Disability Research Consortium (DRC) Annual Meeting

Aug 05, 2015 - Aug 06, 2015
Washington, DC, and Online

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

summary | slides

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

summary | slides

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

slides

 

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

summary | slides

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

summary | slides

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

summary

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

summary | slides

Discussant: Jack Gettens, University of Massachusetts Medical School

slides

 

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

summary | slides

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

summary | slides

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

slides

Marlene Simon-Burroughs, Associate Division Director, Research to Practice Division, U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education Programs

slides

 

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

slides

Raun Lazier, Director of Policy, Office of Policy and Planning, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs

slides

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

slides

 

Panel Discussion on Workers at Older Ages with Disabilities

David Stapleton, Mathematica

Judith Cook, University of Illinois, Chicago

slides

Kathleen Mullen, RAND Corporation

slides

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

slides

 

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).