Evaluation of the Promoting the Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income PROMISE Grants

About PROMISE

Youth with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) face substantial barriers to economic independence in transitioning to adult life. The barriers are related to their health status, social isolation, service needs, and potential loss of disability benefits. As a result, the education and employment outcomes for youth SSI recipients are frequently less favorable than those for their peers without disabilities, leading to greater dependence on public programs and poorer overall economic well-being as adults.

Promoting the Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE)—is a joint initiative of the Social Security Administration (SSA) and the U.S. Departments of Education (ED), Health and Human Services, and Labor. PROMISE sought to address many of the barriers to economic independence faced by youth SSI recipients and their families. As the lead agency for the demonstration, ED funded six model demonstration projects to promote positive changes in education and employment outcomes for the target population. To achieve these outcomes, the PROMISE projects provided innovative educational, vocational, and other services to youth and their families. The projects also made better use of existing resources by improving service coordination among state and local agencies. Youth SSI recipients age 14 to 16 were eligible to enroll in the PROMISE study.

ED provided total funding of approximately $230 million to the following six states or group of states to implement PROMISE projects over a five- to six-year period starting October 2013:

• Arkansas
• California
• Maryland
• New York
• Wisconsin
• The six-state ASPIRE consortium: Arizona, Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Utah

SSA contracted with Mathematica to evaluate the demonstration. The evaluation, which is based on an experimental research design, addresses whether providing services and supports to SSI children ages 14 through 16 and their families results in better education and employment outcomes. Mathematica will conduct the national evaluation over a nine-year period, from October 2013 through September 2022.

The evaluation has documented how each state implemented PROMISE; implementation challenges and successes; PROMISE service delivery outcomes; the impacts of PROMISE on youth and family service use, employment, and other outcomes as of 18 months and five years after their enrollment in PROMISE; and an exploration of a number of special topics related to PROMISE and youth transitions.

Links to key PROMISE evaluation publications are below.

PROMISE evaluation design report:

• Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE) Evaluation Design Report

Process analysis reports for each PROMISE project:

• Arkansas
• California
• Maryland
• New York
• Wisconsin
• ASPIRE

Interim (18-month) impact study:

• Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE) Evaluation: Interim Services and Impact Report (Executive Summary)
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE) Evaluation: Interim Services and Impact Report
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE) Evaluation: Technical Appendix to the Interim Services and Impact Report

Five-year impact and benefit-cost study:

• Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): Youth and Family Outcomes Five Years After Enrollment (Executive Summary)
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): Youth and Family Outcomes Five Years After Enrollment
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): Technical Appendix to the Five-Year Evaluation Report

Lessons learned from the PROMISE evaluation:

• Promoting the Successful Transitions of Youth with Disabilities to Adulthood: Lessons from Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE)

Additional reports and articles:

• Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): The Education and Work Experiences of PROMISE Youth
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): Youth's Pathways to Education and Employment
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): Early Impacts from a Multi-Site Random Assignment Evaluation
• Insights About the Transition System for SSI Youth from the National Evaluation of Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE)
• The Role of PROMISE in the Landscape of Federal Programs Targeting Youth with Disabilities
• PROMISE’s Programs’ Use of Effective Transition Practices in Serving Youth with Disabilities
• Family Service Use and Its Relationship with Youth Outcomes
• How Did the COVID-19 Pandemic Affect the Education and Employment of Young People with Disabilities? Findings from the Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE) Evaluation
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE): Medicaid Expenditure Patterns and Impacts with a Focus on Youth with High Medical Needs

Data collection plans and supporting documents:

• Supporting Statement for the Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE) Evaluation
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): Recommendations of the Technical Advisory Panel Regarding the Use of Incentive Payments and the Evaluation Design
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): Recommendations of the Technical Advisory Panel Regarding the Use of Incentive Payments and the Evaluation Design (Appendices)
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in SSI (PROMISE) National Evaluation Data Collection Plan
• Promoting Readiness of Minors in Supplemental Security Income (PROMISE): PROMISE 60-Month Sampling and Survey Plan

Webinars:

• Pursuing a Secure Economic Future for Youth with Disabilities—Lessons from PROMISE
• Improving Transition Outcomes for Youth SSI Recipients: Early Findings from the PROMISE Evaluation