Targeting people with severe disabilities for return-to-work: the Project NetWork demonstration experience

Abstract

Project NetWork was a large-scale return-to-work demonstration that enrolled beneficiaries of the disability programs administered by the Social Security Administration. Persons with a wide range of diagnoses and severity of disability were encouraged to consider working and to volunteer for rehabilitation and employment services through the demonstration. This article describes the outreach, intake, and provision of services for the demonstration. Survey data are presented on the self-reported health and disability status, scores on the CES-D depression screener, attitudes toward work, and motivation of the treatment group, the .control group, and a randomly selected sample of eligible persons who chose not to participate. The project was successful in attracting persons the nature and severity of whose disabilities was diverse. While the demonstration increased participation in vocational rehabilitation, similar to the experience of the TETD demonstration, only about 1 in 20 eligibles participated in the demonstration.