INTERCONNECTS

A joint project of the National Center for Supercomputing Applications (NCSA) and the Disability Research Institute (DRI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign could help disabled Americans return to the workforce. Thomas Prudhomme, director of NCSA's Cybercommunities division, and Michael Welge, head of NCSA's Automated Learning Group, have been awarded just over $930,000 for a one-year study funded through the DRI to examine the Social Security Administration's Ticket to Work program. The Social Security Administration provides a safety net for people with disabilities through two programs: Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). Several recent federal initiatives have focused on facilitating the employment of Americans who participate in these two federal programs. Starting in 2001, the government launched a new program, called Ticket to Work. Beneficiaries receive tickets that they can redeem for employment services from various agencies. The service providers are paid based on the long-term employment success of their clients. Prudhomme and Welge will use the D2K (Data to Knowledge) data mining software developed at NCSA to analyze data from the first 13 states in which the Ticket to Work program was rolled out. By studying the attributes of the beneficiaries who received tickets, examining whether or not the beneficiaries cashed in their tickets, and what services the ticket-holders received, the researchers will develop a model that can predict which of the more than 8 million individuals receiving SSDI and SSI are most likely to benefit from the program, how participation in the program can be maximized, and how SSA can be most beneficial to Americans with disabilities. "This type of analysis should be of great value to the Social Security Administration," explained Prudhomme. "The ultimate goal is to help as many beneficiaries as possible succeed in the workforce." This study could be a first step toward a long-term relationship between NCSA and the SSA.