Posts Tagged ‘ADAA’

The risk and necessity of openness Many people have a knee-jerk reaction to the term "disability"  that causes them to shut down or recoil when in the presence of an actual person who discloses a non-visible condition or looks like they are disabled. Getting the public past this reaction is a bit like teaching a cat to swim- it can be done- but is an area of life that most individuals whose personal worlds are not touched by or who have not lived with the experience of disability naturally avoid. What can we do that gets us closer to a "post-disabled" world? Disclosure by a person who has disability to a potential or existing employer is one of the greatest personal and professional risks that can be taken. Because of potentially adverse consequences such as missing out on a job opening or earning additional merit-based responsibilities due to management doubts about the personal fitness of a PwD to perform at advanced levels. Too many choose to stay silent and become adept at doing what is necessary to blend in. This barrier has taunted and perplexed PwD as well as otherwise-satisfied employers for decades. The lack of public disclosure and civil discourse concerning the ...

At the end of October, LDI's Veronica and Rob Crawford organized & led a small group of Arizona citizens in staging a first-of-its-kind Rally called EmployAbility. The purpose of the event is to update public perceptions about the capabilities of PwD to achieve life/career success and their desire to earn economic self-sufficiency through meaningful work. The  history-making morning Rally drew about 175 people, sponsored by 22 businesses, agencies, schools and programs, covered by local media, had loads of pictures taken, and is a template for what is hoped will be a future filled with similar events in every city across the country. This post is in recognition of the spirit of humanity to choose a positive direction and what happens when a few people work to unify disparate parties around a common cause for the betterment of all. My next post will zero in on speaker messages and follow up efforts now occuring to sustain the people, connections, and energy from the Rally. Recent history: How can anyone make a difference for PwD in today's world? During the 2008 Fall Presidential primaries, I sat with my wife Veronica, and listened while candidates from both parties thanked their key constituencies for making their victories possible. When ...

The winnining logo submission we chose is a clear and easy to see image representing equality, community inclusion, and the business case for abilities-based employment. The logo selected to be used for the EmployAbility Rally was designed through a great service located at www.logotournament.com.  A fast and easy-to-use form is filled out that tells artists the look, theme, and feel of the logo which then receives entries from  designers around the world competing to win a cash prize for the design. Our contest had 86 logo designs within the week the contest ran. There were a wide range of ideas with some good design elements, but none were as clear, unambigous in message and strong as the one selected. The Rally The EmployAbility Rally is a  free-to-the public event is set for October 28th, 2010 and will occur on the east side of the Arizona state Capital Mall from 9:00 a.m. until 12 p.m. In fact, the response has been so strong that we will have the area on 17th Avenue between Jefferson and Adams blocked off to allow full accessibility to all that attend as well as a larger area to accommodate the 18 agencies and businesses that will host information tables throughout the event. Beginning in September, we will make a push to bring out as many people with disabilities and those who ...

I have been following the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly updates on employment for members of the workforce who have disabilities. These data have been available to the public since October 2008 and have helped confirm what has long been assumed or suspected- labor market participation for PwD is extremely low. Over the past year, active workforce participation hovers consistently around 22% and unemployment rates are currently an unacceptable 50%  higher than those workers without disabilities. Not being able to find any charts to depict what this looks like, I attempted to make one for the past 12 months: Is this really the best we can do? As one can see, unemployment levels for workers without disabilities has held steady around 9%, while for people with disabilities there have been wide fluctuations ranging as high as 17% to just under14%. Combine these dismal numbers with only 1 in 5  PwD working in either part of full time employment, and the conclusion is our country has a long way to go to reach meaningful workforce participation rates among US citizens identified as ...

Over the past several months, I have been able to meet and talk with people from federal agencies, entrepreneurs, businesses, and grassroots organizations looking for signs of progress in employment policies and practices regarding expanding the workforce participation of adults with disabilities. Depending on whom you are meeting with, several dynamics are consistent: Federal and state employment program administrators/managers recognize policy/program service inequities between “mild” types of disabilities and others categorized as “significant.” Since the Clinton administration, this segregation of conditions has effectively shut out people with high incidence "mild" disabilities such as learning disabilities, ADHD, Autism, mood and anxiety disorders from having access to both appropriate and available services. No agency official I met was able to offer any insights as to whether this “DisLabeling” issue will be resolved or is even being discussed as an eligibility policy issue or included in upcoming competitive grants for model demonstration programs. In other words, no government official or agency "owns" this issue. National unemployment rates among people with disabilities persist in being disproportionately higher than any other demographic group. Private and public sector employers continue to struggle with embracing available employment hiring incentives/subsidies, effectively know how to tap into this labor pool, and in general, avoid inclusion ...

Purpose: A rally dedicated to updating public perceptions and attitudes towards the capabilities of People with Disabilities. Where: Arizona State Capitol Mall, 1700 West Washington, Phoenix, Arizona When: October 28, 2010, 10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Opportunities: A slate of local and nationally known speakers from grassroots, business, and government will: Celebrate the transformative power of achieving the American right to decent work and fair treatment. Build “Disability Confident” employers by making an effective business case for the advantages of working with this diverse workforce. Share the potential of harnessing the largest and most underserved American minority through voter registration, market-specific branding, and innovative product/service creation. Bring public attention to the lifespan issues of adults with disabilities associated with work, health care, housing, and community connectedness. Move us forward as a more just community that transcends the fears, stigmas and exclusion of relatives, neighbors, and people who have a disability into creating an inclusive society with them as citizens of equal standing. Connect your social media/organization sites to the EmployAbility links below and post news from your community to ours that support or promote efforts to improve employment for people with disabilities. On the day of the event, host & post your  live local YouTube, ...

Hope for a new day of equal opportunity In January, 2009, The U.S. House of Representatives showed overwhelming bipartisan support for the American’s with Disabilities Amendments Act by a vote 405-17 approving the measure. Political ideology did not trump Congress being on the right side of this vote.  Many in the business community supported this expansion of civil rights protections, which no doubt helped clear it for passage. As this bill is enacted in the workplace, it now expands the protection focus towards what constitutes discrimination rather than what constitutes disability. ADAA is a reminder that “disability in the workplace” is an intentionally broad standard, rather than a high threshold standard (retirement laws, healthcare benefits). In general, this new standard of disability is viewed favorably by most observers, as it drives legislative language intended to open up employment by removing overly restrictive judicial definitions of disability. The Act considers that is in the best interests of the common good to include such a broad definition as it allows otherwise qualified individuals to speed their entry into employment and reduce the level of governmental benefits. This is especially pertinent for the Boomer generation with its own onset of age-related disabilities and the impending entitlement drain ...

There are now many more adults with disabilities under the age of 35 (comprehensive special education was created through P.L. 94-142 in 1975) who are better prepared for inclusion into higher education, postsecondary, and employment settings. They also have higher expectations of themselves and their chances for success as a result of being the recipients of support they received for their various conditions. Within overall global education reform strategies, how is the U.S. addressing their prospects-both during the educational journey and in finding fulfilling careers afterwards? This post takes a quick look at what  can start being done to facilitate greater inclusion and successful outcomes for adults with hidden disabilities in higher education and postsecondary settings. Getting organized: Interagency & Intergovernmental coordination A recent report from the GAO found that while higher education participation among students identified as having a disability is up to 11% of total enrollment, there is a lack of coordination among the federal agencies, knowledge among college faculty of best practices, uncertainty of the legal obligations to offer reasonable accommodations for students with disabilities, and the consequences for everyone if accommodations are denied. Of particular concern, according to this report is how to appropriately assist, teach, and support students who are veterans with TBI/PTSD, ...

The worldwide recession has made traditionally “reliable” forecasting models of improvement in job creation next to impossible to gauge accurately. This seems especially true for adults with hidden disabilities as they seek access to employment opportunities with little public or private recognition of their aspirations and barriers to achieving a livable wage. In looking for data from governmental or private sector publications on the future of workplace prospects for people with disabilities, there have been few resources or reports that break down employment/unemployment for people with high incidence disabilities such LD, ADHD, Asperger’s, or mood disorders. There is a nascent body of research, governmental reports, and studies that indicate emerging trend lines which will impact adults with hidden disabilities access and participation in labor markets across the US and around the world. A cross section of this information is shared within the blog. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) is completing a review and inviting public comment concerning revised regulations for employers to determine who is disabled and what constitutes a substantial limitation to an employee that requires a reasonable accommodation. People with hidden disabilities such as ADHD, Asperger’s and mood disorders are in line for ...