Employment Programs

The Federal Partners in Transition, an interagency workgroup, has published a strategy report to ensure that federal programs and resources effectively support American young adults with disabilities in reaching their goals of independence. This report identifies five outcome goals to operate across agency boundaries in an effort to enhance coordination and improve compatible policies among the multiple federal programs that support transitioning youth with disabilities and their families.

This report explores a range of issues relating to skills training and education for older workers, including the challenges older workers face when deciding whether to enroll in education and training programs, and, if so, how to choose a program and pay for it. In its key findings, the report states that while various factors influence older job seekers’ success in the labor market, many older unemployed workers lack the skills that are currently in demand.

This article, published in the Social Security Bulletin, presents long-term cumulative statistics on the extent to which individuals who began receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) disability payments from 1996 through 2006 found work and used SSI work incentives.The article also provides analysis on initiatives affecting SSI, including the Ticket to Work program and the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996.

This letter released by the Department of Labor states the 2015 Federal Poverty Guidelines for Senior Community Service Employment Program Grants.

The Red Book serves as a general reference source about the employment-related provisions of Social Security Disability Insurance and the Supplemental Security Income Programs for educators, advocates, rehabilitation professionals, and counselors who serve people with disabilities.The book is a guide to Work Incentives and other disability-related policies and programs, like Ticket to Work.

The U.S. recession of the late 2000s, which began in December 2007 and officially ended in June 2009, had profound effects on the economy. This data brief describes how the employment, work expectations, and economic well-being of Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries changed following the Great Recession. Authors examined changes in beneficiary employment and household income over this period compared with nonbeneficiaries.

Recent interest among policymakers in helping Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries return to work has increased the desire for knowledge about the employment activities of people with disabilities before they apply for benefits. This brief summarizes results from a working paper, conducted through the Social Security Administration's Disability Research Consortium, on the experiences of SSDI applicants before they apply for SSDI.

To answer questions on what services and barriers people with psychiatric disorders face, the authors conducted two targeted literature reviews: (1) employment programs and outcomes for people with psychiatric disorders; and (2) employment programs for people with other disabilities. The authors also examined literature and policy documents that outlined funding options for employment services for people with psychiatric disorders and other disabilities.

In this issue brief, the authors explore the provisions of the Affordable Care Act that may enable Americans with mental illness to obtain the mental health treatment and support services they need to continue working or get back to work.

This report shares findings from an investigation with 400 people with disabilities who have experienced poverty. Their experiences identified six major factors that limit the ability of people with disabilities to gain employment and contribute to a disproportionate number living in poverty.