Evaluation of the Ticket to Work Program Initial Evaluation Report

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Spring 2004. The next report will be the first to present results from analyses of SSA
administrative data. These data will be used to describe the characteristics of TTW
participants and nonparticipants, particularly their demographics, DI/SSI status, primary
disabling condition, and work history. It will also present available information on
beneficiary employment, earnings, and program exits because of work, but will not include
an impact analysis. We will conduct an initial test of the methods developed to estimate
impacts, as an assessment of the proposed methodology, but it will be too early in the TTW
roll-out to provide policy-relevant estimates of effects. This report also will present
additional findings from the process study, including a discussion of factors that affect
organizations’ decisions to participate or not participate as ENs.
Spring 2005. This report will be the first to include results from the beneficiary survey,
including additional information on participant characteristics and new information on
beneficiaries’ knowledge of and participation in the Ticket program. This report also will be
the first to address program effects on beneficiaries, presenting early impact findings on
outcomes such as employment, earnings, participation in benefits programs, amount of
benefits received, and total income.
Spring 2006. This report will draw on all data sources to present updated findings on
all major elements of the evaluation—the process study, the participation study, and the
outcomes and impacts study. This will also be the first report to analyze the longitudinal
survey information on participants, which will track the duration of their employment and
service use.
Spring and Fall 2007. These reports will revisit and update all the key research issues,
summarize the evaluation’s most important findings and, if warranted, present final
recommendations and matters for consideration by TTW stakeholders and policy makers,
particularly SSA and the Congress.
Each report will include a special analysis of the adequacy of TTW incentives and the
extent to which all groups of beneficiaries participate and benefit from the program. These
analyses will pay particular attention to relatives levels of participation among different
groups of beneficiaries (particularly those defined by the Ticket Act as being of special
concern).
There will also be a series of specialized reports on the data collection activities and
methods used in the evaluation. Non-technical summaries will also be prepared for the
major reports produced in 2004, 2005, and 2007.
VIII: Next Steps for Evaluation