Issues: Health & Disability

Disability

MDRC researchers are testing programs that aim to improve health and employment outcomes for recent Social Security Disability Insurance recipients; young people receiving disability benefits or at risk of receiving them; and TANF recipients, high-needs Medicaid recipients, and returning veterans with disabilities.

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Brief

BEES Site Profile: Breaking Barriers, San Diego, CA

The Breaking Barriers program, based in San Diego, provided employment services to lower-income individuals with disabilities. MDRC carried out a random assignment evaluation of the program. As part of the Building Evidence on Employment Strategies for Low-income Families project, MDRC is collecting additional administrative records to extend the original evaluation.

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Report

Breaking Barriers

Breaking Barriers was a San Diego-based program that provided employment services to low-income individuals with a range of disabilities or other health conditions. Preliminary analyses based on a survey found that the program did not have an impact on the primary outcomes measured — employment, length of employment, and total earnings — during a 15-month follow-up period.

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Key Documents
Report

The Accelerated Benefits Demonstration and Evaluation Project

Impacts on Health and Employment at Twelve Months

This demonstration tested the effects of earlier access to health care coverage and related services for new Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries. After one year, the program increased health care use, reduced reported unmet medical needs, and modestly improved health and functioning. It also increased job prep and search activities but did not raise employment levels.

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Issue Focus

What Do We Know About the Intersection of Welfare and Disability Programs?

Both Temporary Assistance for Needy Families and Supplemental Security Income serve low-income individuals with disabilities. Yet the programs’ differences in approach and structure pose challenges to coordinating services. The Administration for Children and Families and the Social Security Administration contracted with MDRC and its partners to conduct the TANF/SSI Disability Transition Project. Five publications from the project have just been released.

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Report

The TANF/SSI Disability Transition Project

Innovative Strategies for Serving TANF Recipients with Disabilities

Both Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) may serve low-income individuals with disabilities. Yet the two programs’ differences in approach and structure pose challenges to coordinating services. This report describes the implementation and findings of three promising pilot interventions intended to address that problem.

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