PROMISE was a federal initiative to support youth receiving Supplemental Security Income (SSI) during the transition to adulthood.
OBJECTIVE:
This article discusses insights gained from the national PROMISE evaluation about the current transition system.
METHODS:
The national evaluation relied on a randomized controlled trial design and information obtained from staff interviews, surveys of parents and youth, and program administrative data.
RESULTS:
The authors found that: (1) many SSI youth received transition services without PROMISE, but that there was substantial room for PROMISE to improve service use; (2) intensive case management, facilitating early work experiences, and a family focus were the primary PROMISE innovations to usual services; (3) formal partnerships enhanced interagency collaboration but required time to form, service benchmarks, and regular communication; (4) identifying SSI youth for outreach is challenging under the current system; (5) PROMISE service costs represented relatively large investments; and (6) the intensive case management offered by PROMISE might be difficult to sustain in the current system.
CONCLUSIONS:
Lessons from PROMISE are relevant to current initiatives supporting youth with disabilities during the transition to adulthood. The evaluation will assess the longer-term impacts of PROMISE and provide information about its potential for generating long-term benefits.
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