Evaluation of the Transition Exploration Demonstration (TED)

Under the Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program (ICAP), the Social Security Administration (SSA) awarded Mathematica a cooperative agreement to direct TED. Using its own funds, the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR) will implement the demonstration. Mathematica and its subgrantee, the Center for Transition and Career Innovation at the University of Maryland (UMD), will provide oversight and support for implementation and conduct an evaluation.

The goals of TED are to (1) test whether intensive employment services improve employment and other outcomes for youth with disabilities who are transitioning to adulthood and (2) strengthen cooperation and coordination among organizations that serve youth with disabilities. OVR will enroll 700 youth from the greater Philadelphia area, ages 16 to 24, into TED. Mathematica will randomly assign half of enrollees to the usual services group and half to the TED services group. Youth in the usual services group will receive information about how to apply to OVR and will continue to be eligible for all existing services. Youth in the TED services group will have an OVR case opened for them. OVR will assign the youth in the TED services group to a Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor who has received specialized TED training. The Vocational Rehabilitation Counselor will provide standard OVR services, plus a package of enhanced TED services including (1) pre-employment transition services focused on counseling on postsecondary options; (2) intentional, strategic, and focused service coordination; (3) intensive long-term job-training; (4) intensive engagement; and (5) intentional financial literacy or benefits planning.

Mathematica will conduct the following research activities as part of the TED evaluation:

• Surveys of youth when they enroll in TED and a year after enrollment
• Interviews with youth in the TED services group to learn about their experiences enrolling and participating in the demonstration
• Analyses of administrative data from OVR and SSA about enrollee service receipt, earnings, and disability benefit receipt
• Interviews with OVR staff and various partners to measure the fidelity of implementation and learn about implementation successes and challenges
• Visits to Philadelphia to observe the delivery of TED services and interviews with youth, TED staff, and TED partners about service delivery
• An impact analysis to assess whether TED improved youth outcomes
• A process analysis to understand the services delivered by TED and how those services relate to impacts
• A benefit-cost analysis to determine whether the impacts of TED exceeded its costs

TED is planned as a five-year demonstration that started in January 2023 and will end in December 2027. Planning will occur in Year 1. Enrollment will begin in Year 2 and continue through Year 3. Service delivery will occur in Years 2 through 4. Mathematica will finish the research activities and publish findings in Year 5.