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National and State-Level Trends in Adult Supplemental Security Income (SSI) Awardees with ASD: 2005-2017

Poster Presentation
Friday, May 3, 2019: 5:30 PM-7:00 PM
Room: 710 (Palais des congres de Montreal)
K. Anderson1, A. Roux2, J. Rast3, P. Shattuck3, J. Hemmeter4, J. Baller5 and D. Wittenburg5, (1)Life Course Outcomes Research Program, Drexel University A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Philadelphia, PA, (2)A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, (3)Drexel University A.J. Drexel Autism Institute, Philadelphia, PA, (4)Office of Research, Demonstration, and Employment Support, Social Security Administration, Baltimore, MD, (5)Mathematica Policy Research, Princeton, NJ
Background: The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, a nationwide cash assistance program, is an important yet understudied source of financial support for adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Prior research found a 327% national increase in the number of working-age SSI recipients with ASD between 2005 and 2015. However, the possibility of changes in the characteristics of this population has not yet been explored.

Objectives: Specific research questions included: 1) How has the number and proportion of SSI awardees with ASD changed over time and how do these changes vary by age?; 2) How has the demographic composition of awardees with ASD changed, and how do these changes compare to awardees other disabilities?; and 3) How did the number of SSI awardees with ASD vary across states and over time?

Methods: We used Social Security Administration (SSA) program data from 2005 to 2017 to examine national- and state-level changes in the composition of new SSI awardees (ages 18-64) with respect to gender, age, SSI history and the relative size of the ASD group. We also present data on the population of awardees with intellectual disability (ID) and other mental disorders (OMD) to help contextualize our findings.

Results: The number of awards for ASD increased dramatically, rising from 3,384 in 2005 to 12,096 in 2017 (a total increase of 257.4%). In contrast, the number of ID awards declined by 54.9% and OMD awards declined by 48.9% decrease. Nine out of every 10 ASD awards were given to young adults, ages 18 to 25 years. This figure has been relatively stable across the years, suggesting that growth in transition age young adults is not driving overall increases in the population of ASD awardees. The composition of awardees with ASD did not significantly change between 2005 and 2017 with respect to age, gender and SSI history. However, there were significant between-group differences in awardee characteristics. Overall, awardees with ASD were younger (mean age 20.9 years) and had a higher percentage of males (81.0%) compared to awardees with ID and OMD. All states reported increases in both the number and proportion of ASD awards between 2005 and 2017. However, the degree of growth varied considerably across states (ranging from a low of 2.1% in New Mexico to a high of 12.7% in New Jersey—a difference of 10.6%). By comparison, the number of ID and OMD awards declined in every state. Our findings also indicate a general increase in state heterogeneity in the prevalence of ASD awards. Across all 50 states and Washington D.C., the average proportion of ASD awards increased by 8.0 percentage points between 2005 and 2017, and the standard deviation increased by 251.1%. In contrast, state-level variability declined in the ID and OMD groups between 2005 and 2017.

Conclusions:

Findings from this study underscore the need to consider geographic and age differences in SSI participation among individuals with ASD and identify how these differences relate to variation in economic outcomes across states and disability groups.

See more of: Service Delivery/Systems of Care
See more of: Service Delivery/Systems of Care