[NYAPRS Enews] PRI: Grants on How to Improve Disability Determination Process

Fri Oct 21 09:36:19 EDT 2011

2012 Disability Determination Process (DDP)

Small Grant Program for Graduate-Level Research

Request for Applications (RFA) and Application Instructions

The Disability Determination Process (DDP) Small Grant Program is a one-year stipend program that will allow graduate-level students to conduct supervised independent research on improving disability determination processes.  The program is directed by Policy Research, Inc. (PRI) of Delmar, NY, and is 100% funded through a $300,000 grant from the Social Security Administration (SSA) (#IDD11000001). 

Program Description

This grant program will award stipends to graduate students to conduct research on improving disability determination processes.  For example, the disability determination process used for SSA's two disability programs - Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) -- is extensive and complex, and members of the public with health problems and economic hardships often find it difficult to navigate this process.  PRI hopes to improve the efficiency and reduce the complexity of disability determination processes by facilitating innovative research through stipends to a broad spectrum of graduate students and by allowing those students to access technical information on SSA disability program operations from disability experts.  In exchange, PRI expects students to produce a thesis or written project relevant to disability programs by December 31, 2012.

PRI suggests these topic areas but students are encouraged to develop alternative topics and formulate appropriate study designs:

Medical and Rehabilitative Sciences

*	Are there severity thresholds in medical conditions that meet the criteria for compassionate allowances and what is the scientific, medical, or research justification for their inclusion as part of the compassionate allowance process? 
*	What are the most common functional effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) or various types of strokes and what measurements of severity might be suitable for evaluating the functional capacity of an individual who has suffered from a TBI/stroke? How might the specific physical and mental-cognitive functional deficit(s) resulting from a TBI/stroke affect ability to meet critical work requirements and what measures/scales would be suitable to capture those physical and mental-cognitive work requirements in work analysis? Is there any measure of maximum medical improvement following a TBI/stroke that commonly corresponds to work disability?
*	Do current medical listings provide consistent consideration regarding the use of assistive technology for disability determination purposes?

Predictive Modeling, Economics, Efficiencies 

*	Considering the potentials for predictive modeling and focusing on information collection instruments, what are the opportunities for improving an existing disability claim intake process (e.g., the SSA process) for the 21st century?
*	What are the key factors in the growth of mental impairments on the Social Security Disability Insurance and Supplemental Security Income rolls?
*	What is the best way to collect allegations during the application process to maximize the possibility of proper identification of cases that qualify for compassionate allowance processing?

Sociology, Special Populations, Vocational Factors

*	What is the relationship between homelessness and disability? What factors are associated with homelessness that are predictive for disability that are within the existing statutory authority to consider? Can chronic homelessness be used as a proxy for meeting criteria for the mental and other medical listings (e.g. the "B" criteria for Traumatic Brain Injury)?
*	Does recent research offer guidance on a disability determination process for special populations, such as children and wounded warriors? 

§  SSA has conducted contracted investigations in the last decade regarding the effects of vocational factors of age, education, and skills on individuals' ability to work.[1]

1.   What else can be learned from the published studies regarding the effects of age and education, in particular, on an individual's vocational profile?

2.   To what extent can the effects found among the populations associated with these published studies be generalized to a disability claimant population (such as SSA's claimant population)?

3.   How does age affect the ability to work (or the residual functional capacity) of individuals with specified impairments, such as musculoskeletal impairments or affective disorders?

Applicant Eligibility

Applicants must be masters, doctoral, or post-doctoral-level graduate students pursuing full-time research training in accredited programs with an academic emphasis in topics of interest to disability programs, including public health, social work, occupational medicine, vocational and rehabilitation counseling, public policy and administration, sociology, psychology, education, economics, medicine, and law.  Applicants may submit more than one proposal for consideration per year, but can receive only one stipend award per year. 

At the time of stipend award, selected graduate student researchers must be citizens or non-citizen nationals of the United States, or must have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence.  Individuals on temporary or student visas are not eligible for stipend award.  Members of minority and historically disadvantaged groups are encouraged to apply. 

Amount and Disbursement of Award

Students will receive a stipend of $10,000 for the one-year program (stipends may be subject to tax withholding).  The stipend may be added to other financial support the graduate student receives from his or her university/research organization. The stipend is not provided as a condition of employment either with the Federal Government or PRI.

Payments will be disbursed to awardees in two installments: (1) after submission of research paper work plan (4-6 weeks following notification of the award) and (2) upon completion of the final research product.  

Dates

The program will run from January 2012 to December 2012. 

Application Procedures

Applications should include the following:

1.	A completed Application.  Download from www.policyresearchinc.org/projects/ddp_grant.shtml.
2.	A research proposal.  Four page maximum, (12 pt. Times New Roman font, 1 inch margins, single-spaced), excluding references, tables, and figures.  Evaluation criteria for proposals are outlined below.
3.	Two (2) letters of recommendation.  Download Reference Form from www.policyresearchinc.org/projects/ddp_grant.shtml.  One (1) from a Faculty Mentor and one (1) from an academic or professional contact who can comment on your potential for success with independent research.  Both individuals should be listed on the Application.

E-mail all application materials and letters of recommendation by 5:00 PM (EST) on Tuesday, November 15, 2011 to Policy Research, Inc. at ddp at policyresearchinc.org with the subject line "[Your Last Name] - IDDP Research Application"

Evaluation Criteria

Your proposal will be reviewed by scholars within your field and other disciplines.  The evaluation criteria established by PRI are as follows: 

§  30% - Research design

§  20% - Statement of problem and literature review

§  20% - Feasibility of completing project

§  20% - Anticipated outcomes and implications for the disability determination process 

§  10% -  Letters of recommendation

Deliverables

Award recipients will be required to submit the following: 

1.   A detailed work plan for the award year indicating objectives, activities, and timeframes (4-6 weeks after notification of award);

2.   Quarterly progress reports briefly summarizing activities undertaken and any challenges encountered;

3.   Draft research paper with all the main sections complete, due by 5:00pm (EDT) on November 1, 2012;

4.   Final written research product completed by 5:00pm (EST) on December 31, 2012.

Additional Award Information

§  Award decisions are expected on or about December 15, 2011. 

§  Award recipients are expected to participate in a welcome teleconference with other recipients and PRI soon after the award, respond in a timely and complete fashion to comments and suggestions from PRI, and adhere to the schedule of deliverables above.   

§  For more information, contact us at ddp at policyresearchinc.org.

________________________________

[1] Baughman, W.A., et al. (June 29, 2001). The Effects of Time and Disuse on the Capabilities Required for Prior Work. SSA Task Order No. 0440-99-40568. American Institutes for Research, Washington, D.C.  Gustafson, S., Rose, A, Heil, S., Muller, L., and O'Shea, G. (2002). A Research Review of Age, Education, and Skills Related to SSA's Disability Determination Process. SSA Task Order No. 0440-02-50810. GS-10F-0112J. American Institutes for Research, Washington, D.C.  Reynolds, S., et al. (2000). The Impact of Age, Education and Work Experience on Determining Eligibility for Social Security Disability Insurance: A Synthesis of Recent Literature. Under Contract to SSA: Contract No. 600-97-32018. University of South Florida, Tampa, FL. Rose, A. and Gustafson, S., et al. (2001) Refining the Social Security Administration's Disability Determination Process: The Past Relevant Work Issue. Under Contract to SSA: Task Order No. 0440-99-40568. American Institutes for Research, Washington, D.C.

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