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This study used data from the Project NetWork Demonstration to estimate impacts of Project NetWork waivers for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) applicants. Eight sites were selected for the demonstration. Eligible participants were people who applied to SSI in these sites. Case managers explained the demonstration to SSI applicants and offered them the opportunity to volunteer to participate. Those that volunteered had access to the Project NetWork waivers and were randomly assigned to either a study group that received case management services or a study group not eligible to receive case management services. The intervention group for this study included SSI applicants who were solicited to participate in the demonstration at application, who volunteered to participate, and who were randomly assigned to the demonstration study group not eligible to receive Project NetWork case management services. The comparison group included people who applied for SSI before solicitation for participation in the demonstration began and who were subsequently solicited to participate in the demonstration as ongoing SSI recipients and volunteered to participate. Earnings measured after the implementation of the waivers for the intervention group were compared to earnings measured before the implementation of the waivers for the comparison group. A separate study used a randomized controlled trial to test the effectiveness of the Project NetWork case management services.
The first site began recruitment in June 1992, and the remaining sites began in early 1993. The follow-up period extends through 1996.
U.S. Social Security Administration
Project NetWork Waivers adjusted Social Security Administration SSI program rules to provide additional financial incentives to work. Under normal SSI program rules, earnings more than $500 per month would trigger a special disability or blindness review, which could result in a determination that the recipient was no longer disabled and termination of benefits. Under the Project NetWork Waivers, earnings more than $500 per month did not trigger this review, although earnings were still counted in determining SSI benefit amounts. For individuals in the intervention group, a Project NetWork waiver could be activated at any point in the 24 months after volunteering to participate in the intervention. The waivers were activated in the first month in which the person’s earnings exceeded $200 or self-employment exceeded 40 hours. Once activated, the waivers stayed in effect for 12 months.
Comparison group members did not have access to the Project NetWork waivers. The study authors note, however, that at the time of the demonstration, special disability or blindness reviews were not conducted regularly.
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Dallas and Fort Worth, TX; Phoenix, AZ; Las Vegas, NV; Minneapolis, MN; six locations in New Hampshire; Richmond, VA; Tampa and Carrollwood, FL; Spokane, WA; and Coeur d'Alene, ID.