Meeting the Needs
of Youth with DisabilitiesMeeting the Needs
of Youth with Disabilitiespublished: October 1998
Jointly developed by:
The Study Group, Inc.
SSI Work Incentives and Transitioning Youth Project
National Transition Network
Current studies indicate that less than 10 percent of working-age SSI recipients are engaged in paid employment (Brady, 1995). This trend of unemployment can be reversed beginning with young people at transition age through better understanding and improved collaborative efforts of school personnel and adult service providers to include SSI work incentives in the IEP/transition planning process. The SSI work incentives can serve as a valuable support to transition students both while in school and upon graduation. These work incentives enable students to be proactive in obtaining training, support, or services critical to enhancing their employment opportunities.
To profit from these work incentives students must be receiving or eligible to receive SSI benefits and be involved in community-based vocational education as part of their IEP/transition plan. School personnel play an important role in assisting students and parents to include SSI work incentives early in the transition planning process (ages 14, or younger, if appropriate, to 21). Specifically, school personnel and the IEP/transition team can identify students who are eligible to receive SSI benefits, provide program information, and assist in the application process.
We hope that this handbook will serve as a useful tool to all those involved in the transition planning for youth with disabilities.
Click here to download the Printer Ready Version in PDF format (150K). You must have Adobe Acrobat Reader to download this file. Click here for more information on how to order this publication.