Feature Story

October 8, 2008

Pathways to Work Program in the United Kingdom Increases Employment of People with Disabilities

The idea of people with disabilities working is becoming the expectation and goal of public policy in the U.S. as well as in many other countries.

A new research brief from the Center for Studying Disability Policy at Mathematica Policy Research, Inc., notes that the United Kingdom’s Pathways to Work program increases employment substantially for this group.

The Pathways program offers employment support and services to applicants for Incapacity Benefits (IB), the U.K.’s largest disability program. Pathways is the U.K.’s first attempt to require IB claimants to make an effort to return to work. Its key elements are a series of compulsory work-focused interviews, as well as a range of optional services and financial supports known as the Choices Package.

Findings from the initial evaluation of Pathways offer some lessons for U.S. policymakers. After 18 months, employment increased substantially, and there was a small reduction in caseload size. Pathways increased the probability of being in paid work by 7 percent—a 25 percent increase over the comparison group. The program also reduced the IB caseload by an estimated 2 percent. In addition, it reduced by 11 percent the likelihood that claimants report a health condition significantly limiting their ability to carry out daily activities.

The authors note that U.S. cash disability benefits programs require a person to be unable to work to qualify for benefits, which limits return-to-work outcomes and the number of people who leave the rolls. In contrast, the U.K.’s system integrates employment support with cash assistance, especially for people claiming IB.

“The Pathways program provides a potential model for the U.S.,” said Bonnie O’Day, lead author of the brief and a senior researcher at Mathematica®. “However, because of the relative generosity of U.S. benefit levels, the stringency of eligibility criteria, and other policy environment differences, further refinements might be necessary.”