Disability Research Consortium (DRC) Annual Meeting
Millions of people with disabilities rely on a system of government programs designed to help them supplement their income and meet the challenges of getting an education, finding employment, and maintaining good health. But the cost and complexity of the U.S. system present their own major challenges, both for policymakers who seek to meet rising needs with limited resources and for beneficiaries who experience a fragmented provision of services and poor health and economic outcomes. The Disability Research Consortium (DRC) is building the evidence base on this issue to improve the national disability support system, improve the lives of people with disabilities, and reduce government spending in the long term.
This two-day conference highlighted the DRC's latest research findings and their implications for the future of state and federal disability policies and programs. Representatives of federal agencies that administer programs for people with disabilities, including the Social Security Administration, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Departments of Labor, Education, and Veterans Affairs also shared their insights.
Day 1 – August 5, 2015 (*Presenter)
Welcoming Remarks
David Stapleton, Mathematica, and Virginia Reno, Deputy Commissioner of Retirement and Disability Policy, Social Security Administration
Panel 1: Return to Work and Early Intervention
Mark Cullen*, Stanford University School of Medicine; Amal Harrati*, Stanford University; James Hill, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Sepideh Modrek, Stanford University School of Medicine
Discussant: David Wittenburg, Mathematica
Medical Care, Work, and Income Before Disability Application
David Cutler*, Harvard University and NBER; Ellen Meara, Dartmouth College and NBER; Wilson Powell, Dartmouth College
Discussant: David Autor, MIT and NBER
Transitions from Workers' Compensation and State Disability Insurance to Social Security Disability Insurance: Predictive Characteristics and Options for Early Intervention
Frank Neuhauser, University of California, Berkeley; Yonatan Ben-Shalom*, Mathematica; David Stapleton, Mathematica
Discussant: Jennifer Christian, Webility Corporation
Panel 2: Health and Health-Related Supports
The Effect of Disability Insurance on Beneficiaries’ Mortality
Alexander Gelber, University of California, Berkeley; Timothy Moore, George Washington University; Alexander Strand*, Social Security Administration
summary
Discussant: Robert Moffitt, Johns Hopkins University
Unmet Need for Workplace Accommodation
Nicole Maestas, Harvard University and RAND Corporation; Kathleen J. Mullen*, RAND Corporation
Discussant: Harold Pollack, University of Chicago
Estimating the Cost and Utilization of Wrap-Around Coverage for Employed and Potentially Employed People with Disabilities
Alexis Henry*, Center for Health Policy and Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School; Jack Gettens, Center for Health Policy and Research, University of Massachusetts Medical School; Denise Hoffman, Mathematica
Discussant: Henry Claypool, Claypool Consulting
Lunch Speakers
Alan Cohen, Social Security Advisory Board Member and Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress; and Jagadeesh Gokhale, Social Security Advisory Board Member and Director of Special Projects, Penn Wharton Public Policy Initiative
Panel 3: Household Composition and Income
Characteristics of SSI and SSDI Beneficiaries Who Are Parents
Gina Livermore*, Mathematica; Maura Bardos, University of Michigan
Discussant: Jeffrey Hemmeter, Social Security Administration
Household Composition, Earned Income Tax Credit Benefits, and Explaining Spatial Variation in Disability Benefit Claiming
Day Manoli*, University of Texas, Austin; Shanthi Ramnath, U.S. Department of the Treasury
Discussant: Robert Moffitt, Johns Hopkins University
Disability Receipt, Consumption Insurance, and Family Labor Supply
David Autor*, MIT and NBER; Andreas Kostol, University of Bergen and Statistics Norway; Magne Mogstad, University of Chicago, Statistics Norway, and NBER
Discussant: Philip Armour, RAND Corporation
Panel 4: Beneficiary Work and Program Participation
State Variation in Benefit Receipt and Work Outcomes for SSI Child Recipients after the Age 18 Redetermination
David Mann*, Mathematica; David Wittenburg, Mathematica; Jeffrey Hemmeter, Social Security Administration
Discussant: Jack Gettens, University of Massachusetts Medical School
Nonmarket Work among Working-Age Disability Beneficiaries: Evidence from the American Time Use Survey
Carrie Shandra*, Department of Sociology/Program in Public Health, State University of New York at Stony Brook
Discussant: John Kregel, Virginia Commonwealth University
Social Security Administration Payments to State Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) Agencies for Beneficiaries Who Work: Evidence from Linked Administrative Data
Jody Schimmel Hyde*, Mathematica; Paul O’Leary, Social Security Administration
Discussant: James Smith, Vermont Division of Vocational Rehabilitation
Day 2 – August 6, 2015
Panel Discussion with the Social Security Administration and the Departments of Education and Health and Human Services
David Weaver, Associate Commissioner of the Office of Research, Demonstration and Employment Support, Social Security Administration
Jamie Kendall, Acting Director, Independent Living, Administration for Community Living, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Marlene Simon-Burroughs, Associate Division Director, Research to Practice Division, U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs
Panel Discussion with the Departments of Labor, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services
Jennifer Sheehy, Acting Assistant Secretary, Office of Disability Employment Policy, U.S. Department of Labor
Raun Lazier, Director of Policy, Office of Policy and Planning, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
Ruth Katz, Deputy to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Disability, Aging and Long-Term Care Policy, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Lunch Speaker
Doug Walker, Deputy Commissioner, Office of Communications, Social Security Administration
Panel Discussion on Workers at Older Ages with Disabilities
David Stapleton, Mathematica
Judith Cook, University of Illinois, Chicago
Kathleen Mullen, RAND Corporation
Lauren Hersch Nicholas, Johns Hopkins University
Panel Discussion on the Labor Market and People with Disabilities
David Neumark, University of California, Irvine
David Autor, MIT and NBER
Jeff Strohl, Georgetown University
Closing Remarks
David Stapleton, Mathematica
The Mathematica Center for Studying Disability Policy (CSDP) and NBER Disability Research Center gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Social Security Administration (SSA) for this meeting. The findings and conclusions are solely those of the authors and do not represent the views of SSA, any agency of the federal government, the NBER Retirement Research Center or Mathematica Center for Studying Disability Policy (CSDP).
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