Phase II of the SGA Project: Development of the coordinated team approach intervention

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-285 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Foley ◽  
Kelly Haines ◽  
Linda Mock
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Vocational Rehabilitation ◽  
Capacity Building ◽  
Phase Ii ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Disability Insurance ◽  
Delphi Panel ◽  
Team Approach ◽  
Building Activities ◽  
Social Security Disability

BACKGROUND: The SGA Model Demonstration tested a coordinated team approach to determine whether a combination of vocational rehabilitation practices improve earnings outcomes of clients who also receive Social Security Disability Insurance. OBJECTIVE: This paper describes Phase II of the development of the intervention. METHODS: Researchers and policy fellows conducted site visits, interviewed personnel from 8 State Vocational Rehabilitation agencies and related partners, drafted a proposed intervention and submitted it for review to a Delphi panel. RESULTS: Delphi ratings supported the proposed intervention as likely leading to improved earnings outcomes and recommended that the SGA Project develop training, technical assistance, and capacity building activities to support implementation. CONCLUSION: The SGA Project invested 2 years developing an intervention by examining administrative data, consulting national experts, interviewing SVRAs directors and more than 100 practitioners across eight SVRAs. Pacing metrics were built into a team approach that included a vocational counselor, work incentives counselor, and a job development/job placement specialist with a business relations focus.

Who’s at risk of entering Social Security Disability Insurance? A comparison of application and allowance rates for groups of at-risk individuals

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 341-352 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kara Contreary ◽  
Todd Honeycutt
Keyword(s):  
At Risk ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Disability Insurance ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Evidence Base ◽  
Social Security Disability Insurance ◽  
Program Participation ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Social Security Disability ◽  
Employment Characteristics

BACKGROUND: The U.S. government has implemented several programs to reduce federal expenditures on Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) and help beneficiaries return to work, but the limited success of these efforts has raised interest in approaches that help workers with disabilities remain in the workforce. OBJECTIVE: This paper provides information on individuals at risk of applying for DI benefits to help build the evidence base for policies that provide workers with disabilities support to eliminate the need to apply for and receive DI benefits. METHODS: Using three panels of the Survey of Income and Program Participation matched to SSA administrative data, we describe the employment characteristics of seven groups at risk of applying for DI benefits before and after application, as well as the outcomes of their DI applications. RESULTS: New private disability insurance recipients were more likely to apply for and receive DI than members of other at-risk groups. However, individuals with high healthcare expenditures made up the largest proportion of successful applicants across the at-risk groups considered here. CONCLUSION: While it seems plausible that individuals within an at-risk group who are likely to apply for DI benefits can be identified and provided supports to help them maintain employment, focusing on a specific group to promote employment over DI benefits may have a limited effect on the DI program because applicants come from multiple groups.

Launching and supporting the SGA Project in Kentucky and Minnesota: Experiences and perspectives of the Senior Technical Assistance Team

2020 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 287-296 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Marrone ◽  
Russ Thelin ◽  
Linda Mock
Keyword(s):  
Vocational Rehabilitation ◽  
Staff Training ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Team Approach ◽  
Implementation Phase ◽  
Randomized Controlled ◽  
Rehabilitation Agency ◽  
Multiple Levels ◽  
Competing Priorities

BACKGROUND: The SGA Project tested a rapid coordinated team approach in Kentucky and Minnesota. OBJECTIVE: The authors are members of a five-person Senior Technical Assistance (TA) Team that supported Kentucky and Minnesota as host sites in a l randomized controlled trial. METHODS: The TA team participated in a planning and implementation phase over the course of three years. At closeout, the TA team interviewed SVRA personnel on participation, recommendations, and challenges. RESULTS: TA was adapted to the needs of each state vocational rehabilitation agency to identify solutions to capacity challenges, staff training, concerns about randomization, and team approaches. In both Kentucky and Minnesota, the dedicated TA team balanced the fidelity of the model with the need to align solutions with agency priorities, goals, and culture. CONCLUSIONS: Provision of intensive TA to support state vocational rehabilitation agencies to participate in a research intervention requires a focus on counselor skills and expectations, attention to competing priorities and interests of State VR Agencies, and an ability to build relationships at multiple levels of the agency.

Placement Decision Dilemmas and Solutions

1991 ◽  
Vol 85 (6) ◽  
pp. 268-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
A.G. Hopf
Keyword(s):  
Social Security ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Educational System ◽  
Supported Employment ◽  
Disability Insurance ◽  
Social Security Disability Insurance ◽  
Placement Decisions ◽  
Placement Decision ◽  
Social Security Disability

This paper presents the private agency's view of the service-delivery dilemma of funding versus placement decisions. It focuses on three program areas to highlight this dilemma: 1) Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) disincentives to competitive placement, 2) the private agency's role when the educational system falls short, and 3) supported employment.

Social Security Disability Application Experiences of People With Multiple Sclerosis in the United States

2007 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 131-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisa I. Iezzoni ◽  
Long Ngo ◽  
R. Philip Kinkel
Keyword(s):  
Multiple Sclerosis ◽  
Social Security ◽  
Disability Insurance ◽  
The United States ◽  
Legal Assistance ◽  
Income Support ◽  
Social Security Administration ◽  
The Social ◽  
Working Age ◽  
Social Security Disability

Studies suggest that more than half of working-age Americans with multiple sclerosis (MS) are unemployed because of their health. Many turn to public disability insurance for income support, applying through the Social Security Administration for either Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), which provides benefits to formerly employed people, or Supplemental Security Income (SSI), which supports impoverished individuals. Anecdotal reports suggest that many patients with MS face considerable problems when applying for federal disability benefits. To gather more systematic information about these experiences, we surveyed 983 working-age people with MS nationwide from May through November 2005. Most (60.2%) were unemployed; 36.4% had federal disability insurance, with 27.8% having SSDI alone. Almost one third (31.3%) had their initial SSDI application denied, and 31.9% used legal assistance when applying for this benefit. Although the time elapsed between SSDI application and approval was <12 months for 60.4% of applicants, 12–23 months passed for 19.8% and 24+ months for another 19.8%. Among people without SSDI, 15.4% had applied for this benefit at some time. Failure to meet disability criteria caused 60.3% of rejections, and inadequate documentation contributed to 32.1%. Neurologists must fully document the breadth of MS-related impairments in their patients' disability applications.

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