The Effects of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 on Vocational Rehabilitation Engagement, Employment, and Work Incentive Use Among Supplemental Security Income Recipients Aged 14–24
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The Effects of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act of 2014 on Vocational Rehabilitation Engagement, Employment, and Work Incentive Use Among Supplemental Security Income Recipients Aged 14–24

Published: Nov 15, 2024
Publisher: Social Security Bulletin, vol. 84, no. 4
Human Services Disability Economic Well Being and Income Support Employment and Training Transition to Adulthood
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Associated Project

Retirement and Disability Research Consortium

Time frame: 2018-2029

Prepared for:

Social Security Administration

Authors

Isabel Musse

Todd Honeycutt

Jeffrey Hemmeter

Key Findings
  • After WIOA was enacted, young SSI recipients applied for VR services and signed IPEs at higher rates than before WIOA. Changes brought by WIOA, including offering pre-ETS to students with disabilities, were associated with increased applications for VR services.
  • VR engagement, employment, and use of SSI work incentives before 2017 (as well as before WIOA) were higher among young SSI recipients in states with the highest pre-ETS access ratios in the 2017–2021 period than among those in the states with the lowest pre-ETS access ratios.
  • Although earnings for young SSI recipients increased after WIOA, the observed change may relate not exclusively to WIOA but also to the stronger post-recession economic environment after 2010.
  • The evidence on the increased use of SSI work incentives among young SSI recipients is mixed, despite increased VR engagement and earnings.

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014 requires state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies to offer preemployment transition services (pre-ETS) to students with disabilities. Using data for 2010–2021 from the Social Security Administration and the Department of Education's Rehabilitation Services Administration, we show that youths aged 14–24 with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) payments were more likely to apply for VR services, sign individualized plans for employment (IPEs), and have higher annual earnings after WIOA enactment than before. In states that offered greater pre-ETS access to students, young SSI recipients were more likely to sign IPEs, have any earnings, and use an SSI work incentive (the Section 301 payment continuation) than in states providing less access. The access to pre-ETS that WIOA provided likely contributed to higher youth engagement with VR and may be associated with better employment outcomes.

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