BACKGROUND: State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies play a critical role in helping transition-age youth with disabilities attain their vocational goals, though there is insufficient knowledge about how agencies serve this population. OBJECTIVE: The study examines the extent to which states' transition-age youth with disabilities apply for VR services, receive services, and are employed at case closure. METHODS: The analysis included five ratios for each state VR agency reflecting their involvement with transition-age youth at distinct stages, using data from the RSA-911 Case Service Report and other sources to identify a cohort of individuals who applied between 2004 and 2006. RESULTS: The percentage of a state's transition-age youth population that applied for VR services ranged from 4 to 14 percent, the percentage of applicants who received VR services ranged from 31 to 82 percent, and the percentage of youth who received services and closed with an employment outcome ranged from 40 to 70 percent. Several agency-and state-level factors were correlated with these ratios. CONCLUSIONS: The wide variation in transition statistics suggests that policymakers could improve VR services for transitionage youth by developing specific standards and guidelines for VR agencies serving this population, though this study points out several limitations and challenges with such an approach.
This paper examines employment-focused interventions within the US disability system. Our review illustrates the challenges of developing and implementing these types of initiatives, despite substantial policy interest. Our findings indicate that none of the demonstrations we reviewed have the potential to lead to substantial caseload reductions that could reverse program growth. However, they can inform future designs, particularly the importance of customizing supports to very well-defined target populations.JEL code: D04
People with disabilities are disproportionately represented among the poorest of the poor in developing countries. An increasingly common method of combating poverty in developing countries, microlending, has been largely unavailable to those with disabilities. This paper reports on one of the first programs in India to provide the disabled access to microlending. I evaluate the impact of this program by comparing people with disabilities to their non-disabled siblings in treatment and control villages. The estimates suggest that the program led to increased borrowing and educational attainment while having no impact on labor market participation among the disabled.
State vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies are well positioned to assist youth aged 16 to 24 years with disabilities who are transitioning from school to work. Using Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA)-911 records matched to Social Security Administration (SSA) administrative records, this article adds to the knowledge about state VR agency provision of services to youth with disabilities and differences in outcomes based on SSA benefit receipt status. Although agencies' statistics varied widely, almost one in six SSA beneficiaries who sought VR services had at least 1 month of benefit suspension due to work within 48 months of their VR applications, and about one in 10 VR applicants without SSA benefits at the time of their VR application received SSA benefits within 48 months. SSA beneficiaries received services from VR agencies at the same level as non-SSA beneficiaries, but the levels at which they were employed when they closed from services were lower. The results have two main policy implications. First, the level of resources to which agencies have access may be important in influencing the outcomes we measured. Second, agency differences in the proportion of SSA beneficiaries who eventually had benefit suspension due to work point to the potential for additional gains by agencies in this area.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.