Past Event

CSDP Forum: Getting a Job, Keeping a Job: Services and Supports that Promote Employment Among People with Disabilities

Sep 17, 2014 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m.
Washington, DC, and Online
The employment of people with disabilities has become a topic of growing national concern. Over the past three decades, these individuals have experienced consistently low employment rates and high poverty rates, along with increased reliance on public programs. The rapid growth of the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) program—and the projected exhaustion of the SSDI Trust Fund by 2016—have put a spotlight on programs and policies that promote employment for people with disabilities. Such programs and policies are important because employment is the only solution that can both reduce federal expenditures and improve the economic well-being of this vulnerable population. Our distinguished panel of speakers discussed:
  • Factors associated with achieving return-to-work milestones among SSDI beneficiaries
  • The effectiveness of services provided to SSDI beneficiaries by state vocational rehabilitation agencies
  • The services, supports, and accommodations that people with disabilities use to find and keep work, how often they pay out of pocket for these supports, and how much they pay
  • Lessons learned that can inform the design of programs and policies that foster employment for people with disabilities

The expert panel included:

  • Noelle Denny-Brown, Mathematica
  • Arif Mamun, Mathematica
  • John O’Neill, Kessler Foundation
  • David Wittenburg, Mathematica (discussant)

For more information, please contact disabilityforums@mathematica-mpr.com.

Additional Resources

“Social Security Benefits: Finding Alternatives to Benefit Receipt.” Special issue of the IZA Journal of Labor Policy.

Ben-Shalom, Yonatan, and Arif A. Mamun. “Return-to-Work Outcomes Among Social Security Disability Insurance Program Beneficiaries.” Working Paper,  Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., December 2013.

Denny-Brown, Noelle, Bonnie O’Day, and Stephanie McLeod. “Services and Supports People with Disabilities Need to Stay Employed.” Washington, DC: Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., May 30, 2013.