David Dean’s research while affiliated with University of Richmond and other places

The process of “transitioning” to adulthood for youth with disabilities has long been recognized to be an important but understudied public policy concern. This paper evaluates the labor market effects of Virginia's school-to-work vocational evaluation program, PERT. Using a unique panel data set containing more than a decade of labor market and service information, we provide the first-ever assessment of the long-term employment impacts of a transitioning program for youth with disabilities. Overall, the estimated effects are substantial: PERT has an estimated median quarterly rate of return of nearly 30%.

We evaluate the impact of vocational rehabilitation (VR) services on employment outcomes of adults with physical disabilities. Using detailed panel data from the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitation Services in state fiscal year 2000, we estimate a structural model of participation that accounts for the potentially sudden onset of physical impairments and the endogenous selection of VR services. The results imply that VR services have large, positive long-run labor market effects that substantially exceed the cost of providing services.

We construct a structural model of participation in vocational rehabilitation for people with mental illness. There are multiple services to choose among, and each has different effects on employment, earnings, and receipt of DI/SSI. This is the first paper to jointly estimate VR service receipt, employment outcomes, and DI/SSI receipt. We estimate large effects for most of the services implying large rates of return to vocational rehabilitation. © 2017 by the Board of Regents of the University ofWisconsin System.

This article utilizes administrative data to examine both short- and long-term employment impacts for people with cognitive impairments who applied for vocational rehabilitation services in Virginia in 2000. These data provide long-term quarterly information on services and employment outcomes. We model behavior, allow for multiple service choices, use long-run labor market data, and use valid instruments. Results imply that services generally have positive long-run labor market outcome effects that appear to substantially exceed the cost of providing services.

We examine the association between the receipt of vocational rehabilitation (VR) services and Federal Disability Insurance using a unique panel data source on persons who applied for assistance from Virginia’s VR program in 2000. Three central findings emerge: first, VR services are associated with lower rates of participation in disability insurance programs-a nearly 2 point drop in SSDI receipt and 1 point drop in SSI receipt. Second, VR service receipt is associated with lower take-up rates of SSDI/SSI. Finally, among VR applicants on SSDI/SSI, those who receive substantive VR services are more likely to be employed. JEL codes H51, I13, J24

The public-sector Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program is a $3 billion federal-state partnership designed to provide employment-related assistance to persons with disabilities. There is, however, relatively little-known about the long-term efficacy of VR programs. This paper utilizes unique and detailed administrative and employment data to examine both short and longer-term employment impacts for all persons diagnosed with mental illness who applied for VR services in the state of Virginia in State Fiscal Year 2000. These data provide quarterly information on VR services and employment outcomes from 1995 to 2010. Estimates from our model of service provision and labor market outcomes reveal that VR services generally have positive long-run labor market outcome effects that appear to substantially exceed the cost of providing services.