Earnings and Disability Program Participation of Youth Transition Demonstration Participants after 24 Months

Using data from Social Security Administration (SSA) program records, this article evaluates employment and SSA disability program payment outcomes for youths participating in SSA's Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) project. Participants were randomly assigned to treatment or control groups at each of six project sites. Treatment-group youths in the YTD received extra employment-related and other supports in order to improve educational and vocational outcomes during their transition to adulthood. The YTD had a positive impact on the proportion of youths with earnings in the first and second years after random assignment at three sites, with two of those sites having positive impacts in both years. Additionally, the treatment groups in four sites had higher Supplemental Security Income participation rates 24 months after random assignment