Data Note No. 105, 2026
Data Note 105 summarizes the findings from the National Report on Employment Services and Outcomes Through 2023. Overall, the findings suggest that across data sources, people with IDD experience greater levels of unemployment, underemployment, low wages, and poverty compared to those without disabilities and those with non-IDD disabilities.
Data Note No. 104, 2025
Data Note 104 summarizes Social Security Administration data from 2003-2023 on work incentives and their utilization by Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. It compares recipients' likelihood of working and participating in work incentives by disability type. It also describes how the percentage of SSI recipients working is recovering since 2020. Finally, the Data Note illustrates how the rate of employment among SSI recipients varies by diagnostic group with some modest increases since 2020.
Data Note No. 103, 2025
Data Note 103 summarizes national data on employment among adults receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) due to blindness or disability. Over the past three decades, the number of working-age SSI recipients has grown, yet only about 8% were employed in 2023. Employment rates among SSI recipients have mirrored broader economic trends, declining during major recessions and never returning to late-1990s levels. While the data reflect persistent challenges, they underscore the need to strengthen policies and supports that promote employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Data Note No. 94, 2025
Data Note 94 summarizes the findings from the National Report on Employment Services and Outcomes Through 2022. Overall, the findings suggest that across data sources, people with IDD experience greater levels of unemployment, underemployment, low wages, and poverty compared to those without disabilities and those with non-IDD disabilities.
Data Note No. 92, 2024
This Data Note summarizes Social Security Administration data from 2000-2022 on work incentives and their utilization by Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients. It compares recipients' likelihood of working and participating in work incentives by disability type. It also describes how the percentage of SSI recipients working has recovered from its decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, the Data Note illustrates how the percentage of SSI recipients working in each state has changed between 2010 and 2022.
Research to Practice Brief, 2006
The SSA/VR reimbursement program is the process by which public vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies submit claims to the Social Security Administration (SSA). In effect since 1983, the procedure enables the VR system to receive reimbursement for the costs expended assisting SSI recipients and SSDI beneficiaries to enter and sustain employment above the substantial gainful activity (SGA) level. This brief discusses the declining amount of reimbursement paid to public VR agencies from federal fiscal year (FFY) 2002 to FFY 2005 by considering the impact that fewer claims submitted and a rising SGA level may have on the amount of reimbursement paid.DataNote No. 36, 2011
The National Survey of State Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Day and Employment Services is a longitudinal study commissioned by the Administration on Developmental Disabilities to analyze trends in community-based day and employment services between FY1988 and FY2009 for individuals with IDD and closely related conditions.
DataNote No. 23, 2009
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.
DataNote No. 12, 2007
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federally funded program that provides cash assistance for basic needs. Individuals with a low-income who are over the age of 65, blind, or have a disability are eligible for assistance. SSI beneficiaries typically also receive health insurance coverage through Medicaid. Losing Medicaid benefits can be of concern for SSI recipients with disabilities who desire to work, or are currently working. Section 1619b of the Social Security Act allows individuals to work and continue to receive Medicaid assistance when their earnings are too high to qualify for SSI cash payments as long as they meet other eligibility requirements for the SSI program and continue to need Medicaid in order to work.
DataNote No. 7, 2006
Analysis shows that employment outcomes for MR/DD consumers in integrated employment and working SSI recipients may be related within states. Data set: SSA.