Peter J. Baird
365 Saybrook Rd December 2008
Higganum, CT 06441
Education
Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. Master's in Political Science with a concentration in research methods, Russian studies and international politics. Course work completed May, 1993.
Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA. Bachelor of Arts with major in Anthropology; degree conferred with honors, May, 1988.
Grinnell-in-London, Great Britain. Course work and field experience in cultural anthropology in London and Wales, Fall, 1986.
Research Experience
Martinez, Scott, Baird, et.al, The Social Security Administration’s Youth Transition
Demonstration Projects: Profiles of the Random Assignment Projects, Mathematica Policy Research, December 2008
Wittenberg, Baird, et.al., Health Benefits for the Uninsured: Design and Early Implementation of the Accelerated Benefits Project, MDRC, September 2008
Baird, et.al,, The Colorado Youth Transition Demonstration Project: An Early Assessment, Mathematica Policy Research, February 2008
Baird, Employment Programs for People with Disabilities: One-Stop Career Centers, NCHSD/Health and Disability Advocates, January 2007
Baird, Employment Programs for People with Mental Illness, NCHSD/Health and Disability Advocates, December 2006
Baird, Employment Programs for People with Disabilities: Vocational Rehabilitation, NCHSD/Health and Disability Advocates, October 2006
Baird, et. al., Effective Strategies to Improve the Achievement of Employment of Individuals who are SSI/SSDI Participants, Institute on Rehabilitation Issues, University of Wisconsin-Stout, October, 2000
Johnson-Lamarche, Baird, Barriers to Employment for Persons with Disabilities, Report to General Assembly, Department of Aging and Disabilities, December 1997.
Work Experience
Operations Associate, MDRC, March 2007 to Present. Provides disability policy expertise, policy analysis and program assessment duties for two major SSA-funded grants: the Youth Transition Demonstration and Accelerated Benefits Project. Is the Project Manager for an important intervention in the Accelerate Benefits Project, and lead evaluator for two Youth Transition Demonstration sites. Serve as key disability policy staff for several MDRC projects, including collaborations with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Centers for Health Care Studies and the University of Massachusetts Medical Center.
Consultant, National Consortium for Health Systems Development, September 2003 to March 2007. Provides technical assistance to over 30 state Medicaid Infrastructure Grants on building comprehensive systems that support employment for people with disabilities. Develops policy papers and tools, assists in evaluation design, moderates and facilitates peer-to-peer state sharing, provides expert technical assistance, makes presentations across the nation on disability and employment, and assists in sponsoring two national conferences per year. The National Consortium for Health Systems Development is a national technical assistance center that supports states in efforts related to employment for people with disabilities.
Senior Policy Analyst, Connect to Work Center, January 2002 to August 2003. Connecticut Bureau of Rehabilitation Services, Department of Social Services. Direct policy and research efforts for two large federal grants designed to remove barriers to employment for people with disabilities. Oversee creation and implementation of significant evaluation program and database for Connect to Work Center. Assist in administering $500,000 per year CMS Medicaid Infrastructure Grant. Responsible for quarterly reporting and annual data reports for grant. Oversee policy-making for planned new Medicaid Personal Assistance waiver. Oversee development of new Community Bridging Pilot to assist people with significant disabilities to prepare for employment. Responsible for policy-making and research efforts for the Center’s benefits counseling efforts. Provide national technical assistance on programs to help people with disabilities enter competitive employment. Key planner for Bureau's Employment Network development and leader in Bureau’s Ticket to Work preparations.
Project Director, Vermont Work Incentive Initiative, February 1998 to December 2001. Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, State of Vermont, Waterbury, VT. Serve as Director of the Vermont Work Incentive Initiative, a program to remove barriers to employment for people with disabilities. Serve as chief policy and research staff for entire project. Supervise eight people; the project’s data analyst an administrative assistant and six benefits planners. Oversee creation and implementation of a significant new Medicaid buy-in program for people with disabilities. Coordinate creation of a peer counseling and mentoring project for people with disabilities. Work with SSA to develop and implement SSDI and SSI waivers that will remove systemic barriers to employment in SSA disability system. Coordinate project steering committee activities. Oversee $1 million+ annual budget, including year to year adjustments and renewals. Draft quarterly updates and annual progress reports for RWJ Foundation. Work as a key contact with Senator Jeffords staff on the Ticket to Work legislation, and interpret and implement of provisions of Work Incentive Improvement Act as passed by Congress, specifically as it relates to DVR and the Vermont Work Incentive Initiative. Coordinate with DVR in supervision of entire VWII project. Conduct significant amounts of public outreach and education for people with disabilities, the business community and general public about the project.
Social Security Specialist, February, 1996 to February, 1998 at Division of Vocational Rehabilitation, State of Vermont, Waterbury, VT (as contract employee). Providing research and policy analyses on social security work incentives for persons with disabilities, legislative issues, and staff support on SSI/DI issues. Wrote four research grants that are designed to remove work disincentives for persons with disabilities. All grants were funded. Developed, implemented and administered a new early intervention program for SSI and SSDI beneficiaries to help them access VR services at a more appropriate stage in their rehabilitation. Oversaw the implementation of a new database relating earnings reports to demographic data. Improved data and system analyses to improve reimbursement from Social Security Administration when people with disabilities achieve gainful employment. Conducted analyses of earnings of VR consumers, focusing on the behavior of SSI and SSDI beneficiaries. Conducted 17 consumer, provider and employer focus groups to gather data on work disincentives. Provided technical assistance on Social Security work incentives to Vocational Rehabilitation counselors working with people with disabilities. Worked with Senator James Jeffords, Senator Edward Kennedy, and state and national disability advocates on developing legislation aimed at reducing work disincentives for Social Security beneficiaries. Consulted on department wide transition to new computer software, and conducted training for all VR staff on new software. Participating in a multi-state collaborative project to create meaningful work incentives and health care options for people with disabilities. Conducted policy analyses with SSA on work incentive and early intervention issues. Presented at numerous conferences on work disincentives, including recent meetings of top disability advocates in Washington, DC, with the Social Security Administration, and at a national Traumatic Brain Injury conference.
Policy Analyst, April, 1994-November, 1995 at the Indiana Office of Medicaid Policy and Planning, Indianapolis, IN. Report directly to the Assistant Secretary for Family and Social Services. Develop and implement policies to reform Medicaid nursing facility and ICF/MR reimbursement systems in Indiana. Respond to inquiries regarding long term care from the provider and recipient communities as well as other governmental agencies, the legislative and executive branches, and the press. Develop the policy framework for a case mix reimbursement system in Indiana. Develop an RFP and oversee the procurement of a contractor to assist Medicaid in collecting MDS resident data from nursing facilities. Work with Indiana’s Division of Disabilities, Aging and Rehabilitation Services to reform licensing and staffing approvals for group homes for the developmentally disabled. Work with advocates and other state agencies to develop state policies on appropriate services for children with autism. Develop policies to expand home and community-based services for the elderly and developmentally disabled. Develop fiscal impact statements for proposed legislation and promulgated rules. Analyze proposed legislation, and present materials to legislative committees.
Honors
FLAS, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, 1991-1992
Phi Beta Kappa, Grinnell College, May 1988
Dean's List, Grinnell College. 1984-1988
Harold A. Fletcher Scholarship for Outstanding Achievement in the Social Sciences, May, 1988
Joyce Foundation Fellowship, Spring 1988
Ballard Scholarship, Spring, 1988