Table 2 SSA demonstrations and employment programs implemented after 2000

Ticket to Work (TTW) (Stapleton et al. 2008)

Non-experimental evaluation initiated in three stages across the US from 2002 through 2004; researchers can use the variation in the phased rollout to evaluate impacts on service use, earnings, and benefit receipt.

Tickets (vouchers) to select from SSA-approved public and private providers. Providers can decide whether to accept tickets, and beneficiaries can work with providers to determine the types of services needed.

Tickets were mailed to most SSDI and SSI beneficiaries.

Impact estimates from early stages of the rollout for earnings and benefit amounts were too small to differentiate from historical variation in these outcomes.

Benefit Offset Pilot Demonstration (BOPD) (Weathers and Hemmeter 2011)

Random assignment demonstration implemented in 2005 in four demonstration states.

Intervention included a gradual income benefit offset of $2 to $1 for SSDI beneficiaries earning above SGA.

Included SSDI beneficiaries who did not receive SSI.

No aggregate employment or earnings impacts. BOPD had mixed effects on earnings depending on whether the volunteer earned above or below SGA.

Benefit payments (year 2)

Treatment: $11,339

Control: $10,757

Mental Health Treatment Study (MHTS) (Frey et al. 2011)

Random assignment demonstration in 23 projects in sites throughout the country implemented from 2006 through 2010.

Intervention included supported employment and systematic medication management services over a 24-month period.

Included 2,238 SSDI beneficiaries with a primary impairment of schizophrenia or affective disorder.

Percent employed (24 months)

Control: 40 percentTreatment: 61 percent

Average earnings (past month earnings averaged over eight interviews)

Control: $97

Treatment: $148

Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) (Fraker 2013)

Random assignment demonstration implemented between 2003 and 2008 in six US sites.

Intervention varied according to site but included services such as job coaching, employment supports, and benefits counseling.

Included approximately 880 youth ages 14 to 25 per site who receive SSA disability benefits or who are at risk of receiving such benefits after leaving school.

Percent employed ranged across sites from no impact to high impact (West Virginia)

Control: 23.6 percent

Treatment: 42.7 percent

Annualized earnings impacts ranged across site from no impact to:

Control: $1,035

Treatment: $1,559