Notice2025-01123
Youth Transition Exploration Demonstration
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
January 17, 2025
Issuing agencies
Social Security Administration
Abstract
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is announcing the Youth Transition Exploration Demonstration (YTED) project for the Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program under title XVI of the Social Security Act (Act). This project is a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of an employment intervention for youth with disabilities, who are transitioning into the adult workforce. SSA will modify the program rules that apply to income for certain project participants who receive SSI payments under title XVI of the Act. This modification will not apply to income for project participants who receive Old-Age, Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits under title II or receive concurrent benefits under title II and title XVI of the Act.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 90 Issue 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 90, Number 11 (Friday, January 17, 2025)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6042-6043]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2025-01123]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION
[Docket No. SSA-2024-0019]
Youth Transition Exploration Demonstration
AGENCY: Social Security Administration.
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Social Security Administration (SSA) is announcing the
Youth Transition Exploration Demonstration (YTED) project for the
Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program under title XVI of the
Social Security Act (Act). This project is a randomized controlled
trial (RCT) of an employment intervention for youth with disabilities,
who are transitioning into the adult workforce. SSA will modify the
program rules that apply to income for certain project participants who
receive SSI payments under title XVI of the Act. This modification will
not apply to income for project participants who receive Old-Age,
Survivors and Disability Insurance (OASDI) benefits under title II or
receive concurrent benefits under title II and title XVI of the Act.
DATES: This project begins January 17, 2025 and ends by December 31,
2028.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Eunsong Park, Social Security
Administration, Office of Retirement and Disability Policy, Youth
Transition Exploration Demonstration, 6401 Security Boulevard,
Baltimore, MD, 21235. Telephone: (410) 965-3570; Email:
<a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#2643534855494841085647544d6655554708414950"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="2a4f5f445945444d045a4b58416a59594b044d455c">[email protected]</span></a>.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Youth Transition Exploration Demonstration
Under the YTED, youth with disabilities may receive enhanced
counseling services and referrals to training programs and other
employment services. We are conducting this project under section 1110
of the Social Security Act, which authorizes the Commissioner to
conduct demonstration projects that are likely to assist in promoting
the objectives or facilitate the administration of the title XVI
program. This demonstration will test the effectiveness of providing
enhanced counseling and referral services to youth with disabilities in
achieving long-term employment outcomes.
Through SSA's Interventional Cooperative Agreement Program (ICAP),
we acquired a cooperative agreement with Mathematica to implement and
evaluate YTED. Mathematica is a research and data analytics consultancy
driven by a mission to improve public well-being. Other partners for
the YTED are the Pennsylvania Office of Vocational Rehabilitation (OVR)
and University of Maryland's Center for Transition and Career
Innovation.
For the evaluation, we will modify the program rules that apply to
certain project participants and provide individual level SSA data to
Mathematica that will compare outcomes between treatment group and
control group participants regarding benefits, earnings, and
application frequency. Mathematica and OVR will recruit participants,
and OVR will provide enhanced counseling and referral services.
Potential participants are youth with disabilities ages 16 through
24 who are eligible for services from OVR, but do not have an open case
with OVR. They must be residents of the state of Pennsylvania in the
following counties:
<bullet> City of Philadelphia,
<bullet> Montgomery,
<bullet> Chester,
<bullet> Delaware, and
<bullet> Bucks.
Mathematica expects to recruit up to 700 individuals to participate
in the YTED. Participation is voluntary and individual participants
will sign an informed consent. Mathematica will randomly assign
participants to a treatment group and a control group. The treatment
group will receive enhanced counseling and referral services by a
vocational rehabilitation counselor with specialized YTED training
(VRC-YTED). The VRC-YTED will provide services, including connections
to intensive training programs, submitting an application for training
programs on behalf of the youth, coordinating placement with a program
representative, and benefits counseling including information on
waiving earned income counting and deeming. The control group will only
be eligible for standard OVR services, such as case management, and
will receive information on how to apply for the OVR services.
Under title XVI of the Act, we make SSI payments to persons who are
aged, blind, or disabled, and who also have limited income and
resources. We expect that some YTED participants may currently receive
SSI payments. Additionally, we expect some YTED participants may apply
for SSI once they learn about the program and seek eligibility for
benefits per 20 CFR 416.202. All participants can withdraw from the
project at any time. We will apply all usual program rules, including
reporting requirements, to all applicable participants no later than
December 31, 2028. Especially relevant, SSI recipients must report
changes in their work and generally must report their wages monthly. We
will also apply the alternate rules, as described below, to those
participants in the treatment group who consent to sharing their data
with us in the informed consent and who are SSI recipients (not OASDI
or concurrent recipients) no later than December 31, 2028.
Provisions of the Act and Regulations We are Waiving For the YTED
Treatment Group
We are waiving rules that offset SSI payments based on YTED
participants' earnings. The following alternate program rules will
apply to the YTED treatment group participants who are SSI recipients:
<bullet> The first waiver applies to earnings that directly affect
participants' own benefits. SSA will not offset SSI payments for
participants when the participants earn income. In other words, all
earned income by participants is excluded from SSI income counting.
<bullet> The second waiver applies to any deeming that results from
participants' earnings. For example, a participant's earnings will not
count against the SSI benefit of their child who receives SSI or their
spouse who receives SSI. However, if a person under the age of 18 is a
participant, any income (earned or unearned) from their non-participant
deemor parent(s) will still be subject to deeming. Additionally, if a
participant is married, any income from the non-participant spouse will
still be subject to deeming.
Applying these alternate rules involves waiving or altering certain
provisions included in sections of:
<bullet> Statutory Waivers
[[Page 6043]]
Social Security Act 1611(a)(1)(A), (a)(2)(A), (a)(3)(A) as
applicable to earned income; 1612(b)(1), (b)(3)(B), (b)(4); 1614(f)(1),
(f)(2)(A) as applicable to earned income; and 1619(a)(1).
<bullet> Regulatory Waivers
20 CFR 416.202 (c); 416.1104; 416.1110; 416.1111; 416.1112;
416.1163 as applicable to earned income; and 416.1165 as applicable to
earned income.
Authority for the Waivers Under YTED
Section 1110(b) of the Act authorizes us to waive any requirements,
conditions, or limitations of title XVI necessary to carry out
demonstration projects. Consistent with the requirements in section
1110(b)(2)(B) of the Act, participation in the YTED is voluntary and
based on informed consent, and the voluntary agreement to participate
may be withdrawn by the participant at any time.
Carolyn Colvin, the Acting Commissioner of the Social Security
Administration, having reviewed and approved this document, is
delegating the authority to electronically sign this document to Erik
Hansen, who is a Federal Register Liaison for the Social Security
Administration, for purposes of publication in the Federal Register.
Erik Hansen,
Associate Commissioner, Office of Legislation and Congressional
Affairs, Legislative Development and Operations, Social Security
Administration.
[FR Doc. 2025-01123 Filed 1-16-25; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4191-02-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on January 17, 2025.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.