How Did the Expansion of Vocational Rehabilitation Services Affect Youth Receiving SSI?

This study examines how transition-aged youth with disabilities receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) may have been affected by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) and access to pre-employment transition services (pre-ETS).  Using data from the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the Rehabilitation Services Administration for 2010 to 2021, we show that after WIOA’s passage, more youth applied to vocational rehabilitation agencies, signed individualized plans for employment, and had higher annual earnings.  In states where students had more access to pre-ETS, youth receiving SSI had higher rates for each of the three outcomes (signed individualized plans for employment, had any earnings, and use of Section 301) than in states where students had less access.  The passage of WIOA and access to pre-ETS likely contributed to a higher involvement with VR and may be associated with better employment outcomes.

The paper found that:

• After WIOA’s passage, more youth with disabilities receiving SSI applied to vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies, signed an individualized plan for employment (IPE) that would allow them to access services beyond pre-ETS, and had higher annual earnings.
• Youth receiving SSI in states offering greater access to pre-ETS had higher annual earnings rates and earnings, as well as higher rates of Student Earned Income Exclusion (SEIE) use after WIOA’s passage.
• From 2017 to 2021, having greater availability of pre-ETS within a state (as evidenced by the pre-ETS access ratio) was associated with higher rates of signed IPEs, earnings, and use of Section 301.

The policy implications of the findings are:

• States have the potential to improve the experience of youth receiving SSI in terms of access to pre-ETS and application to (VR).  The engagement of this population with VR services varies widely across states; if all states had VR application rates similar to the highest-ranked states, an additional 22,000 youth would have applied for VR services.
• Increased pre-ETS access might encourage youth with disabilities to enter the labor market directly, as reflected in the increased earnings of youth receiving SSI after WIOA.  However, more evidence is needed to show that the findings are related to WIOA and not due to the stronger economic environment after 2010.
• Improved access to work incentives counseling may be useful for the population of youth receiving SSI, especially those who are working or have contact with VR agencies through pre-ETS or usual VR services.  This implication reflects the mixed evidence of how the use of work incentives changed with the passage of WIOA and access to pre-ETS.