ERIC Number: ED594615
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Sep
Pages: 14
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
States Expand Employment and Training Opportunities for People with Disabilities. White Paper
Stephens, Rachael; Westgren, Dana
National Governors Association
Roughly one in five American adults, or approximately 53 million people, live with some type of disability, and their unemployment and poverty rates are nearly double the rates of people without disabilities. Labor force participation for people with disabilities is just 20.2 percent--less than a third of the rate of participation among people without disabilities. However, this is often not by choice. At least two-thirds of people with disabilities are striving to work, whether they are already working and want more hours or are unemployed and looking for work. Many who do find work face limited opportunities and are likely to earn less. For example, a worker with a disability who has a high school diploma earns $6,505 less per year than his or her peers without disabilities. The National Governors Association hosted a learning lab on May 9-10, 2018, in Madison, Wisconsin, titled "Building Inclusive Talent Pipelines for People with Disabilities." Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Indiana and Maryland were selected to participate in the learning lab, where they learned about Wisconsin's successes and shared best practices with one another and leading subject matter experts. This paper describes strategies that emerged as best practices in participating states and other states across the country highlighted during the learning lab.
Descriptors: State Programs, Employment Opportunities, Training, Disabilities, Educational Strategies, Best Practices, Students with Disabilities, Experiential Learning, Inclusion, On the Job Training, Vocational Rehabilitation, Individualized Education Programs, Labor Turnover, Social Services, Program Design, Standards
National Governors Association. 444 North Capitol Street, Washington, DC 20001-1512. Tel: 202-624-5300; Fax: 202-624-5313; Web site: http://www.nga.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: National Governors Association
Identifiers - Location: Alaska; Arizona; Hawaii; Indiana; Maryland; Wisconsin
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A