Measure Twice, Cut Once, Part 2: Using VR Agencies’ Administrative Data to Monitor Pre-Employment Transition Services
Evidence | Publications

Measure Twice, Cut Once, Part 2: Using VR Agencies’ Administrative Data to Monitor Pre-Employment Transition Services

Published: Jan 31, 2019
Publisher: Princeton, NJ: Mathematica Policy Research
Human Services Disability Transition to Adulthood Data Analytics Advisory Services Technical Assistance
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Key Findings
  • There are many advantages to using the vast data collected by VR agencies to measure pre-employment transition services: they could be used in close to real time, as soon as they are entered or updated; the data may contain many details about the student, the provider, and the services; and the data offer a longitudinal perspective. Yet the richness of administrative data also poses an obstacle because of its complex structure.
  • Steps to prepare administrative data for pre-employment transition services might include defining the analysis question, identifying the sample, considering the time period, and identifying the data elements of interest.
  • Examples of analyses involving pre-employment transition services that are featured in the brief include: (1) showing an analysis of pre-employment transition services by geographic area; (2) presenting a way to measure spending on pre-employment transition services at the provider level; and (3) documenting the receipt of pre-employment transition services for individual students over time.

This brief discusses ways to use a state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agency’s administrative data to measure the provision of pre-employment transition services. These services are intended to prepare students with disabilities for life after school, but they represent a major change in how VR agencies operate. Given this increased emphasis on pre-employment transition services, staff at VR agencies might be wondering how best to measure these services. In this brief, we identify how VR agency staff might use their administrative data to assess the provision of pre-employment transition services.

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