Policy

RespectAbility to hold LA session on Thursday, March 12th on “How Disability Inclusion & Equity Can Add to Your Success”

Los Angeles, CA, Mar. 9 – Even as coronavirus quickly escalates into a major economic disruption for the nation, new data shows that Californians with disabilities already were struggling to keep their place in the state’s labor force.

According to the recently released 2019 Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, there are more than 1.8 million working-age Californians living with a disclosed disability, but only 700,456 have jobs. That puts putting California’s disability employment rate at just 36.9 percent, below the already low national average of 37 percent. This rate is less than half of the 75.6 percent of Californians without disabilities who have jobs. [continue reading…]

108,638 New Jobs for Women with Disabilities in the U.S., 94,749 Lost Jobs for Men with Disabilities

Washington, D.C., March 5 – As we celebrate Women’s History Month, women with disabilities have particular reasons to celebrate. Comparing the annual disability statistics, the nonpartisan disability inclusion organization RespectAbility shows that approximately 108,000 women with disabilities entered the workforce in 2018.

This is a major accomplishment given that the disability community writ large struggled nationwide to add more workers to the economy. In fact, during the same time period, 94,749 working-age males with disabilities left the workforce. This means, in terms of job growth, there was just an increase of 29,893 jobs for people with disabilities in 2018, a ten-fold decrease compared to the more than 343,000 new jobs for people with disabilities two years ago. [continue reading…]

However, only 29.7 percent of working-age African Americans with disabilities are employed

Washington, D.C. Feb. 25 – As we celebrate Black History Month, which takes place every February, RespectAbility recognizes the contributions made and the important presence of African Americans to the United States. It is important to note this includes more than 5.4 million African Americans living with a disability in the U.S., 3.2 million of whom are working-age African Americans with disabilities. Therefore, we would like to reflect on the realities and challenges that continue to shape the lives of African Americans with disabilities.

New statistics released by the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire show that the employment rate for African Americans with disabilities has continued to grow even as other part of the disability community have lost economic ground. In 2018, the disability employment rate of working-age African Americans with disabilities increased to 29.7 percent compared to 28.6 percent in 2017. While that is an improvement, it lags far behind the 74.4 percent of working-age African Americans without disabilities who have jobs. Indeed, national statistics show that only 37.6 percent of working age people with disabilities overall have jobs compared to 77.8 percent of working-age people without disabilities. Fully 32.3 percent of African Americans with disabilities live in poverty, compared to just 22.4 percent of African Americans without disabilities. [continue reading…]

Barely 29,000 new jobs for people with disabilities in 2018.

• Only 29,893 people with disabilities entered the workforce in 2018, a ten-fold decrease compared to the more than 343,000 new jobs for people with disabilities two years ago.
• Arizona saw the biggest job gains of any state, adding more than 17,000 people with disabilities to the state’s economy.
• At the same time, California saw the biggest job losses among people with disabilities, with more than 21,000 workers with disabilities leaving the labor force.

Washington, D.C., Feb. 24 – New statistics show that job gains among Americans with disabilities have dramatically fallen compared to previous years of sustain growth. The Disability Statistics Compendium, released earlier this month by the Institute on Disability at the University of New Hampshire, shows that the national disability employment rate has only risen to 37.6 percent compared to 37 percent last year. [continue reading…]

First Edition of National Voting Guide Highlights Presidential Candidates’ Responses to 2020 Disability Candidate Questionnaire

Read the 2020 Disability Voter Guide at The RespectAbility Report

Washington, D.C., Jan. 22 – As people with and without disabilities get ready to go to the polls to vote in their state’s primary elections, a disability rights nonprofit has released its first edition of the National Disability Voter Guide. While primary elections do not begin for a few more weeks, early voting begins earlier in many localities across the country. Early voting gives voters with and without disabilities the flexibility and choice to their ballots long before primary day.

Research conducted in the 2018 election shows that 74 percent of likely voters either have a disability themselves or have a family member or a close friend with disabilities. The upcoming elections and their results will have an impact on people with disabilities, so it is important to become familiar with the candidates’ positions on certain issues.

As a nonpartisan national nonprofit organization fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities so people with disabilities can participate fully in all aspects of community, RespectAbility has invited all candidates in the presidential race on both sides of the aisle to submit their answers to a 2020 Disability Voter Candidate Questionnaire. This questionnaire covers some of the most important issues impacting people with disabilities including employment, education, immigration, criminal justice and accessibility. [continue reading…]

Washington, D.C., Nov. 6 – The Collaboration to Promote Self-Determination (CPSD) and the National Council on Disability celebrated National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) with their third congressional briefing last week. There was standing room only as the audience learned about competitive integrated employment (CIE), community jobs where people with disabilities work alongside co-workers without disabilities and are paid competitive wages (minimum wage or above). Evidence from the briefing indicates that CIE provides greater financial independence for people with disabilities.

The event shined the spotlight on Virginians with disabilities who have successfully transitioned from sheltered workshops, where people with disabilities earn just a few dollars an hour and are segregated from employees without disabilities, to CIE. Tonya Millings, Director of Arc of Virginia was on the first panel. Her organization provides direct services to Lakesha Logan and Eric Cottrell—both Virginians. Lakesha and Eric are two success stories of people with disabilities who transitioned from sheltered workshops to CIE. [continue reading…]

Nashville, Tennessee, Oct. 31 – Gov. Bill Lee has declared October as Disability Employment Awareness Month to advance economic opportunities for Tennesseans with disabilities.

“Every person, regardless of ability, has valuable strengths, infinite capacity to learn and the potential to make important contributions to their local communities,” Gov. Lee said in a statement released earlier this month.  He went on to call attention to the “value of employees with disabilities to the state’s current and future workforce” as well as his state’s efforts at “expanding employment opportunities for citizens with disabilities.”

This proclamation follows a year of solid job growth for people with disabilities in the Volunteer State. 4,679 Tennesseans with disabilities entered the workforce last year, part of a national trend of jobs gained among people with disabilities. [continue reading…]

Saint Paul, Minnesota, Oct. 31 – This month, the Twin Cities Arby’s was named an Outstanding Disability Employer by the Minnesota Organization for Habilitation and Rehabilitation. This recognition happened as part of a state-wide celebration of National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Ben Kopnick, coordinator of the grant program that supported Arby’s to hire more employees with disabilities spoke about “working to integrate them in their workplace culture” and the employees with disabilities learning to “push themselves and grow their skillsets.”

Arby’s is one such example of how the North Star State is working to continue expanding job opportunities for Minnesotans with disabilities.

In a statement released earlier this month, Gov. Tim Walz proclaimed October to be “Employers Hiring People with Disabilities Month.” [continue reading…]

Juneau, Alaska, Oct. 31 – Alaska Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy has declared October as Disability Employment Awareness Month to help advance more economic opportunities for people with disabilities.

“This observance, highlights the talent and value added to our workplace and our communities by individuals with disabilities, and reaffirms the State of Alaska’s commitment to all of our citizens,” Gov. Dunleavy wrote in a statement released earlier this month. His proclamation also discussed how “competitive and unified employment provides individuals with a sense of pride, financial security, stable living conditions, access to better health management, and increased independence.”

Further, the proclamation also reflected on Alaska’s standing commitments as a “Employment First State, prioritizing competitive and assimilated employment for Alaskans.” Lastly, Gov. Dunleavy also touched on “the Alaska Achieving a Better Life Experience (ABLE) Act” that “empowers Alaskans with disabilities to pursue employment earnings and savings, while allowing them to still qualify for vital public benefits.”

This statement reflects the accomplishments of a state that outperforms many of the Lower 48 states in the Union. A recent study by RespectAbility, a nonpartisan disability inclusion organization, found that Alaska ranks 12^th out of the 50 states in terms of disability employment. [continue reading…]