Work efforts of disabled-worker beneficiaries: preliminary findings from the new beneficiary followup survey.

This article represents a preliminary investigation of factors influencing the decision of disabled-worker beneficiaries to look for employment and to return to work. Using the New Beneficiary Followup Survey and the special add-on frame of beneficiaries who had earnings, the article analyzes the impact of vocational rehabilitation (VR), work incentives, and employer workplace accommodations on the decision to return to work. Also examined are the reasons beneficiaries gave for deciding to look for work, job search methods, and the types of jobs that they were looking for. The research indicates that most beneficiaries look for work for financial reasons, for example, out of economic necessity or to improve their standard of living. Only 1 in 4 reported that they had received VR services and most indicated that it did not help them on the job. Most beneficiaries (80 percent) were unaware of work incentive provisions at the time they returned to work. Nearly half (42 percent) reported receiving workplace accommodations from their employer. Further research is planned to help assess the return to work experience.