Citations & abstracts will be posted as they become available.

Lui, J.W., Chan, F., Fried, J.H., Lin, C.P., Anderson, C.A., & Peterson, M. (2010). Roles and functions of benefits counseling specialists: A multitrait analysis. Journal of Vocational Rehabilitation, 32, 1-11.

Abstract: The purpose of this study is to examine the roles and functions of benefits counseling specialists. One-hundred and forty-eight benefits counseling specialists rated the Benefits Specialists Practice Inventory – Revised using a 5-point importance rating scale. Data were analyzed using multi-trait analysis. The multi-trait analysis tentatively supported the three-factor structure of the Benefits Specialists Practice Inventory – Revised, indicating that benefits screening (M = 4.43, SD = 0.47), benefits advisement (M = 4.49, SD = 0.56), and benefits management (M = 4.07, SD = 0.88) are most central to the job performance of benefits counseling specialists. In addition, benefits counseling specialists in the current study rated themselves as relatively well prepared to perform these benefits counseling job functions, with benefits advisement rated the highest (M = 4.23, SD = 0.76), followed by benefits screening (M = 4.15, SD = 0.70), and then by benefits management (M = 3.75, SD = 0.96). However, multi-trait analysis also suggested that there might be more than three essential job functions for benefits counseling specialists and more comprehensive research in the future is warranted.

Tremblay, T., Xie, H., Smith, J., & Drake, R. (2004). The impact of specialized benefits counseling services on social security administration disability beneficiaries in Vermont. The Journal of Rehabilitation, 70(2), 5-11.

Abstract:  This study is a preliminary examination of the impact of specialized benefits counseling on Social Security Administration disability beneficiaries in Vermont. Beneficiaries (N=672) who received specialized benefits counseling were compared with matched contemporaneous and historical controls over four years, two years before and two years after the initiation of the intervention. Although all three groups showed improved earnings over time, the participants who received specialized benefits counseling achieved significantly greater improvements in earnings than the two comparison groups; the difference in adjusted average earnings increased more than $225 per quarter in the first comparison, and more than $190 per quarter in the second. Specialized benefits counseling appears to be an important intervention for Social Security Administration disability beneficiaries served by the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation.

Building Sustainable Work Incentives Planning and Outreach Infrastructure (courtesy of the National Consortium for Health Systems Development)