Todd Honeycutt, MA and Debra Brucker, MPA. Program for Disability Research, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, 303 George Street, Suite 405, New Brunswick, NJ 08901, 732.932.4167, toddchoneycutt@earthlink.net

For persons with disabilities that limit and prevent work, Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) offers replacement income, medical benefits in the form of Medicare, and rehabilitation opportunities. The growth of the program has been significant, with the number of workers on SSDI in 2002 at 5.5 million, an increase of 60% from ten years earlier. Despite improvements in medical treatment, rehabilitation, and employment initiatives, few SSDI beneficiaries return to work with sufficient income to leave the rolls. The reasons for this include the risks in maintaining employment and the security of having a stable income and health insurance. As an alternative, sufficient services and supports could be provided to some SSDI applicants before they obtain long-term benefits. The Early Intervention pilot project has been developed by the Social Security Administration (SSA), the Program for Disability Research at Rutgers University, and teams from three states (New Mexico, Vermont, and Wisconsin) to encourage employment among persons with disabilities who apply for SSDI. The project provides health insurance, cash stipends, and vocational assistance to improve the integration of persons with disabilities within their communities, promote self-sufficiency, reduce the growth of SSDI, and save SSA trust funds. This paper will outline the SSA disability benefit system and the pilot project, detail the incentives used to encourage project participation and employment, and explore the implications of using this model nationally for the SSA disability determination system.

Learning Objectives: