Policy

RespectAbility’s federal policy work is often done in coalition with other organizations, ensuring input from a wide cross-section of the disability community. Check out our latest advocacy highlights from working in partnership with the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD), which is the largest coalition of national disability organizations that focus on policy, and the National Coalition on Accessible Voting (NCAV), which is a coalition of organizations dedicated to protecting, promoting, and expanding voting accessibility. [continue reading…]

Over the past month, two of RespectAbility’s major workforce initiatives, the Building Better Futures initiative (BBFI) and our Enabling Economic Independence to Work program (EIW), made great strides forward.

The BBFI program, which is made possible by the support of the James Irvine Foundation, is creating employment pipelines in the information technology and job coaching spaces for disabled people with multiple marginalized identities who don’t currently have college degrees. The program aims to establish partnerships between the disability community, educational institutions, industry, and government agencies in Southern California. Furthermore, the partners that RespectAbility has brought together are exploring the possibility of collaborating on larger statewide initiatives. We are excited about the program models that will emerge from these partnerships and hope they will be replicated throughout the country to bring about a meaningful and lasting change in disability employment nationwide. [continue reading…]

“Nothing about us without us.”

This iconic disability phrase takes on new significance in terms of health research, as the NIH recently designated people with disabilities as a population with health disparities.

Although this may sound like a disappointing development, this designation enables healthcare researchers to address the difficulties many people with disabilities face in receiving timely and comprehensive healthcare. It allows medical researchers to include disabled people as a subgroup within larger research studies. This allows researchers to understand the unintended effects a medication, procedure, treatment, or policy may have on people with disabilities specifically. It will also hopefully create a space for people to self-advocate for inclusion in trials and treatments from which they are currently excluded. [continue reading…]

What if you had to choose between paying your rent and marrying your significant other? People with disabilities who receive Supplemental Security Income (SSI) are faced with this decision every day. The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act raises asset limits for SSI recipients and couples. This proposal, while simple, could have a significant impact on SSI recipients and their families. 

Individuals who receive SSI are each allowed to have $2,000 in assets (such as cash, stocks, and vehicles), but married couples are only allowed to have $3,000 in assets between the two spouses. The asset limit is less for couples than it would be if the two people chose not to marry. Furthermore, second cars (which most people take for granted) can easily put a married couple over the asset threshold. This policy results in many couples choosing to remain unmarried or even for married couples to get divorced in order to be allowed to own a second car or to save an additional $1,000 a month.

The SSI Savings Penalty Elimination Act partially addresses these issues by proposing that asset limits to qualify for SSI be raised from $2,000 to $10,000 for individuals, and from $3,000 to $20,000 for couples. This will be the first time that SSI asset limits have been raised since 1989 and aligns with projected inflation-adjusted asset limits. [continue reading…]

National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) Spotlight  

Did you know that 44% of companies in the US don’t allow remote work? These companies are missing out on a reliable, skilled, and motivated talent pool, people with disabilities. Earlier this year, our Senior Policy Advisor, Matan Koch, moderated a webinar called Presenting the Business Case For Disability Inclusion Within Your Organization. This presentation highlighted the positive contributions that people with disabilities bring to an organization and is an excellent resource for companies looking to recruit from a diverse, underutilized talent pool. [continue reading…]

Since 1971, the Judge Rotenberg Center in Canton, Massachusetts has served as an institution for individuals with developmental disabilities. To help patents stop dangerous behaviors, the center uses aversive therapy, in which a patient experiences a form of discomfort given by a therapist if the patient engages in perceived inappropriate behaviors. The goal is for the patient to recognize that continued occurrences of such behaviors will result in further exposure to the discomfort given by the therapist, leading them to stop the behavior.

But the Judge Rotenberg center is the only one in the country that performs aversive therapy using a device known as the Graduated Electronic Decelerator (GED). The device is usually worn by a patient on their bodies and, if the patient is exhibiting behaviors the staff deems inappropriate, an electric shock is administered from the device to the patient via a remote control.

The center states the device is only used as a last resort if a patient continues to engage in “self-injurious or violent behavior” after prior attempts at prevention have failed. But several incidents at the center have come to light demonstrating that usage of the device is ineffective at reducing harmful behaviors, left lasting physical and psychological scars on patients, and has often been used as an initial form of treatment. [continue reading…]

Every year, the Rehabilitation Services Administration engages in a reallotment process for the Federal fiscal year, both for vocational rehabilitation funding and for the State Supported Employment Services (Supported Employment) program. This means that every year, even though there are tens of thousands of people going without services, unspent funds are moved from their original state of allocation to another state.

In supported employment alone, 13 state agencies relinquished almost $2.5 million in supported employment funds, up from under $2 million in FY 2022. The relinquishment means that for 13 populations, some of the unserved folks were unserved because their programs lacked the capacity to properly spend the funds to serve them. Learn whether your state agency is relinquishing funds in the chart below. Engage with the agencies in your state to learn what you can do to help, from writing to your state or federal politicians to mobilizing your local disability community. [continue reading…]

RespectAbility’s federal policy advocacy is often done in coalition, ensuring the input of people with disabilities and the power of the disability community at large is appreciated at the federal level. Check out our latest advocacy highlights working in partnership with the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities:

Designating People with Disabilities as a Health Disparity Population

We urged the National Institutes of Health to formally designate people with disabilities as a health disparity population. This proposal would help to reduce health disparities and promote health equity for people with disabilities. This would also align with broader efforts to promote equity for those who are multiply marginalized. [continue reading…]

Spotlight on Service Dogs

September is National Service Dog Awareness Month. Did you know that 500,000 service dogs are tasked with helping their disabled partners every day in the United States? This month and every month, we celebrate the service animals that help our community live more independently and fully participate in all aspects of community.

Monthly Employment Update for People with Disabilities

According to the latest National Trends In Disability Employment (nTIDE) report:

In August 2023, the labor force participation rate for people with disabilities continued to surge to an all-time high of 41.2% compared to 37.6% in August 2022. This continues the substantial growth from last year in the labor force participation rate for people with disabilities as we work towards closing the gap between workers with and without disabilities. Workers without disabilities also increased their labor force participation rate, which was 77.5% in August 2022 and rose to 78.2% in August 2023. [continue reading…]