What's New In Program Development & Research

April 1, 2009
Occupational Information Development Project
On April 27-29, 2009, the Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel will hold its upcoming Quarterly Meeting in Atlanta, GA. The tentative agenda for this meeting includes: presentations on a variety of issues including SSA's policies, procedures and business practices as they relate to the use of the Dictionary of Occupational Titles in the disability programs; a summary of agency concerns about its occupational information needs; a walk-thru demonstration of two disability cases and analysis of those cases from several user perspectives; presentations from stakeholders (including, but not limited to, vocational experts and claimant representatives); deliberation and discussion; and subcommittee and administrative meetings.

For additional information, please visit the Panel's website at www.ssa.gov/oidap

February 2, 2009
“The Youth Transition Demonstration (YTD) Projects: Profiles of the Random Assignment Projects” Report Released

The Office of Program Development and Research has released “The Youth Transition Demonstration Projects: Profiles of the Random Assignment Projects” report. This report was recently completed by the project evaluation contractor, Mathematica Policy Research. It is an in-depth review of each YTD random assignment site, including detailed information on the services being provided to enrolled youth and the administrative operations necessary for implementing the services. The report covers in detail the conceptual framework of the YTD initiative; the selection process of the projects for the national impact study; and the recruitment process of youth for the national study. The report presents both the core components of this research model and insight into how each individual project is operating and implementing the intervention components. This research project is the only one of its kind and will provide guidance on policy that deals with the SSI population.

Profiles of the Random Assignment Projects Report (December 11, 2008)

For more information about the YTD projects please visit http://www.socialsecurity.gov/disabilityresearch/youth.htm

January 15, 2009
Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel Established

The Office of Program Development and Research (OPDR) is in the final stages of assembling a federal advisory panel, the Occupational Information Development Advisory Panel (OIDAP), to provide expert guidance to the Occupational Information Development Project (OIDP). SSA initiated the OIDP to work on replacing the Dictionary of Occupational Titles with an occupational information system designed for SSA's disability programs. Notification of the formation of the panel was published in the Federal Register on December 23, 2008. The OIDAP will hold its inaugural meeting February 23-25, 2009. The panel is comprised of 11 external members and one SSA representative. Areas of expertise include occupational analysis, vocational rehabilitation, forensic vocational assessment, disability insurance programs, psychiatry, occupational rehabilitation, disability advocacy, and SSA disability programs and policy. Prospective panel members were contacted and have accepted their posts.

For general and meeting information, please visit the Panel’s website at www.ssa.gov/oidap.

For earlier headlines, visit the Disability Research News Archive.