State(s) / Location(s) Involved

Arkansas

California

Consortium: Utah, North Dakota, South Dakota, Montana, Colorado, Arizona

Maryland

New York

Wisconsin

Description

PROMISE is a joint project with the Departments of Education, Labor, and Health and Human Services to promote positive outcomes for children who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and their families.  The goal of PROMISE is to improve the provision and coordination of services to promote education and employment outcomes resulting in long-term reductions in the child’s reliance on SSI.  The Department of Education awarded cooperative agreements to States to implement PROMISE, and we will evaluate the project.  The Department of Labor and the Department of Health and Human Services will also provide support for the project.  The States have proposed and are implementing their own unique models, but all PROMISE project interventions include the following, at minimum:

  • Partnerships among State agencies responsible for programs that play a key role in providing services to the target populations;
  • Family outreach, recruitment, and involvement; and
  • Services including:
    • Case management;
    • Benefits counseling;
    • Career and work-based learning experiences; and
    • Parent/guardian training and information.

We convened a technical advisory panel in December 2011 to help prioritize the evaluation needs of this project.  We have posted reports from this panel below.

We have also posted the final evaluation design report for the project.

Related Links

ED’s PROMISE website
PROMISE TAP Report
PROMISE TAP Report Appendices
State and County counts of SSI children ages 10 through 17, December 2012
Evaluation Design Report
Maryland PROMISE Process Analysis
Wisconsin PROMISE Process Analysis

Status

On September 30, 2013, we awarded a contract to Mathematica Policy Research to conduct the national evaluation of the PROMISE projects.  The projects are funded by grants administered by the Department of Education and are designed to reduce childhood dependence on SSI.  The first States began enrolling youths and providing  services in the spring of 2014.  Project enrollment will continue through spring 2016, and services will continue through late 2018 (or into 2019 in some States).  In 2019 through 2021, Mathematica Policy Research will field surveys of participating families.  The final report is due in 2022.