Adults with disabilities are
faced with so many unique challenges that many persons in the United States
take for granted. Few are more
challenging, and frustrating, than employment.
Medical insurance is guaranteed
through Medicaid. Transportation, while
less than perfect, is likewise available through public funds, mass transit
systems and families/friends. Housing
certainly presents many formidable challenges but is nonetheless available for
most. The primary obstacle regarding
housing is to find an available “slot” in one of the appropriate waiver
programs. Sadly these slots are too few
in number to cover the great need. Many
families are forced to compromise one member’s job in order to provide for the
needs of their loved one in their own home.
Employment, however, presents its
own unique set of hurdles, often beyond the control of caregivers. While a family may choose to survive on one
or one and a half incomes in order to allow one member to stay at home more to
provide care, they cannot create a job for their loved one to hold. There are vocational rehabilitation centers
but these are in many ways counterproductive in that the individual must pay in
order to be enrolled in the program.
That is, they must pay to work.
And sadly for most, what they earn is far less than what they pay to be
in the program. In fact in many cases
the amount they earn in two weeks’ time is sufficient to pay for only one day
of vocational rehabilitation if they are lucky.
There are exceptions and the enrollment fee is typically covered by State
funding of one sort or another but the fact remains in general it is a losing
proposition financially, if not for the individual, then for society.
The statistics are
staggering. 19.9 million people in this
country (ages 16-64) are diagnosed as disabled.
Of these less than 35% are employed.
This means the unemployment rate among the disabled community is 65%.
In 2014 (the latest year for which I have found
statistics) Pennsylvania had 876,854 individuals of working age (ages 16 - 64)
who were diagnosed with a disability.
This includes all disabilities.
Of that number 302,598 were employed in some capacity. This represents 5 % of the total population
of work-age people in Pennsylvania. [These figures are from www.employmentfirst.leadcenter.org]
The overall unemployment rate in
Pennsylvania for 2014 was 6%. Yet
according to these figures the unemployment rate among the disabled is 65.5%
for that same period, consistent with the national average. That is simply unacceptable. It is this kind of discrepancy that has given
rise to Employment First, a federal program from the Office of Disability
Employment Policy (ODEP) designed to increase community based, integrated
employment opportunities for individuals with disabilities. Employment First is built on the premise that
“ALL citizens, including individuals
with significant disabilities, are capable of full participation in integrated
employment and community life” [www.dol.gov/odep].
The goal of Employment First is to
see that every disabled person has a chance to be employed, preferably full
time, earning the greater of minimum wage or the prevailing wage for that
particular job. The catch is this
employment must be in an integrated environment. That is to say the disabled person must have
the opportunity to work with and interact with non-disabled persons. They must share the same work space and be
treated like any other employee.
To ensure this will be implemented
the Federal government is now saying if an agency wants to continue receiving
Federal/State funds they must comply with the requirements of Employment First. As can be expected this has social agencies,
especially vocational rehabilitation agencies, scrambling to find a way to
de-segregate. The government in its
infinite wisdom wants to do away with the sheltered workshop model, where a
person with a disability can go to work in an environment that is safe, with
trained staff who can assist them and provide for them in times of crisis or
need while they labor at a task that the agency provides for them through
contracts with vendors. They are allowed
to work at their own pace, doing whatever they are capable of doing, and
receive a wage based on piece work. The
more work they do the more money they earn.
Some feel the sheltered workshop
model is degrading and unfair. As I said
previously the individual must pay to be enrolled in the program but what they
earn often is far less than what they pay out.
For most the enrollment fee is covered through State funding, whether it
is the Consolidated Waiver, the Autism Waiver, or some other funding
source. And herein lies the point of
contention for politicians, though they do not want to admit it. In this age of budget cuts and tax breaks
everyone seemingly wants to find ways to eliminate government spending. One of the easiest segments of the population
to target is the disabled community. In
general terms they cannot speak out in their own defense as readily or as
competently as others. Theirs is an
entitlement program and the word entitlement has become a negative term these
days. But no one wants to appear as if
they are picking on the disabled community.
Therefore they want to shroud their intentions in a cloak of decency and
self-respect. If we can force them to
get “real” jobs they will earn more money, require less public assistance,
increase their self-worth, and pay more taxes (with the implication that we in
turn can pay less taxes).
It all sounds good. But let’s be realistic. How many of these politicians and advocates
have ever visited a vocational rehab center, aka sheltered workshop? They are not the gloomy dungeons of 40 years
ago. The ones I am aware of are very
nice facilities. More importantly they
are designed and staffed in such a way as to meet the holistic needs of the
people they work with. Some have sensory
rooms where persons with autism can go to de-escalate or de-stress. Most are designed to accommodate the visual and
audible sensory concerns of many of their clients. And they are staffed with social workers, psychologists,
and persons certified in first aid and CPR.
These are important considerations when dealing with persons with disabilities. In my experience as a job developer I have
seen people who have had seizures, emotional breakdowns, moments of high
anxiety and other distracting issues while working. How would most places of industry or business
handled such situations?
Please do not misunderstand
me. I firmly believe in employment
opportunities for the disabled. I have
seen it work in many circumstances. Generally
speaking persons who are disabled will prove to be excellent workers who are
very loyal, faithful in attendance, and conscientious. But the fact remains that not all are able to
function at the same level of competency.
Some by the very nature of their disability are limited in one skill or
another. It may be with eye-hand
coordination; it may be a lack of literacy skills or the ability to comprehend
what they read. Many are incapable of
following compound instructions of 3 or 4 steps. Others have difficulty standing in one place
for any length of time. Some cannot
tolerate the loud noise of a machine.
Still others are subject to seizures at a moments’ notice. The list goes on and on. Again, in most cases accommodations can be
made to overcome these issues. But the
concerns do not go away. We can treat
the symptoms and provide for preemptive measures but there simply is no way to
cure the problems.
It takes a patient and
understanding employer to accept these conditions. An ever increasing number of employers are on
the cutting edge of providing employment opportunities with appropriate
accommodations. But not enough. Far too many employers look at the disabled
community and immediately see problems and headaches they do not want to deal
with, even if such concerns are only in their warped imagination. Employment First calls for disabled workers
to be employed by the company for which they work and not the agency which
placed them. This means the employer
must provide all the benefits that they offer to any other employee including
workers compensation and unemployment.
Workers compensation, in particular, is not cheap. It becomes a major stumbling block for many
employers who fear the disabled worker will be more vulnerable to workplace
accidents, whether or not such fears are justified. They may also presuppose that the disabled
worker will not be able to work at the same pace or level of quality.
What many employers fail to know is that there are
incentives for hiring disabled individuals.
ODEP offers the Work Opportunity
Tax Credit (WOTC). This program says
that when a company hires a disabled worker they can receive a tax credit for a
portion of the new employee’s salary.
There is also the Small Business Tax Credit which allows businesses that earned $1
million or less in the past year or had 30 or fewer full-time employees to take
an annual tax credit of up to $5,000 for a variety of accessibility
expenditures. Likewise the Architectural/Transportation
Tax Deduction allows business of all sizes to take an annual deduction of
up to $15,000 for expenses such as creating accessible parking; installing
ramps and curb cuts; making telephones, water fountains and restrooms
accessible; and widening walkways. It may also be used for vehicle adaptation.
The process of education, then,
goes both ways. On the one hand the
disabled individual must be trained and allowed to develop job skills both
general and specific to a given position.
Likewise employers must be willing to learn how they can be supported
while they provide accommodations and opportunity for the worker with a disability. It can be a win-win proposition. And the key to making it work is a job
developer and job coach who can bring the two together and offer assistance and
support to make it work.
Employment First is significant
in helping to bring about this kind of change.
States must present proposals outlining how they plan to implement the
tenants of this new effort in the coming months, with full implementation
scheduled for March of 2019. After that
agencies that are not adequately integrated will lose their government
funding. That is a powerful and
effective incentive. But I still remain
concerned that not every person who is disabled will be able to meet these
criteria. No amount of wishing will
bring it about. We must not - we cannot
- place persons in an environment where they are doomed to fail. We must allow them to progress at their own
pace, to experience some level of success and build upon that. You see, it is the word “First” that I have a
problem with. “Employment”, yes! Absolutely!
But only after the proper foundation has been laid.
G. D. Gehr
March 9, 2016
NEXT:
a possible model for vocational training for persons with disabilities.
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