise Tate - Associate Professor of Psychology, Department of
Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of
Michigan, Ann Arbor
Paul N. Van de Water - Acting Deputy Commissioner, Office of
Policy, SSA
Edward Yelin - Professor of Medicine and Health Policy,
University of California, San Francisco
The DRI Makes RSA-VR Data Available to Researchers
Data Sets from the Longitudinal Study of the Vocational
Rehabilitation Services Program Are Now Available to Researchers
via the Dri Web Site at:
http://www.als.uiuc.edu/dri (Click RSA-LSVRSP)
The DRI is pleased to announce the availability via its web site
of data from the Longitudinal Study of the Vocational
Rehabilitation Services Program, conducted by the Research
Triangle Institute for the Rehabilitation Services Administration
(RSA) of the U.S. Department of Education. Experts at the
National Center for Supercomputing Applications on the campus of
the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign have worked with
the DRI to develop an interface that provides convenient access
to the data from this important longitudinal study. The new
interface, which allows specific subsets of the data to be
searched and downloaded, became operational on November 25, 2002.
In addition to the data sets, summary reports and a user's
guide containing an overview of the design, sampling, and data
collection activities of the Longitudinal Study are also
available.
Initiated in fall of 1992, the Longitudinal Study addresses key
questions of interest to Congress, the Rehabilitation Services
Administration, state Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies and
consumers about the performance of the state-federal VR program.
The broad purpose of the study is to assess the performance of
the state-federal VR services program in assisting eligible
individuals with disabilities to achieve positive, sustainable
economic and non-economic outcomes as a result of their receipt
of VR services. The study results are in the form of survey data
collected from applicants, consumers, and staff of the program
between 1995 and 1999.
Interim Papers Available from the DRI Early Intervention Project
This DRI Year 1 and 2 demonstration project emerged out of the
Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act, or TWWIIA
(Public Law 106-170), authorizing the development of such
demonstrations that would, for the first time in the history of
Social Security, provide return-to-work services to Social
Security Disability Insurance applicants. This distinctive
feature of the legislation granted SSA the authority to offer
services to persons who have not yet been accepted onto the
rolls, but would likely receive benefits if they applied. Before
the demonstration could get underway, however, important
questions and problems had to be resolved. The project team,
headed by Monroe Berkowitz of Rutgers' Disability Research and
Education Program, dedicated the first year of the Early
Intervention project to responding to these issues by deciding on
candidate selection procedures, developing models, and designing
the demonstration. Project papers are available at
http://disabilityresearch.rutgers.edu/eiproject.htm
The report, 'Designing an Early Intervention Demonstration to
Return Applicants for Social Security Disability Benefits to
Work,' describes the selection procedures, the so-called 'menu of
inducements' such as temporary cash stipends and medical care
insurance, that can be offered to applicants, as well as the
programs and models that will be piloted in three states:
Vermont, New Mexico, and Wisconsin. The Rutgers-based researchers
continue to work with work groups in the states to implement the
pilots.
Papers Available Include:
- Calculating a Maximum Expenditure Formula
- Data Assessment for the Early Intervention Pilot
- Designing an Early Intervention Demonstration to Return Applicants for Social Security Disability Benefits to Work
- Evaluation Design of the Early Intervention Pilot
- Lessons from Project NetWork Recruiting for the DRI 'Early Intervention' Project
- The Selection of Social Security Disability Applicants for an Early Intervention Program
Researchers Affiliated with DRI
Growick, Loprest and Powers Lead New Projects
Bruce S. Growick, Ph. D., is an Associate Professor of
Rehabilitation Services at The Ohio State University and has
published widely in the field of rehabilitation, especially the
rehabilitation of injured workers. In 1989-1990, he was Director
of the Rehabilitation Division of the Ohio Bureau of Workers'
Compensation and has been President of the International
Association of Rehabilitation Professionals. He is currently
editor of the Journal of Forensic Vocational Analysis and a
vocational expert for various national and state agencies .
DRI Research Project: Employment Networks: The Supply Side
of the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act
(PL 106-170)
Pamela J. Loprest, Ph.D., is a Senior Research Associate with The
Urban Institute in the areas of disability and employment,
welfare reform and safety net issues, TANF, and family
well-being. Her Ph.D. in economics is from the Massachusetts
Institute of Technology.
DRI Research Project: Age of Disability Onset and Employment
Outcomes: Results from the NHIS-D
Elizabeth T. Powers, Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Economics
and a faculty member of the Institute of Government and Public
Affairs at the University of Illinois. She was previously an
economist with the Federal Reserve of Cleveland and a Junior
Staff Economist with President George H. W. Bush's Council of
Economic Advisers. Her two major areas of research interest are
the economic impacts of children's health problems and
retirement of low-income elderly. She is currently conducting
studies on the long-term outcomes of childhood SSI recipients and
other children with health problems.
DRI Research Project: Facilitating the Transition to
Employment of Childhood SSI Beneficiaries and Other Children
with Disabilities
Meet DRI Staff
Richardson and Spencer Contribute Expertise in Managing Research
Activities
Judee Richardson joined the DRI in November 2002 as Associate
Research Coordinator in the Scientific Branch. Dr. Richardson's
background is in experimental psychology and survey research
methodology. She brings to the DRI a specialty in large grant
management, negotiation, and oversight with quality research
expertise. Prior to joining the DRI, Dr. Richardson held academic
and administrative positions at Northwestern University and the
National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. In
addition, she has been the Director, Department of Survey
Research Design and Management at the American Medical
Association and senior research director for small private sector
consulting firms.
Ray C. Spencer joined the DRI in January 2002 and is working as
Visiting Project Coordinator in the Scientific Branch. Dr.
Spencer's background is in public policy research. He holds a
Ph.D. in Leisure Studies and formerly served as Coordinator of
Research Programs in Political Economy and Public Policy at the
University of Illinois.
Directors' Corner
As the Disability Research Institute proceeds with its third year
of work, we continue to serve as the research arm of the SSA,
working to provide information that informs disability policy
decisions. Originally the DRI reported to the SSA Office of
Policy where the idea for creating the Institute was born. We now
report to the Office of Disability and Income Security Programs,
where we continue to evolve into a meaningful source of quality,
policy-related, research that will impact Americans with
disabilities in the 21st century.
After the initial two years of funding, we now have research
findings and reports that we are disseminating through our web
site, newsletters and working papers. We strongly encourage you
to read our materials which are available upon request and to
visit our web site on a regular basis to stay abreast of the
latest research information.
Tanya M. Gallagher, Ph.D. - DRI Scientific Director and
Co-Principal Investigator
Chrisann Schiro-Geist, Ph.D. - DRI Managing Director and
Co-Principal Investigator
Visit the DRI website at http://www.als.uiuc.edu/dri
We welcome you to the DRI web site where you will find more
information about DRI research projects, our staff and affiliate
partners, as well as web links related to disability research.
When you visit, sign up for our electronic mailing list and
newsletter. Click 'Subscribe.'
Disability Research Institute
College of Applied Life Studies
University of Illinois
1207 South Oak Street
Room 158 MC-575
Champaign, IL 61820
http://www.als.uiuc.edu/dri
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