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People receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) who had a primary or secondary diagnosis of intellectual disability on their SSI cases, and who lived in the localities of the service providers, received letters inviting them to participate in the Transitional Employment Training program. In some cases, program sites also recruited potential participants in their communities. Intake workers screened people who responded to these letters or were recruited by the sites. Staff explained the program and the evaluation, assessed if the person was interested in and appropriate for the Transitional Employment Training program, and conducted informed consent. People were then randomly assigned to the intervention group, which received Transitional Employment Training program services, or the comparison condition.
Random assignment and enrollment in the program occurred from May 1985 to June 1986. Participants could receive one year of program services after enrollment, and the follow-up period covered six years after random assignment.
U.S. Social Security Administration
All sample members had an intellectual disability as their primary or secondary diagnosis in their SSI records. The sample was 59 percent male, 30 percent Black, 70 percent White or other race, and, on average, between 26 and 27 years old. On average, the people in the sample had been receiving SSI for six to seven years.
Children's Hospital in Boston, MA; University of Washington in Seattle, WA—serving Portland, OR, in cooperation with Portland Community College; The University of Wisconsin–Stout in Menomonie, WI; Association for Retarded Citizens-Monmouth Unit in New Jersey; Exceptional Children's Foundation in Los Angeles, CA; Goodwill Industries–Milwaukee area; AHEDD, Inc. in Lemoyne, PA; and The Center for the Rehabilitation and Training of the Disabled in Chicago, IL.
The program was developed as a demonstration and was not in existence before the study.
The Transitional Employment Training program provided job placement and training to SSI recipients, ages 18 to 40, who had intellectual disabilities as a primary or secondary diagnosis in their SSI records. After completion of intensive training with a job coach, services included job placement, including placement into potentially permanent paid employment; job coaching; and job retention services. At some sites, participants had access to case management and other services for people with intellectual disabilities, such as counseling or recreational activities. Participants received services for up to one year, and those in permanent placements at the end of the year were connected to job retention services through another service provider. In addition, the Social Security Administration granted waivers to participants to protect their SSI status during their time in the program.
Comparison group members did not have access to the Transitional Employment Training program services, but they were free to seek vocational or other services in the community.
None
Participants could receive services for up to one year; only employment retention services were available after one year.
U.S. Social Security Administration, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and matched funds from eight provider organizations
The program was implemented in eight sites across the United States: Boston, MA; Portland, OR; Menomonie, WI; Monmouth County, NJ; Los Angeles, CA; Milwaukee, WI; multiple counties in Pennsylvania and Delaware; and Chicago, IL. Local implementation agencies included universities, rehabilitation agencies, and nonprofit service providers.