Supporting Young Adults in Special Education as They Enter the Labor Market

• In Event: Novel Approaches to Supporting Employment for Individuals with Disabilities

Abstract

Prior research highlights promising strategies for people facing complex challenges to employment, but limitations in earlier studies mean that many questions about effective programs and practices remain. These gaps are particularly relevant for young adults with disabilities, who often encounter challenges during the transition from school to work, including limited work experience, skill development needs, and the loss of school-based supports. Services to support employment in the years after high school can help these young adults develop skills that will put them on a path toward economic independence for the remainder of their working years.

The Bridges from School to Work (Bridges) program aims to help young adults ages 17–24 in special education find and maintain competitive employment around the time they transition from school to the workforce. The program provides individualized employment services through employment specialists, who support participants in preparing for work, sustaining employment, and connecting with employers.

This study examines whether Bridges improves participants’ service receipt, employment outcomes, economic independence and stability, and other related outcomes. Using an experimental design, eligible young adults who consented to participate between August 2021 and June 2024 were randomly assigned to either a program group with access to Bridges services or a comparison group without access to those services. Both groups could access other services available in the community.

The analysis uses data from a nine-month follow-up survey to analyze the impact of program participation on service receipt, earnings, employment, financial independence, health, and other outcomes. Additionally, the study uses administrative data from the National Directory of New Hires (NDNH), which includes information on earnings and employment in jobs covered by unemployment insurance. Because Bridges aims to support young adults in finding competitive jobs in integrated settings, the NDNH data is an important source to know whether the program achieved its outcomes. Impacts are estimated by comparing outcomes between the program and comparison groups, with Bayesian methods used to support interpretation of the findings.

Author

• April Yanyuan Wu, Mathematica
  Presenting Author