Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Can Benefits and Work Incentives Counseling be a Path to Future Economic Self-Sufficiency for Individuals with Disabilities?

  • Published:
Journal of Labor Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

In this paper, I estimate the relationship between benefit counseling and work incentive services and various labor market outcomes in the case of Supplemental Security Income /Social Security Disability Insurance beneficiaries who from 2003 to 2009 participated in the Vocational Rehabilitation programs in New York State. Using the propensity score matching approach, I find that counseling services can increase the probability of successful case closure by 5.2 percentage points. At the same time, these services can increase the earnings and working hours of beneficiaries by $42 and 3.3 h per week, respectively. Moreover, there is a $0.59 per hour increase in the wage rate for service recipients. From these results I conclude that providing benefit counseling and work incentive services helps beneficiaries who have strong employment goals achieve financial independence.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. Medicaid Buy-In allows beneficiaries who work to retain Medicaid coverage.

  2. Weights are computed using the propensity scores from the 1-Nearest Neighbor algorithm.

  3. User-written STATA command “mhbounds” is used to implement the Rosenbaum bounding analysis for binary-outcome variables and “rhbounds” is used to implement it for continuous-outcome variables.

  4. The current version of the user-written function in STATA is suited for k-nearest neighbor matching algorithms; therefore, I report only results for 1-Nearest Neighbor and Smoothed Radius Matching algorithms of a Rosenbaum bounding analysis. Furthermore, I tried different values for the radius in the Smoothed Radius Matching algorithm. The main implications from the bounding analysis remain stable.

References

  • Aakvik A (2001) Bounding a matching estimator: the case of a Norwegian training program. Oxf Bull Econ Stat 63(1):115–143

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Autor D, Duggan M (2003) The rise in the disability rolls and the decline in unemployment. Q J Econ 118(1):157–206

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Becker S, Caliendo M (2007) Sensitivity analysis for average treatment effects. Stata J 7(1):71–83

    Google Scholar 

  • Burkhauser R, Daly M (2002) Policy Watch: U.S. disability policy in a changing environment. J Econ Perspect 16(1):213–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chandra A (2000) Labor market dropouts and the racial wage gap: 1960–1990. Am Econ Rev 90:333–338

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dehejia R, Wahba S (2002) Propensity score-matching methods for nonexperimental causal studies. Rev Econ Stat 84(1):151–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Delin B, Hartman E, Sell C (2012) The impact of work incentive benefits counseling on employment outcomes: evidence from two return-to-work demonstrations. J Vocat Rehabil 36(2):97–107

    Google Scholar 

  • DiPrete T, Gangl M (2004) Assessing bias in the estimation of causal effects: Rosenbaum bounds on matching estimators and instrumental variables estimation with imperfect instruments. Sociol Methodol 34:271–310

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Giertz S, Kubik J (2011) The disability screening process and the labor market behavior of accepted and rejected applicant: evidence from the health and retirement study. J Lab Res 32:237–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Golden T, Mara S, Ferrell C, Sheldon J (2000) A theoretical construct for benefits planning and assistance in the Ticket to Work and Work Incentive Improvement Act. J Vocat Rehabil 14:147–152

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruman C, Shugrue N, Koppelman J, Schimmel J, Porter A, Robison J (2014) The impact of benefits counseling and vocational rehabilitation on employment and earnings. J Rehabil 80(3):21–29

    Google Scholar 

  • Heckman J, Smith J (1999) The pre-program earnings dip and the determinants of participation in a social program: implications for simple program evaluation strategies. Econ J 109(457):313–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heckman J, Lyons T, Todd P (2000) Understanding black-white wage differentials, 1960–1990. Am Econ Rev Pap Proc 90:344–349

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson W, Kitamura Y, Neal D (2000) Evaluating a simple method for estimating black-white gaps in median wages. Am Econ Rev 90(2):339–343

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson-Lamarche H, Baird P (1997) The barriers to employment faced by persons with disabilities: problems and solutions. Report to the Governor and the 1997 Vermont General Assembly. Waterbury, Vermont Department of Aging and Disabilities

  • Kregel J (2009) Work incentives planning and assistance: assisting beneficiaries to obtain employment and reduce dependence on SSA benefits. J Vocat Rehabil 31:1–9. doi:10.3233/JVR-2009-0466

    Google Scholar 

  • Kregel J, O’Mara SO (2011) Work incentive counseling as a workplace support. J Vocat Rehabil 35:73–83. doi:10.3233/JVR-2011-0555

    Google Scholar 

  • Livermore G, Prenovitz S (2010) Work activity and use of employment supports under the original ticket to work Regulations Benefits Planning, Assistance, and Outreach (BPAO) service user characteristics and use of work incentives final report. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Livermore G, Wright D, Roche A, Grau E (2009) Work activity and use of employment supports under the original ticket to work. 2006 National beneficiary survey: methodology and descriptive statistics. Final report. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Livermore G, Prenovitz S, Schimmel J (2011) Employment-related outcomes of a recent cohort of Work Incentives Planning and Assistance (WIPA) program Enrollees final report. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Mamun A, O’Leary P, Wittenburg D, Gregory J (2011) Employment among social security disability program beneficiaries, 1996–2007. Soc Secur Bull 71(3):11–34

    Google Scholar 

  • Nichols A (2008) Erratum and discussion of propensity-score reweighting. Stata J 8(4):532–539

    Google Scholar 

  • Peikes D, Moreno L, Orzol S (2008) Propensity score matching: a note of caution for evaluators of social programs. Am Stat 62(3):222–231

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenbaum P (2002) Observational studies, 2nd edn. Springer, New York

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Rubin D (2001) Using propensity scores to help design observational studies: application to the tobacco litigation. Health Serv Outcome Res Methodol 2:169–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schochet P, Burghardt J, McConnell S (2008) Does job corps work? Impact findings from the National Job Corps Study. Am Econ Rev 98(5):1864–1886

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Social Security Administration (2015) SSI annual statistical report, 2014. SSA Publication No. 13-11827. Social Security Administration, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Thornton C, Fraker T, Livermore G, Stapleton D, O’Day B, Wittenburg D, Weathers R, Goodman N, Silva T, Sama Martin E, Gregory J, Wright D, Mamun A (2007) Evaluation of the ticket to work program: assessment of post-rollout implementation and early impacts. Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay T, Smith J, Xie H, Drake R (2004) The impact of specialized benefits counseling services on social security administration disability beneficiaries in Vermont. J Rehabil 70(2):5–11

    Google Scholar 

  • Tremblay T, Smith J, Xie H, Drake R (2006) Effect of benefits counseling services on employment outcomes for people with psychiatric disabilities. Psychiatr Serv 57(6):816–821

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weathers R, Bailey M (2014) The impact of rehabilitation and counseling services on the labor market activity of Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) beneficiaries. J Policy Anal Manage 33(3):623–648

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

This research would not have been possible without the support of the New York State Education Department, Office of Adult Career and Continuing Education Services-Vocational Rehabilitation (ACCES-VR), the agency which provided data on SSI-SSDI beneficiaries served from 2003 to 2009.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Indiana University – Purdue University Fort Wayne, Fort Wayne, IN, USA

    Zafar E. Nazarov

Authors
  1. Zafar E. Nazarov
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Zafar E. Nazarov.

Ethics declarations

Funding

This study was funded by the U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) funded as part of the Retirement Research Consortium as a grant to Boston College (5001537-15 Sandell). The opinions and conclusions expressed are solely those of the author(s) and do not represent the opinions or policy of SSA or any agency of the Federal Government.

Conflict of Interest

Zafar Nazarov has received research grant from Boston College’s Retirement Research Consortium.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Nazarov, Z.E. Can Benefits and Work Incentives Counseling be a Path to Future Economic Self-Sufficiency for Individuals with Disabilities?. J Labor Res 37, 211–234 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12122-016-9223-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12122-016-9223-6

Keywords

JEL Classification

Search

Navigation