Employment Among Transition-Age SSI Beneficiaries with Blindness

Jamie O’Mally, Ph.D.

Overview

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

Project Funding

Social Security Administration• Disability Research Consortium• Emerging Investigator Award

Purpose• Investigate individual and service factors that

influence employment outcomes for transition-age Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients who are blind or visually impaired.

Significance

WHY?

SSI

BLINDAGE

Disparities in Employment

With Disabilities

Without Disabilities

Ages 16-19 13.5% 27%

Ages 20-24 27.8% 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.

Employment Among B/VI

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).

Reasons?

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

SSI Beneficiaries

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 13-25 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).

Reasons?

Why might transition-age youth receiving SSI benefits be less likely to

work than those not receiving SSI?

Hypothesis

Both receipt of VR program services and individual characteristics play a role in

positive employment outcomes among blind transition-age SSI beneficiaries.

Design

Blind/VI

SSI

Ages 16-24

Individual Characteristics

Short-Term

Long-Term

EmploymentServices Received

The Role of VR 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

Individual Characteristics

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

Data Sources

Restricted-use data Linked using SSN RSA-911 annual files

• Rehabilitation Services Administration Case Service Report (2002-2011)

Master Earnings File (MEF) • Later: longer term employment

Case Selection & Procedure RSA-911 annual files were combined for

2002-2011 and linked by SSN. Kept only applicants from 2002-2006

(allows for long term employment analyses) who applied and received VR services and were 16-25 at the time they applied.

Identified based on SSI receipt and blindness.

Current Progress 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.

Demographics 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

Education

Length of Services

Mean = 3 years (2 SD)

Services Received

Employment Outcomes Competitive Employment Job Type at Closure Primary Source of Income Weekly earnings at application and

for successful closures

Competitive Employment 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)

Objective Competitive Employment More accurate-- Same as competitive

employment, but expands non-competitive to include extended employment and those not employed after receiving services.

Job Type at Closure

Primary Source of Income

At Application At Closing

Personal Income 4.4% 28.9%

Family & Friends 26.5% 11.3%

Public Support 68.1% 54.1%

Other 0.7% 1.4%

Weekly Earnings

At Application(ALL)

(N = 2170)

At Closing(Successful)

(N=959)

Range $0 - 800 $0 – 2,080

Mean $13 $254

Median $0 $209

Std. Dev. $55 $243

Future Analyses

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

Special Thanks

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

Social Security Administration

Contact Info

Jamie O’Mally, 662-325-2001

nrtc2@colled.msstate.edu

http://blind.msstate.edu