Study Details | Pathways to Work

347-Transitional Employm

Study quality: High

High

Reason for the rating: This study received a high study quality rating because it is a low-attrition randomized controlled trial with no known issues that suggest the findings cannot be attributed to the intervention.

Intervention: Transitional Employment Training

Population and employment barriers:

Specific employment barriers (Disability(ies))

Services provided:

Case management, Employment retention services, Soft skills training, Work and work-based learning (Transitional jobs), Work readiness activities (Employment coaching, Job development/job placement)

Setting: Tested in multiple settings

Study design

Design:

Randomized controlled trial

Study group formation:

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.

Time period of study:

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.

Primary outcome domains examined:

Decrease short-term benefit receipt, Decrease long-term benefit receipt, Decrease very long-term benefit receipt

Study funded by:

U.S. Social Security Administration

Results

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Outcome domain	Measure	Timing	Study quality by finding	Comparison group mean	Intervention group mean	Impact	Units	Sample size
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Amount of SSI benefits, annual	Year 1	High	3,630.00	3,492.00	-138.00	1986 dollars	745
Decrease short-term benefit receipt	Received SSDI benefits, annual	Year 1	High	31.40	36.50	5.10	Percentage points	745
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Amount of SSI benefits, annual	Year 5	High	2,876.00	2,693.00	-183.00	1986 dollars	745
Decrease long-term benefit receipt	Received SSDI benefits, annual	Year 5	High	38.30	36.80	-1.50	Percentage points	745
Decrease very long-term benefit receipt	Amount of SSI benefits, annual	Year 6	High	2,705.00	2,538.00	-167.00	1986 dollars	745
Decrease very long-term benefit receipt	Received SSDI benefits, annual	Year 6	High	39.20	38.10	-1.10	Percentage points	745

Short-term outcomes are those measured 18 months or fewer after participants are first offered services. Long-term outcomes are those measured between 18 months and 5 years after participants are first offered services. Very long-term outcomes are those measured 5 years or more after participants are first offered services.

Findings quality key:

High
Moderate

Study quality terms?

The findings quality describe our confidence that a given study’s finding is because of the intervention. We do not display findings that rate low.

Findings key:

A moderate-to-large favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large favorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small favorable finding that might be due to chance
A favorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A favorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A moderate-to-large unfavorable finding that might to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance
A small unfavorable finding that might be due to chance
An unfavorable finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
An unfavorable finding that might be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size
A finding that is unlikely to be due to chance, but we cannot determine the standardized effect size or direction
A finding of no effect that might be due to chance

Favorable findings are impacts in a direction that is socially desirable. Statistical significance indicates the likelihood that a study finding is due to the intervention, rather than due to chance. Findings are described as moderate-to-large if the intervention produced a sufficiently large change in the outcome. An impact receives this designation if the standardized effect size is equal to or greater than 0.25 or equal to or less than -0.25.

Sample characteristics

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.

Age

Mean age

27 years

Sex

Female	41%
Male	59%

Participant race and ethnicity

Black or African American	30%
White	70%

The race and ethnicity categories may sum to more than 100 percent if the authors reported race and ethnicity separately; in these cases, we report the category White, rather than White, not Hispanic.

Specific employment barriers

Had a disability

100%

Intervention implementation

Implementing organization:

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.

Program history:

The program was developed as a demonstration and was not in existence before the study.

Intervention services:

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.

Mandatory services:

None

Comparison services:

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.

Service receipt duration:

Participants could receive services for up to one year; only employment retention services were available after one year.

Intervention funding:

U.S. Social Security Administration, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, and matched funds from eight provider organizations

Cost information:

The average cost of providing the intervention was $12,457 per participant. The average cost of providing comparison group services was $0 per person. The net intervention cost, or difference between the two, was $12,457 per person. This represents how much more it cost to provide intervention services compared to comparison services.

These figures are based on cost information reported by study authors. The Pathways Clearinghouse converted that information to a single amount expressed in 2018 dollars; for details, see the FAQ. This information is not an official price tag or guarantee.

Study publications

Decker, Paul T., and Craig V. Thornton (1995). The long-term effects of transitional employment services, Social Security Bulletin 5(4): 71-81. Available at https://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/ssb/v58n4/v58n4p71.pdf

Prero, Aaron (1996). Quantitative outcomes of the Transitional Employment Training Demonstration: Summary of net impacts, Disability, Work, and Cash Benefits, edited by Jerry L. Mashaw, Virginia Reno, and Richard V. Burkhauser, Kalamazoo, MI: W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research. Available at https://research.upjohn.org/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1195&context=up_press

Prero, Aaron J., and Craig Thornton (1991). Transitional employment training for SSI recipients with mental retardation, Social Security Bulletin 54(11): p2-25.

View the glossary for more information about these and other terms used on this page.

The Pathways Clearinghouse refers to interventions by the names used in study reports or manuscripts. Some intervention names may use language that is not consistent with our style guide, preferences, or the terminology we use to describe populations.

Study of Transitional Employment Training