Research by Author & Topic

Publications by Pamela J. Loprest on Supplemental Security Income

This paper analyzes how mental health problems impede low-income mothers' ability to work and how health insurance improves access to mental health treatment services. According to data from the 2002 National Survey of America's Families, low-income mothers in poor mental health are significantly less likely to work and to work full time than those without these problems. Low-income mothers with public or private health insurance are significantly more likely to receive treatment than those without insurance. Mental health problems are an important barrier to work among low-income women, and access to treatment could be improved through increased health insurance coverage.

In this commentary for The Providence Journal, Sheila Zedlewski, director of the Urban Institute's Income and Benefits Policy Center, and Pamela Loprest, a principal research associate, look at how low-income families have fared since the 1996 welfare reform and what needs to be done to keep them from falling through the safety net.

This paper examines the transition experiences of child Supplemental Security Income (SSI) recipients just prior to and after age 18. We find that only a minority of pre-transition SSI recipients, ages 14 to 17, participated in training or rehabilitation activities and many had never heard of SSI work incentive provisions. Among post-transition young people ages 19 to 23, those off SSI are in better health and more likely to be working than those on SSI. However, many are struggling with incomes below poverty, about half have dropped out of school, and a third have been arrested.

This paper presents options for incorporating a strong return-to-work focus in the disability eligibility requirements for the Social Security Administration's (SSA) disability programs. In developing options, we first review alternative disability concepts from other private and public disability programs that focus on an individual's residual capacity to work, rather than an inability to work. We then examine the potential implications of applying different components of these alternative conceptualizations to the current disability eligibility requirements. Our analysis illustrates that policymakers must weigh the real costs of creating a more expansive set of disability eligibility criteria that focus on work (which will significantly increase the size of the caseload) against the current costs of having an all-or-nothing disability definition.

Welfare reform has moved millions of people into the workforce, but millions more need help overcoming employment barriers.