Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): Early Impacts from a Multi-Site Random Assignment Evaluation

PROMISE was a federal initiative to support youth receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) during the transition to adulthood. This article presents estimates of the impacts of the six PROMISE projects on youth and family outcomes as of 18 months after enrolling in PROMISE. The study uses a randomized controlled trial design. The six PROMISE projects each enrolled a minimum of 2,000 treatment and control youth (and their parents) residing in their service areas who were ages 14 through 16 and receiving SSI. We estimated impacts on outcomes related to youth and family service use, school enrollment, training, employment, earnings, and federal disability program participation using survey and administrative data. Each project succeeded in connecting more youth to transition services and more families to support services during the 18 months after enrollment. Four projects increased the likelihood that youth applied for state vocational rehabilitation services. None had a positive impact on youth school enrollment, but all had positive impacts on youth’s receipt of job-related training and employment. Four projects increased youth’s earnings and total income but only one reduced youth’s federal disability program payments. One project increased parents’ receipt of education and training, but none affected parents’ employment, earnings, or income. The positive short-term impacts of PROMISE on youth’s use of transition services, youth employment, and families’ use of services are consistent with the program logic model and suggest there might be potential for some longer-term favorable impacts on youth and family outcomes.