Absence of conflict of interest.
Citation
Highlights
- The study's objective was to examine the impact of Broadened Horizons, Brighter Futures (BHBF) on employment, earnings, and public benefits receipt outcomes.
- The study was a randomized controlled trial. The primary data sources were baseline and follow-up surveys and administrative records from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The authors used statistical models to compare the outcomes of the BHBF and control group members.
- The study found that BHBF participants were significantly more likely to attain any employment than the control group at one-year post-enrollment. The study also found that BHBF participants were more likely than the control group to attain paid employment and receive higher average earnings, youth income, and disability payments at three years post-enrollment.
- This study receives a moderate evidence rating. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to Broadened Horizons, Brighter Futures (BHBF), but other factors might also have contributed.
Intervention Examined
Broadened Horizons, Brighter Futures (BHBF)
Features of the Intervention
From 2003 to 2012, the Social Security Administration (SSA) funded Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) projects, including the Broadened Horizons, Brighter Futures (BHBF) project in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The BHBF project provided a range of services to youth including: 1) individualized work-based experiences, such as worksite tours and competitive paid employment in integrated settings; 2) youth empowerment services to help them acquire skills and knowledge to chart their own courses and advocate for themselves; 3) family support services, such as family-focused training and support for parent networking; 4) system linkage services to help connect youth with service providers; 5) SSA's waivers for YTD that allowed for the continuation of disability payments while employed; and 6) benefits counseling to understand the SSA waivers and standard SSA program rules. In addition, the BHBF project incorporated the YTD model's intensive programmatic technical assistance (TA) via an independent TA liaison and the use of the Efforts-to-Outcomes management information system to help staff manage and deliver the BHBF services. The program served youth with disabilities (ages 16 to 22) who lived in Miami-Dade County. The primary site of BHBF service delivery was the Florida regional office of ServiceSource, with help from the Human Services Coalition, Miami-Dade County public schools, the Florida Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, and two nonprofit organizations.
Features of the Study
The study was a randomized controlled trial. Eligibility requirements for the study included being age 16 to 22 and receiving disability payments in the county. The recruitment process for enrollment in the study took place from March 2008 to September 2010. Of the 859 eligible BHBF youth, 460 were randomly assigned to the intervention group and 399 were randomly assigned to the control group. The youth in the intervention group received BHBF services and were eligible for SSA's waivers for YTD. The youth in the control group could receive any non-BHBF services available in the county, were subject to SSA's standard program rules, and were not eligible for SSA's waivers. Over half of study participants were male (60%), with an average age of 18.9 years, and the majority were English speakers (74%). The primary disability was cognitive/developmental (45%) or learning disability/attention deficit disorder (21%). Data sources included baseline and follow-up surveys at one-year and three-years post-enrollment and administrative records from the Social Security Administration (SSA). The study authors used statistical models to compare the outcomes of the intervention and control group members.
Findings
Employment
- The study found that BHBF participants were significantly more likely than the control group to attain any employment one year after study enrollment.
- The study found that BHBF participants were significantly more likely than the control group to attain paid employment one year after study enrollment.
- The study found that BHBF participants were significantly more likely than the control group to attain paid employment three years after study enrollment.
Earnings and wages
- The study found that BHBF participants had significantly higher average earnings than the control group three years after study enrollment.
Public Benefits Receipt
- The study found that BHBF participants had significantly higher average youth income, defined as the sum of earnings and disability payments, than the control group three years after study enrollment.
- The study found that BHBF participants had significantly higher average yearly disability payments than the control group three years after study enrollment.
Considerations for Interpreting the Findings
While the study was a randomized controlled trial with unknown attrition, the study authors ensured that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. Also, the study authors estimated multiple related impacts on employment and public benefits receipt outcomes. Performing multiple statistical tests on related outcomes makes it more likely that some impacts will be found statistically significant purely by chance and not because they reflect program effectiveness. The authors did not perform statistical adjustments to account for the multiple tests, so the number of statistically significant findings in these domains is likely to be overstated.
Causal Evidence Rating
The quality of causal evidence presented in this report is moderate because it was a randomized controlled trial with unknown attrition, but the authors ensured that the groups being compared were similar before the intervention. This means we are somewhat confident that the estimated effects are attributable to Broadened Horizons, Brighter Futures (BHBF), but other factors might also have contributed.