The Social Security Disability Program: An Evaluation Study, Issue 39

Richard Thomas Smith · Abraham M. Lilienfeld

Jan 1971 · U.S. Social Security Administration, Office of Research and Statistics

About this eBook

The purpose of this study is to examine the post-evaluation experience of a group of applicants denied disability benefits (cases) and to contrast their experience with a group of applicants allowed benefits (controls). It includes an analysis of the current medical, vocational, and socioeconomic status of the two groups of disability applicants. The findings will provide some objective measure of the efficacy and accuracy of the guides used in benefit determinations. The specific objectives of the study are: (1) to assess the effectiveness with which the guides measure severity of disability, by analyzing survivorship experience of the two applicant groups; (2) to assess the accuracy of the guides in measuring severity of disability and inability to work, by evaluating illness, impairment, and functional limitation characteristics of allowed and denied applicants; (3) to evaluate the measure of "ability to engage in gainful employment," by analyzing work experience and occupational changes of applicants; (4) to assess the influence of disability determinations on applicants' subsequent levels of income and economic resources; and (5) to examine the pattern of medical and rehabilitation services utilized by applicants, as a reflection of the guides used to measure severity of disability. The study was conducted during the period of March 1964 through September 1966, in Baltimore. All aspects of the investigation carried out by an independent research team are covered herein. The findings of the present study thus serve two major purposes: an evaluation of the disability program on a limited scale, and a design and replication model for carrying out further studies.