Peter Blanck & Helen A. Schartz
2001
Download Publication
Critical questions are emerging about the composition, quality, and competitiveness of the American work force of the 21st century. These questions include:
What types of work skills will be needed for American employers to remain competitive in the U.S. and abroad?
Will our increasingly diversified and aging work force include millions of persons with disabilities?
What will be the characteristics and qualifications of the work force of persons with disabilities?
What types of job training, technology, and accommodations will be available to that work force? And,
How will the changes that have occurred in the last quarter of the 20th century in disability, welfare, and health care policy affect that work force?
In the past 25 years, disability laws and policies have undergone a dramatic shift from a model of charity and compensation, to medical oversight, and then to civil rights (Blanck, 2000; Blanck & Millender, 2000). Contemporary employment policies and laws are focused on increasing the labor force participation of qualified persons with disabilities and reducing their dependence on government entitlement programs. Federal laws such as the Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA), the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (TWWIIA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), illustrate growing public support for enhancing employment opportunities for working age adults with disabilities and preventing discrimination in the workplace (Blanck, 2000).
Despite these and other initiatives, there is remarkably little definitive evidence that American disability policies and laws have resulted in substantial increases in the numbers of persons with disabilities participating in the workforce (Blanck, 1998). Although our nation is in a period of record high employment, millions of persons with disabilities remain unemployed or underemployed (Schwochau & Blanck, 2000; Vilsack & Pederson, 2000). Disabled persons are less likely to have full-time employment; and, even when employed, disabled people earn less income than their non-disabled peers (Schwochau & Blanck, 2000).
The primary way to assess whether disability employment policies are economically and
socially beneficial, or as some have argued harmful, is through assessment of information regarding their impact on persons with disabilities, employers, and persons without disabilities (Collignon, 1997; Schwochau & Blanck, 2000). Although researchers approach this question from distinct perspectives, policymakers and disabled individuals will gain a more complete perspective about the effects of these employment policies if information is gathered using a range of approaches from a variety of sources. In addition to providing breadth of information, assembling research from multiple sources highlights different perspectives and assumptions in ways to reconcile apparently conflicting results (Dole, 1994; Schwochau & Blanck, 2000).
The present article describes our ongoing program of study examining labor force strategies and employment opportunities for the emerging workforce of persons with disabilities. The first part of the article highlights the historical evolution of national employment policy toward persons with disabilities; that is, from its beginnings in the Civil War pension system to recent TWWIIA and WIA initiatives. The second part examines contemporary efforts toward a national employment policy. The third part describes illustrative research tracking employment, income rates, and educational attainment of individuals with disabilities. The fourth part identifies future research challenges and approaches for examining employment policy initiatives. It also provides an illustration of a recent research project we have undertaken on improving the employment status of individuals with mental illness, developmental disabilities and mental retardation.
Critical questions are emerging about the composition, quality, and competitiveness of the American work force of the 21st century. These questions include:
What types of work skills will be needed for American employers to remain
competitive in the U.S. and abroad?
Will our increasingly diversified and aging work force include millions of persons
with disabilities?
What will be the characteristics and qualifications of the work force of persons with
disabilities?
What types of job training, technology, and accommodations will be available to that
work force? And,
How will the changes that have occurred in the last quarter of the 20th century in
disability, welfare, and health care policy affect that work force?
In the past 25 years, disability laws and policies have undergone a dramatic shift from a
model of charity and compensation, to medical oversight, and then to civil rights (Blanck, 2000; Blanck & Millender, 2000). Contemporary employment policies and laws are focused on increasing the labor force participation of qualified persons with disabilities and reducing their dependenceongovernmententitlementprograms.FederallawssuchastheWorkforceInvestment Act of 1998 (WIA), the Ticket to Work and Work Incentives Improvement Act of 1999 (TWWIIA), and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), illustrate growing public support for enhancing employment opportunities for working age adults with disabilities and preventing discrimination in the workplace (Blanck, 2000).
Despite these and other initiatives, there is remarkably little definitive evidence that American disability policies and laws have resulted in substantial increases in the numbers of persons with disabilities participating in the workforce (Blanck, 1998). Although our nation is in a period of record high employment, millions of persons with disabilities remain unemployed or underemployed (Schwochau & Blanck, 2000; Vilsack & Pederson, 2000). Disabled persons are less likely to have full-time employment; and, even when employed, disabled people earn less income than their non-disabled peers (Schwochau & Blanck, 2000).
The primary way to assess whether disability employment policies are economically and
socially beneficial, or as some have argued harmful, is through assessment of information regarding their impact on persons with disabilities, employers, and persons without disabilities (Collignon, 1997; Schwochau & Blanck, 2000). Although researchers approach this question from distinct perspectives, policymakers and disabled individuals will gain a more complete perspective about the effects of these employment policies if information is gathered using a range of approaches from a variety of sources. In addition to providing breadth of information, assembling research from multiple sources highlights different perspectives and assumptions in ways to reconcile apparently conflicting results (Dole, 1994; Schwochau & Blanck, 2000).
The present article describes our ongoing program of study examining labor force strategies and employment opportunities for the emerging workforce of persons with disabilities. The first part of the article highlights the historical evolution of national employment policy toward persons with disabilities; that is, from its beginnings in the Civil War pension system to recent TWWIIA and WIA initiatives. The second part examines contemporary efforts toward a national employment policy. The third part describes illustrative research tracking employment, income rates, and educational attainment of individuals with disabilities. The fourth part identifies future research challenges and approaches for examining employment policy initiatives. It also provides an illustration of a recent research project we have undertaken on improving the employment status of individuals with mental illness, developmental disabilities and mental retardation.
Peter Blanck, Helen A. Schartz. (2001). Towards Researching a National Employment Policy for Persons with Disabilities. 22nd Mary E. Switzer Memorial Seminar, Emerging Workforce Issues: WIA, Ticket to Work, and Partnerships
Keywords: employment policy, workforce participation