Labor Economics Commons^™

Data-Driven Decision-Making Capacity Of State Vr Agencies, Catherine Ipsen, Christopher Clapp, Jordan A. Costello

Employment

Federal agencies are required to use data to support policy and program decisions. This factsheet explores VR capacity to use their data to shape decision-making and develop return on investment (ROI) models.

A Rationale For Social Return On Investment, Catherine Ipsen, Christopher Clapp, Jordan A. Costello

Employment

This fact sheet compares the utility of two different return on investment (ROI) models for assessing the value of VR services. In this fact sheet, the research team compares data from the Virginia VR program to demonstrate differences between the social and taxpayer ROI models and makes a case for using social ROI for assessing VR services.

Home Care Workers, Immigration, And An Aging Population, Catherine Ipsen, Luke Santore

Employment

The size of the Home Care Worker (HCW) workforce has not kept pace with demand, and inadequate compensation and benefits have historically contributed to poor HCW recruitment and retention. Demographic trends put further strain on the workforce, with immigrants, naturalized citizens, and Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) individuals currently making up the majority of the HCW workforce.

Policy changes, cuts to benefits, and immigration crackdowns threaten to further weaken the supply of HCWs while the demand continues to rise. In this report, Catherine Ipsen and Luke Santore provide analysis and strategies to support HCWs and strengthen the Personal …

Evaluating The Tvr-Set: Insights Into Self-Employment From Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation Counselors, Catherine Ipsen, Luke Santore

Employment

This report examines the impact of pilot training on the use of the Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation Self-Employment Toolkit (TVR-SET), developed to support American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services (AIVRS) programs. Of the 574 federally recognized Tribes in the U.S., 93 administer AIVRS programs aimed at improving employment outcomes for American Indians with disabilities. Self-employment is a vital pathway in reservation communities, promoting economic independence and cultural preservation. However, AIVRS programs face challenges in staff training and resources. The TVR-SET and its accompanying training address these gaps, enhancing counselors’ capacity to guide consumers in self-employment exploration and business development.

Collaborative Research Report: Building Home Care Worker Capacity, Luke Santore, Catherine Ipsen, Stephen Mccall, Jiyeon Kim, Genna M. Mashinchi

Employment

RTC:Rural and PHI researchers examine the rising demand for home-based care and ways to increase the workforce and retain home care workers through worker-supportive policies such as increased wages and healthcare insurance.

Collaborative Research Report: Personal Assistance Workforce Capacity And Quality Outcomes, Luke Santore, Catherine Ipsen, Lillie Greiman, Lina Stepick

Employment

The growing demand for home-based care services contends with a major shortage of personal care aide (PCA) workers. PCAs support older adults and people with disabilities in home and community-based settings with activities of daily living, such as bathing, dressing, eating, and more. A thriving PCA workforce is necessary to match demand for home and community-based care. However, persistently low wages and poor job quality lead to high rates of turnover and shortages in the workforce. This research report aims to understand the relationship between PCA workforce capacity and quality of consumer-reported care for long-term services and supports.

A Study Of Claim Resolution Settlement Agreements: Final Report, Brian J. Asquith, Yuci Chen, Marcus Dillender, Kevin Hollenbeck, Beth C. Truesdale

Upjohn Institute Technical Reports

No abstract provided.

Factsheet: Examining The Equity Of Vocational Rehabilitation Services For Rural Americans, Catherine Ispen, Will Hoard, Rtc: Rural

Employment

Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) programs are funded by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) to assist individuals with disabilities to obtain, advance, or retain employment. Employment is a valuable outcome because it can increase economic independence and community participation. To achieve employment, VR programs offer a range of services such as assessment, counseling, training, and job placement. We conducted two studies using RSA-911 case-services data to better understand
how VR agencies are serving diverse populations. RSA-911 data includes information about each consumer who enters the VR program, including sociodemographic characteristics and VR services received. In our first study, we used RSA-911 data …

Estimating The Effects Of The Ada Amendments Act On The Hiring And Termination Of Individuals With Disabilities, Using New Disability Categorizations, Patrick Button, Philip Armour, Simon Hollands

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

Disability discrimination laws are often used to potentially increase employment for individuals with disabilities. However, legal theory and empirical economics research do not provide conclusive answers as to how expansions in disability discrimination laws affect economic outcomes, namely hiring rates, for individuals with disabilities. We estimate the effect of the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) on employment transitions: hirings and terminations for individuals with disabilities relative to those without disabilities. To calculate employment transitions, we use data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP). We also use the SIPP to develop additional measures and categorizations of disability based on …

Disability Insurance Screening And Workers’ Health And Labor Market Outcomes, Alexander Ahammer, Analisa Packham

Employment Research Newsletter

No abstract provided.

Disability Insurance Screening And Workers’ Health And Labor Market Outcomes, Alexander Ahammer, Analisa Packham

Upjohn Institute Policy and Research Briefs

No abstract provided.

Disability Insurance Screening And Worker Outcomes, Alexander Ahammer, Analisa Packham

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

We estimate the returns to more targeted disability insurance (DI) programs in terms of labor force participation and worker health. To do so, we analyze male workers after an acute workplace injury that experience differential levels of application screening. We find that when workers face tighter screening requirements, they are less likely to claim disability and are more likely to remain in the labor force. We observe no differences in any physical or mental health outcomes, including reinjury. Our findings imply that imposing stricter DI screening requirements has large fiscal benefits but does not yield any detectable health costs, on …

America At A Glance: Occupational Injuries Among Rural Workers, Andrew Myers, Arin Leopold, Catherine Ipsen, Bryce Ward, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

RTC:Rural researchers led by Andrew Myers review data from the 2019 American Community Survey to explore differences in occupations and workplace injuries across rural and urban areas.

Building The Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation Self-Employment Toolkit, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

RTC:Rural researcher Dr. Catherine Ipsen details the collaborative work that went into designing a Vocational Rehabilitation toolkit specifically for Native American and Alaskan Native Tribal Vocational Rehabilitation Programs.

Are Hispanics Less Likely To Receive Vocational Rehabilitation Services?, Alberto Migliore, John Shepard

All Institute for Community Inclusion Publications

In the US, 16% of people with cognitive disabilities self-report to be of Hispanic ethnicity (US Census Bureau, FY 2020). However, among people with intellectual disabilities who received vocational rehabilitation services, only 11% (-5%) are Hispanic (N = 32,823, RSA911, FY2020).

Increasing Consumer Opportunities For Self-Employment In Vocational Rehabilitation, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

Self-employment is an important option for people with disabilities, especially for those living in rural communities where economic choice and opportunity may be more limited. Although people with disabilities are self-employed at higher rates than people without disabilities, few vocational rehabilitation (VR) consumers become self-employed partly due to lack of knowledge and barriers within VR systems. This research report explains some reasons for low rates of self-employment within the VR system, and presents the Vocational Rehabilitation Self-Employment Guide-an online resource providing guidance and tools to assist people with disabilities and VR counselors with the self-employment process. This guide was …

America At A Glance: Unemployment Among People With Disabilities During The Covid-19 Recession, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

People with disabilities are often the first to experience economic disruptions, and among the last to recover. Unemployment among people with disabilities spiked to 18.9% in April 2020 and declined to 12.5% in September. Both the initial increase and recent decrease in unemployment was primarily driven by changes in temporary unemployment (unemployed workers who expect to go back to their same job within six months). While temporary unemployment has gone down, permanent unemployment has risen since the recession began, and may indicate that for some, temporary unemployment is becoming permanent. As the recession wears on and unemployment benefits begin to …

Do Stronger Employment Discrimination Protections Decrease Reliance On Social Security Disability Insurance? Evidence From The U.S. Social Security Reforms, Patrick Button, Mashfiqur R. Khan

Upjohn Institute Working Papers

The United States Social Security Amendments of 1983 (SSA1983) increased the full retirement age (FRA) and increased penalties for retiring before the FRA. This cut to retirement benefits caused spillover effects on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) applications and receipt by making SSDI relatively more generous. We explore if stronger disability and age discrimination laws moderated these spillovers, using variation whereby many state laws are broader or stronger than federal law. We estimate the effects of these laws on SSDI applications and receipt using a difference-in-differences approach, comparing cohorts affected by SSA1983 to similarly aged unaffected cohorts, across states. We …

How Will The Covid-19 Recession Impact People With Disabilities In Rural America?, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

This fact sheet discusses how people with disabilities, particularly those in rural areas, are especially vulnerable to the COVID-19 recession because they are less likely to have an emergency savings fund, have access to paid leave, or be able to work from home. It analyzes data from the 2015 and 2016 Survey of Household Economics and Decision-making (SHED) and the American Time Use Survey (ATUS) 2017-18 Leave and Job Flexibilities Module.

Having A Disability Reduces Chances Of Employment For All Racial/Ethnic Groups, Jennifer D. Brooks

Population Health Research Brief Series

Regardless of race, adults with disabilities are less likely to be employed than those without disabilities. This data slice explains how race-ethnicity affects employment rates among adults with and without disabilities.

Employment Disparity Grows For Rural Americans With Disability, Rtc: Rural, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

Employment rates have increased since the recession, but these gains haven’t reached all communities across the country, nor has everyone benefited from these gains. While overall employment rates have improved, employment for people with disabilities in rural areas has decreased. This fact sheet uses the recently released (December 2018) American Community Survey 5-year estimates to explore changes in employment rates for people with and without disabilities across the nine divisions of the United States, and for metropolitan, micropolitan, and non-core counties. This marks the first time longitudinal trends in ACS data can be explored across the rural-urban continuum using comparable …

Use Of Online Career Development Tools By Vocational Rehabilitation Professionals, Rebecca Goe, Catherine Ipsen, University Of Montana Rural Institute Rural Institute

Employment

Online career development refers to using online resources such as social media and job boards for finding employment and advancing careers. Social networking sites like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter allow users to connect with potential employers and advertise their strengths to a diverse audience. Online job boards connect employers and job seekers based on specific interests, skills and locations. Unfortunately, the same online tools that can help people find employment and advance their careers can also limit opportunities if the job seeker’s online presence is unprofessional or absent (Brown & Vaughn, 2011).

Exploring Exit From The Vocational Rehabilitation System, Rebecca Goe, Catherine Ipsen, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

In the U.S. labor force, the unemployment rate is more than twice as high for people with disabilities (17.9%) than it is for people without disabilities (7.7%; U.S. Census Bureau, 2013). In actuality, this disparity is much higher because many people with disabilities have stopped actively seeking employment. Although unemployment rates are influenced by many intersecting factors, premature exit from Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services likely contributes to the stubbornly high unemployment rates for people with disabilities.

Predicting Employment Intention Of Ssa Beneficiaries: A Theory-Based Approach, James Mather Ii

Graduate Theses and Dissertations

Employment has become an integral aspect of American society. Each year, millions of Americans engage in job search as a result of economic conditions, involuntary job loss, completion of their education, or the desire to pursue a new career opportunity. However, the employment reality for persons with disabilities remains stark. In 2012 the employment rate of working-age people with disabilities was 32.7 percent, compared to 73.6 percent for those without disabilities. Given the long-standing employment gap between persons with disabilities and those without disabilities, this exploratory research utilizes the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) to predict determinates of Social Security …

A Rapid Review Of Self-Employment Literature: Implications For The Vocational Rehabilitation Program, Nancy Arnold, Catherine Ipsen, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

Business ownership is an important employment option for people with disabilities, particularly those living in rural areas with few employment opportunities (Arnold, Ravesloot, & Seekins, 1995; Arnold & Seekins, 1994). Researchers at RTC:Rural began conducting research on the use of self-employment by VR agencies in 1990. Since then RTC:Rural researchers have: developed model self-employment policies and procedures for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies (Arnold & Ipsen, 2005); developed self-employment training for VR counselors in both in-person and web-based formats (Arnold, Seekins, et. al., 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004); and explored cross-agency collaborations to support self-employment ventures (Ipsen, Arnold & Colling, 2003, 2005). …

Rapid Literature Review Of Self-Employment Research, Nancy Arnold, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

Business ownership is an important employment option for people with disabilities, particularly for those who live in rural areas of the U.S. with fewer employment opportunities (Arnold, Ravesloot, & Seekins, 1995; Arnold & Seekins, 1994). Researchers at RTC:Rural began conducting research on the use of self-employment by VR agencies in 1990. Since then RTC:Rural researchers developed model self-employment policies and procedures for Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies, which several state agencies have adopted in whole or in part (Arnold & Ipsen, 2005); developed self-employment training for VR counselors (Arnold, Seekins, et. al., 1998, 1999, 2001, 2004) in both in-person and web-based …

Rural And Urban Differences In Vr Caseloads And Delivery Practices, Catherine Ipsen, Grant Swicegood, Kyle Colling, Bethany Rigles, Charles Asp, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

Each year, Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) agencies provide case level data to the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). This compiled data, named RSA 911, includes consumer characteristics, services provided, and employment outcomes of all case closures in the past year. Researchers and program evaluators use the RSA 911 data system to examine productivity across agencies, demographic and disability groups, and other service factors. The RSA 911 does not include information about where the consumer was served, such as county or zip code. This limits outcome evaluation for various geographies. For instance, while VR programs can be evaluated or compared across states, more …

Inclusive Healthcare Facilities Access And Accommodations Resource Toolkit, Meg A. Traci Ph.D., University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

Contents: Includes information on webinars, access to care, dental care, women, communication, emergency preparedness, health reports, and contact information for Montana services.

Data And Resources For A Whole Community Approach To Emergency Planning, Meg A. Traci Ph.D., University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

No abstract provided.

Vocational Rehabilitation Transition Services In Rural Areas, Rebecca Goe, Catherine Ipsen, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Employment

The receipt of Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) services as students transition out of high school may be an important predictor of post-graduation success (Harvey, 2002; National Council on Disability, 2008). In rural, limited job opportunities and limited access to counselors intersect to create a challenging VR service environment for transition youth. While 2008 and 2009 case services data indicate that a greater proportion of clients are transition aged in rural versus urban counties (RSA 911, 2009), rural transition students fall behind their urban counterparts in rates of employment and enrollment in postsecondary education following graduation (Harvey, 2002). This fact sheet reports …