Young people with disabilities, particularly those who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI), face unique challenges as they transition into adulthood. Even with targeted support services, they often fall behind their peers in their educational and economic attainment as adults.
David Wittenburg
Senior Fellow
Expertise
- Impacts of public policy on the employment and income of people with disabilities
- Use of administrative and survey data for research on working-age people with disabilities
Focus Areas
- Disability
- Transition to Adulthood
- Economic Well Being and Income Support
- Statistics and Measurements
- Health
About David
David Wittenburg is an expert in interventions to promote employment for people with disabilities, particularly interventions that serve youth as they transition into adulthood. He has two decades of experience in evaluation design and program evaluation for several federal agencies.
Wittenburg is a senior fellow. He recently worked in senior leadership roles on four Social Security Administration demonstration projects, helping to design and implement experimental and nonexperimental approaches to assess the efficacy of return-to-work interventions for people with disabilities.
Wittenburg, who joined Mathematica in 2005, presents his findings to diverse research and policy audiences, including in congressional testimony, conference presentations, reports, and journal publications. He edited two special journal volumes on employment topics related to people with disabilities for the IZA Journal of Labor Policy and the Journal of Disability Policy Studies. He has also presented testimony to Congress. He is currently a standing member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Standing Committee of Medical and Vocational Experts for the Social Security Administration’s Disability Programs. He is also a member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and formerly a senior associate at the Urban Institute and the Lewin Group. He holds a Ph.D. in economics from Syracuse University.
Key Projects
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Accelerated Benefits DemonstrationThis demonstration tested the efficacy of providing immediate medical benefits to Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries. Under current law, these beneficiaries must wait 24 months before becoming eligible for Medicare. During this time, a beneficiary's health may deteriorate for a number...
Latest News
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New Interactive Maps Help Inform Disability-Inclusive Disaster PlanningNew interactive maps show how many people with disabilities are living in areas at higher risk of natural disasters to help aid more disability-inclusive disaster planning and responses at the local level.
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Mathematica Shares Its Expertise on Youth Transitions in New Book on Lessons from Social Security Administration Demonstration ProjectsMathematica researchers authored a chapter on youth transition in a new book that summarizes 30 years of research on the Social Security Administration’s tests of new policies and programs.
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Alternatives to Benefit ReceiptA special issue of the IZA Journal of Labor Policy, compiled and co-edited by Gina Livermore, David Neumark, and David Wittenburg, explores the evolution of disability policy in the U.S., the factors contributing to growth in the disability rolls, and the potential for early interventions and employment...