Other Research & Analysis

The goal of this program is to distribute small stipends ($10,000) to graduate students for innovative research relevant to rehabilitation, work, and the disability program. Policy Research, Inc. publishes a request for applications and proposals for a new cohort of student researchers each December. Applications are due on March 1 of each year.

A Study to collect information about the service, medical, and employment needs of working-age adults exiting SSA disability programs due to medical improvement. Also, a memo on motivational interviewing to identify and address employment challenges among people with disabilities.

The QDD process uses a computer-based predictive model to screen initial applications to identify cases where a favorable disability determination is highly likely and medical evidence is readily available.

This evaluation will incorporate consumer and provider experiences with the TTW programs mentioned above and will support Executive Order 13985, Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government. SSA awarded a contract to Mathematica to evaluate the TTW programs and providers to determine inadequacies and identify opportunities for improvements.

In 2009, SSA commissioned a report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of The National Academies on the criteria that SSA uses to evaluate disability in persons with cardiovascular disorders.  The IOM published the report, Cardiovascular Disability: Updating the Social Security Listings, in 2010. The report recommended ways to improve the utility of the cardiovascular listings by improving the sensitivity and specificity of listing criteria for evaluating cardiovascular disorders.

A CE is a physical or mental examination performed by a treating source or other medical source when additional information is needed to make a disability determination. The CE Study featured medical consultants (MC) with administrative assistance from disability examiners reviewing initial and hearings level CEs, focusing on the CE processes, content, completeness, and quality. The CE Baseline Study analyzed the quality of CEs used in the disability determination; assessed if CEs complied with SSA regulations; and established a baseline for CE quality.

The goal of this program was to improve the disability determination process by making small stipends ($10,000) available to graduate students for innovative research relevant to the disability program to allow graduate-level students to conduct supervised independent research on improving disability determination processes. The DDP program ended in August 2018, after the last cohort of students completed their projects. The DDP was replaced by the ARDRAW Small Grant Program.

The objective of the research was to help SSA determine whether there are feasible alternatives to the Milestone/Outcome and Outcome payment systems that SSA currently uses to pay the Employment Networks (ENs) that serve beneficiaries in the Ticket to Work (TTW) program.  Through this research, SSA sought recommendations for how payments to ENs could be structured, and how these payment structures, and the change in benefit rules, would affect the costs and benefits of TTW.

In 2009, SSA commissioned a report from the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of The National Academies on the criteria that SSA uses to evaluate disability in persons with HIV infection. The IOM published the report, HIV and Disability: Updating the Social Security Listings, in 2010. The report recommended ways to improve the utility of the HIV infection listings by improving the sensitivity and specificity of listing criteria for evaluating HIV infection.

The PMU project offered additional pediatric medical expertise to assist State and Federal adjudicators in their development and review of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) child disability cases

The Social Security Administration (SSA) contracted with Abt Associates to perform a research study to investigate if there is unintended inequity within the Quick Disability Determinations (QDD) process. QDD is an SSA fast-track process that uses predictive modeling to screen initial applications to identify cases where a favorable disability determination is highly likely and medical evidence is readily available.

This is a report about community-based services and supports available for youth ages 14 to 25 with disabilities. In this age range, youth transition from being legal dependents to legal adults. This transition can be daunting because of the loss of federally guaranteed education and supports through the public school system and challenges in obtaining and maintaining employment. The report synthesizes the available evidence regarding the impact of community-based services on employment for youth with disabilities.

The purpose of this research project was to gather key information from researchers to identify the evidence and recommendations to design regulatory and policy changes to support employment for youth with disabilities. Studies of SSI youth suggest significant gaps in the awareness and use of services currently available to them. For this youth population, educational attainment, work, and earnings are at low levels throughout their transition years into adulthood.

To help us understand the relationship between the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and SSI populations better, we worked with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to launch the TANF-SSI Disability Transition Project (TSDTP). The ACF, TANF agencies, and low-income individuals with disabilities and their families all benefit from effective and efficient services — moving toward employment when possible, making informed decisions about applying for SSI, receiving SSI as quickly as possible, and reducing administrative costs.

Ticket to Work Evaluation

See the Ticket to Work (TTW) evaluation reports for policy briefs summarizing key findings from the reports, and the Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) evaluation reports (which we examined as part of the Ticket to Work evaluation).  For information on TTW, visit The Work Site.

We initially conducted the National Beneficiary Survey (NBS) as part of the Ticket to Work evaluation. For more information on the NBS, please continue to the NBS page.

This research aimed to understand the experiences and needs of potential and actual SSA disability benefit recipients. Additionally, this work aimed to develop a conceptual model to frame internal stakeholders’ future data generation about equitable Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) service delivery.

SSA contracted with SSDC Corporation to convene an expert panel of vocational and occupational medical experts and disability policy and program experts to study the agency’s use of vocational and occupational medical expertise throughout the disability determination process, what changes can be made to improve case adjudication, and what qualifications we should require.

The Social Security Administration (SSA) asked Abt Associates to develop evidence-based recommendations for potential changes that SSA might consider for the Work Incentive Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program service model. The intent of the recommendations is to help SSA achieve its goals of serving people who receive SSI or SSDI with information about SSA work incentives and the effects of work on benefits within funding limitations while offering a service model that is reasonable and attractive to potential applicants for WIPA cooperative agreements.