Jamie O’Mally, Ph.D.

 Purpose  Hypotheses  Design & Procedures  Data Sources  Progress  Preliminary Results  Future Analyses

 Social Security Administration Disability Research Consortium Emerging Investigator Award

Investigate individual and service factors that influence employment outcomes for transition-age Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who are blind or visually impaired.

WHY? SSIBLINDAGE

With Disabilities Without Disabilities Ages %27% Ages %62.5%  Employment rates for transition-age youth reflect those in the average population, with those with disabilities having lower employment rates than those without disabilities.  The gap in employment rates widens after high school for students with and without disabilities. U.S. Department of Labor Statistics, 2013.

 Unemployment rates are high for those with disabilities, especially for those with visual impairments.  Students with B/VI have the highest college attendance among students with disabilities but have difficulty finding employment (Newman, Wagner, Cameto, & Knokey, 2009).

Why might college students who are B/VI have difficulty finding paid employment after graduating?

 SSI program provides cash benefits to children with disabilities and families who meet strict income-based criteria.  SSI benefits totaling $8 billion were distributed to 1,136,000 youth ages in 2011 (SSA, 2012).  SSI may be a disincentive for obtaining employment among transition-age youth. The odds of paid employment among transition-age youth with disabilities is nearly double for those not receiving SSI (Berry, 2001).

Why might transition-age youth receiving SSI benefits be less likely to work than those not receiving SSI?

Both receipt of VR program services and individual characteristics play a role in positive employment outcomes among blind transition-age SSI beneficiaries.

Blind/VI SSI Ages Individual Characteristics Short-Term Long-Term Employment Services Received

 Services are provided to assist individuals in securing or maintaining employment.  Services include: 1. job placement assistance 2. college training and technology 3. vocational supports 4. adjustment counseling 5. remedial training Giesen & Cavenaugh, 2012

 Gender  Race  Education  Age of Onset  Family SES  Early Employment  Multiple/Severe Impairments

 Restricted-use data  Linked using SSN  RSA-911 annual files Rehabilitation Services Administration Case Service Report ( )  Master Earnings File (MEF) Later: longer term employment

 RSA-911 annual files were combined for and linked by SSN.  Kept only applicants from (allows for long term employment analyses) who applied and received VR services and were at the time they applied.  Identified based on SSI receipt and blindness.

 Descriptive information is currently available. Demographics Services received Employment at closure  Multivariate analyses on long term employment outcomes will be analyzed as the next step in this research.

 N = 2,170  Ages 16-25, M = 20.6  53.5% Men, 46.5% Women  Race 71% White 24% African American 5% Other races (Asian, Native Amer., Pac)  43% had a secondary impairment 12% were cognitive

Mean = 3 years (2 SD)

 Competitive Employment  Job Type at Closure  Primary Source of Income  Weekly earnings at application and for successful closures

 RSA Variable Employment without supports, self- employment, BEP, employment with supports ONLY includes cases with some employment outcome (does not include UNSUCCESSFUL closures). In this data, it excludes 55.8% of the data. “…Like evaluating the percentage of A’s in a course out of the number passing, rather than out of the number who completed the course (passing and failing).”(Giesen & Cavenaugh, 2012)

 More accurate-- Same as competitive employment, but expands non-competitive to include extended employment and those not employed after receiving services.

At ApplicationAt Closing Personal Income4.4%28.9% Family & Friends26.5%11.3% Public Support68.1%54.1% Other0.7%1.4%

At Application (ALL) (N = 2170) At Closing (Successful) (N=959) Range$ $0 – 2,080 Mean$13$254 Median$0$209 Std. Dev.$55$243

 Longitudinal analyses (LT employment)  Individual and services received  SSI vs. No SSI

Soosan Shahrokh, Ph.D. Office of Program Development and Research Social Security Administration

Jamie O’Mally,