Mathematica Policy Research Inc., a Princeton, N.J.-based research firm, has been awarded a nine-year, $35 million contract from the Social Security Administration to develop and evaluate programs to reduce the number of youths with disabilities who must rely on federal benefits.
The Youth Transition Demonstration projects, which will be implemented at 11 sites nationwide, will offer counseling, service coordination, and family services. They are aimed at young people ages 14 to 25 who receive Supplemental Security Income, Social Security Disability Insurance, or Childhood Disability Benefits, and those who are at risk of receiving such benefits after leaving school.
The projects, which can coordinate with schools and existing service providers in their communities, have flexibility in the interventions they devise, the subgroups of youth they serve, and the services and supports they provide, according to Mathematica.
