The Promoting Readiness of Minors in
SSI (PROMISE) demonstration pursues positive outcomes for children
with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
and their families by reducing dependency on SSI. Under PROMISE,
targeted outcomes for youth include an enhanced sense of
self-determination; achievement of secondary and post-secondary
educational credentials; an attainment of early work experiences
culminating with competitive employment in an integrated setting;
and long-term reduction in reliance on SSI. Outcomes of interest
for families include heightened expectations for and support of the
long-term self-sufficiency of their youth; parent or guardian
attainment of education and training credentials; and increases in
earnings and total income. To achieve these outcomes, the PROMISE
projects are expected to make better use of existing resources by
improving service coordination among multiple state and local
agencies and programs. SSA is requesting clearance for the
collection of data needed to implement and evaluate PROMISE. The
evaluation will provide empirical evidence on the impact of the
intervention for youth and their families in several critical
areas, including: (1) improved educational attainment; (2)
increased employment skills, experience, and earnings; and (3)
long-term reduction in use of public benefits. The PROMISE
evaluation will be based on a rigorous design that will entail the
random assignment of approximately 2,000 youth in each of the six
projects to treatment or control groups (12,000 total). Youth in
the treatment groups will be eligible for enhanced services from
the demonstration programs, whereas youth in the control groups
will be eligible only for those services already available in their
communities independent of the interventions. The evaluation will
assess the effect of PROMISE services on educational attainment,
employment, earnings, and reduced receipt of disability payments. •
SSA planned several data collection efforts for the evaluation.
These include: (1) follow-up interviews with youth and their parent
or guardian 18 months and five years after enrollment; (2) phone
and in-person interviews with local program administrators, program
supervisors, and service delivery staff at two points in time over
the course of the demonstration; (3) two rounds of focus groups
with participating youth in the treatment group; (4) two rounds of
focus groups with parents or guardians of participating youth; and
(5) collection of administrative data. At this time, SSA requests
clearance only for the interviews to be conducted with program
staff and the focus group discussions to be conducted with youth
and parents or guardians. SSA will request clearance for the
18-month and five-year survey interviews in a future submission.
The respondents are PROMISE program staff, the youth participants
in the PROMISE program, and the parents or guardians of the youth
participants. We are submitting this Non-Substantive Change Request
to include alternate letters for those cases who the PROMISE
programs identify as withdrawn.
US Code:
42
USC 1310 Name of Law: Social Security Act
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.