Transcript Slide 1

WELCOME!
MD PROMISE:
It Pays to Work!
Tonya Chubb
Charmaine Thomas, Ph.D.
Dana Hackey, LSW
WayStation, Inc.
Kelli Crane, Ph.D., TransCen, Inc.
November 15, 2014
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What Is PROMISE?
•The PROMISE program was proposed by the
Administration to improve the education and career
outcomes of low income children with disabilities
receiving Supplemental Security Income.
•PROMISE advances the Administration’s goal of
fostering interagency collaboration at the Federal
and State levels to improve services and drive
innovation.
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The Problem
• Upon entering adulthood, a significant number of
child SSI recipients do not become independent,
self-sufficient tax paying members of the
community.
• Parents and families of many SSI recipients are not
self-sufficient.
Rangarajan, Fraker, Honeycutt, Mamun, Martinez, O’Day, & Wittenburg. (2009). The Social Security Administration’s Youth Transition Demonstration Projects: Evaluation Design Report.; Davies, Rupp, & Wittenburg.
(2009). A life-cycle perspective on the transition to adulthood among children receiving supplemental security income payments.; Fraker, & Rangarajan. (2009). The social security administration’s youth transition
demonstration projects.; Loprest, & Wittenburg. (2005). Choices, Challenges, and Options: Child SSI Recipients Preparing for the Transition to Adult Life. The Urban Institute.
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The Problem
The child SSI recipients who become adult SSI
recipients continue to face many challenges:
– Low educational attainment and employment rates.
– Low postsecondary and/or vocational rehabilitation
enrollment rates.
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The Problem
Parents and other family members of child SSI
recipients also face many challenges, and are in need
of support services:
– One-third of the parents of child SSI recipients have less
than a high school education; almost half of these
children live in a household with at least one other
person with a disability.
– Child SSI recipients and their families lack information
about various work incentives available to them to help
pursue activities that would increase self-sufficiency.
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The Problem
The structure of services to help child SSI recipients
transition to postsecondary education and competitive
employment may also be a barrier to achieving selfsufficiency and independence:
–Not all child SSI recipients will receive transition services as
an adult because many services, including vocational
rehabilitation (VR) and mental health services, are not
entitlements.
–There are also concerns related to gaps (e.g., differing
eligibility requirements and goals) in the coordination of
transition services provided by Federal, State, and local
governments.
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What We Know
• The current transition system has not been effective in
supporting SSI recipients to become self-sufficient.
• However, certain practices can lead to positive
outcomes:
–Case management;
–Benefits counseling;
–Career and work-based learning experiences; and
–Parent training and information.
• Each of these practices on their own has some positive
effect, but there is no proven “package” of practices that
has led to the desired outcomes.
.
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Why PROMISE?
Each State is unique:
– States are in the best position to incubate innovation.
– Given fiscal support, States will “braid” these known
effective practices—along with other practices—to meet
their unique needs.
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PROMISE Approach
Desired outcomes for children and their families
include:
– Increased educational attainment;
– Improved rates of employment wages/earnings and job
retention;
– Increased total household income; and
– Long-term reduction in SSI payments.
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What We Know
• The most effective public policy is based on
evidence.
• Randomized Control Trials are the highest standard
for producing evidence.
• Model Demonstration Programs allow testing
approaches in real-world settings.
National Scope of PROMISE
• Sponsored by Four Federal Agencies
– Department of Education
– Social Security Administration
– Health and Human Services
– Department of Labor
• Six Grantees
– New York, California, Wisconsin, Arkansas, Consortium
of 6 states (ND, MT, AZ, CO, NV, UT), Maryland
Purpose
• To improve the education and employment
outcomes of child Supplemental Security Income
(SSI) recipients and their families
• Target group: 14 – 16 year olds
The Basics of the Maryland Award
• Five year project to MD Department of Disabilities
• Partners:
– MD Department of Disabilities plus 8 other state
agencies
– TransCen, Inc.
– Way Station, Inc.
PROMISE Goals
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Increase employment of youth on SSI
Increase school completion rates
Increase enrollment in post-secondary education
Increase individual and family income
Decrease public income support
How Will We Do This?
• Recruit 2,000 eligible youth and their families
– 1,000 receive intervention
– 1,000 receive what is ordinarily available
Features of the Intervention
• Assertive case management for entire family
• Career and work based experiences, including at
least one paid job for youth
• Employment support for other family members
• Benefits counseling and financial literacy services
Features of the Intervention
• Intervention Teams:
– Case Manager
– Family Employment Specialist
– School Personnel
– Benefits Counselor
Eyes on the Prize!
• How does everything we do:
– Lead to work experiences and jobs for youth?
– Lead to career preparation and jobs for family
members?
Department of Disabilities Role
• Overall project direction and management
• Information and data management
• Fiscal management
TransCen’s Role
1. Outreach and Recruitment
2. Technical Assistance and Training
3. Fidelity Monitoring
4. Formative Evaluation
Way Station’s Role
• Intervention delivery
– Case Managers
– Family Employment Specialists
• Data collection and Management Information
System
Step 1: Conduct recruitment of and outreach efforts to eligible
youth
Step 2: Youth and parents/guardians complete consent form in its
entirety and program staff review for completeness
Step 3: Program staff enter data into RAS and
youth are randomly assigned to study groups
Step 4: Program staff notify youth of group assignment and
associated services
Contact
MD PROMISE Recruitment Office
Phone: 888.232.8554
Email: [email protected]
Website: www.mdpromise.org
Progress to Date
• Currently 20% of recruitment target
• X paid jobs
• X connect to benefits counselors
Success Stories