Data Note: Work Incentives and SSI Recipients with Intellectual Disabilities

Frank A. Smith, University of Massachusetts Boston
John Butterworth, University of Massachusetts Boston

Data Note No. 23 This is a publication of StateData.info, funded in part by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (#90DN0216).

Abstract

Congress has enacted a number of work incentive programs for Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients with disabilities after concluding additional incentives were necessary to help individuals become self-supporting. Moreover, Congress has noted that individuals who could work outside of sheltered workshops might have been discouraged from doing so by the fear of losing their benefits before they had established for themselves the capability for continued self-support. In this Data Note, we explore the degree to which SSI recipients with Intellectual Disabilities (ID) work and participate in these incentive programs.