Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of the Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) project on public benefits receipt, employment, and earnings outcomes. This profile focuses on the study conducted in Larimer, El Paso, Pueblo, and Boulder counties in Colorado. The authors investigated similar research questions for other sites, the profiles of which can be found here:
- The study was a randomized controlled trial that assigned eligible youth to the treatment or control group. The primary data sources were a baseline survey and administrative data sets from governmental agencies. The author used a series of statistical tests to compare differences in outcomes between treatment and control group members.
- The study found that YTD program participants had significantly higher rates of employment than the control participants two years after being random assignment.
- This study receives a high evidence rating. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) project, and not to other factors.
Intervention Examined
The Youth Transition Demonstration
Features of the Intervention
The Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) aimed to help youth with disabilities manage their transitions to adulthood and identify interventions to improve educational and vocational outcomes for youths receiving or potentially qualifying for Social Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) benefits. The Social Security Administration (SSA) implemented the YTD at several sites in the United States.
Colorado Youth Work Incentive Network of Supports (WINS) operated one YTD program. The program served youth between the ages of 14 and 25, who were receiving SSI or DI benefit payments, and lived in in Larimer, El Paso, Pueblo, and Boulder counties in Colorado. The Colorado Youth WINS YTD program provided youth with case management, disability program navigation, and benefits counseling services. Youth also participated in creating person-centered plans to identify employment, benefit, and educational goals or needs. Career counselors involved family members in youth services and provided vocational assessments and job placement services. Youth were eligible for these services for 18 months.
Features of the Study
The study was a randomized controlled trial. Between August 2006 and March 2008, 842 youth were recruited for the study. Of the eligible youth, 462 were randomly assigned to the treatment group and 380 were randomly assigned to the control group. The treatment group received the full Colorado Youth WINS YTD program for the duration of 18 months. They were also eligible for certain waivers allowing them to keep more of their earnings without affecting their SSI payments. Conversely, youth in the control group were subject to standard SSA earnings rules and received standard employment services that would normally be available to SSI or DI recipients. Study participants were predominantly male (57%), age 18 or older (76%), with a primary disability of other mental disorder (33%) or intellectual disability (31%). The primary data sources were a baseline survey on the background characteristics of youth, SSA Master Earnings File for W-2 derived earnings, Supplemental Security Record and Master Beneficiary Record for program participation histories for SSI and DI recipients, and the Numerical Identification System file for dates of death. The author used a series of statistical tests to compare differences in outcomes between treatment and control group members.
Findings
Public Benefits Receipt
- The study did not find any significant differences in SSI or DI program participation between the treatment and control groups.
- The study found that neither treatment nor control group youth earnings exceeded the substantial gainful activity (SGA) limit that would result in a reduction of benefit receipt.
- The study did not find any significant differences in average SSA program payments between the treatment and control groups 24 months after random assignment.
Employment
- The study found that youth in the treatment group had higher rates of employment than youth in the control group 24 months after random assignment.
Earnings and Wages
- When comparing annual earnings among all participants, the study did not find any significant differences in the dollar amount earned by youth in the treatment group when compared to the control group.
- When comparing annual earnings among only participants with earnings, the study did not find any significant differences in the dollar amount earned by youth in the treatment group when compared to the control group.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
The study reports a less stringent statistical significance level for some findings, considering p-values of less than 0.10 to be significant, though it is standard practice to consider statistical significance if the p-value is less than 0.05. Only results that demonstrate a p-value of less than 0.05 are considered statistically significant in this profile.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is high, because it is based on a well implemented randomized controlled trial. This means we are confident that the estimated effects are attributable to the Youth Transition Demonstration project, and not to other factors.