Interagency Cooperative Action Network (ICAN)
Objective
The Social Security Administration (SSA) is partnering with the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment’s Division of Vocational Rehabilitation to conduct the Interagency Cooperative Action Network (ICAN) demonstration, a randomized controlled trial to evaluate the impact of assisting potentially eligible individuals in their efforts to acquire SSA Disability Benefits while they are actively engaged in employment or actively seeking employment. ICAN will focus on serving young adults with disabilities. The project will test the impact of assisting potentially eligible individuals in acquiring Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and/or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) while concurrently working/seeking employment. The ICAN intervention aims to dispel the myth that one must choose between work and SSDI/SSI to a model that promotes applying for SSDI/SSI and working/seeking employment at the same time. Currently in Colorado benefits counseling and employment services are offered separately, not as a team approach; anyone wanting these services would need to seek them out on their own through a variety of vendors. This study will determine whether combining these services will help young adults achieve self-sufficiency by shifting the work/disability benefits paradigm from “either/or” to “both/and.”
Status
Planning activities began in October 2023. Enrollment will begin in 2025 and will continue for two years. ICAN is currently scheduled to end in September 2028, but may be extended to allow sufficient time for the implementation and evaluation.
ICAN will recruit individuals who 1) live in the state of Colorado, 2) have at least one disabling condition, 3) are between the ages of 18-64 at the time of enrollment in the study, and 4) are potentially eligible for SSDI/SSI adult programs but have not yet applied or have a pending SSDI/SSI determination or are appealing an SSDI/SSI determination at the time of enrollment. Educating these young adults and their families that SSDI/SSI does not need to be the end objective and that the SSA rules allow a person to work and still qualify for those programs will encourage young adults to stay in and join the workforce at a young age. Perhaps more importantly, many of the vendors who offer these services will learn through this project that a person can apply for SSDI/SSI and work/seek employment at the same time.
Participants will be randomly assigned to two groups. Participants in the treatment group will receive services concurrently from a team of three providers: an SSI/SSDI Outreach, Access, and Recovery (SOAR) non-attorney representative, a Community Partner Work Incentive Coordinator (CPWIC), and an Employment Specialist. Participants in the control group will be given resources they can use to help apply for or appeal a decision on SSDI/SSI, and gain employment and benefits planning services, including a referral to their local Center for Independent Living.
The evaluation will consist of a cost benefit analysis, a process analysis, and an outcome analysis. For the outcome analysis, baseline data will be gathered at entry and updates will be gathered at 6 months, 12 months and 18 months to track outcomes, including the following: application for SSDI/SSI and outcome of application, employment readiness milestones, gross income (wages and/or benefits), level of satisfaction with their income, having and utilizing an Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) account, and change in their Quality-of-Life scores.
Not applicable at this time.
The final evaluation report is expected at the end of the project.
Not applicable at this time.