Unemployment of People with Intellectual Disabilities More than Twice as High as General Population

Hi group members,

A new survey commissioned by the Special Olympics shows that unemployment among people with intellectual disabilities is more than twice as high as for the general population. That's according to one of the most comprehensive national surveys ever done on adults with disabilities in the workforce. The "National Snapshot of Adults with Intellectual Disabilities in the Labor Force" conducted by the Center for Social Development and Education at the University of Massachusetts Boston.   

The survey looked at both the labor force participation rate (the percentage of working-age people who are either employed, or unemployed but looking for a job) and the unemployment, for 2011 to 2012. During this period, the labor force participation rate for people with intellectual disabilities (ID) was about one-half of the general population's:  44 percent versus 83 percent, indicating that more than half of people with ID have dropped out of or were never in the workforce. The unemployment rate for people with ID was more than twice as high as the general population's at the time of the study: 21 percent versus 9 percent. Further darkening the employment picture is that most people with ID work part-time and many for less than the minimum wage.

A few of the pertinent details follow:

  • Nationally, 34% of people with intellectual disabilities are employed. 
  • Of employed people with intellectual disabilities, 53% are employed competitively (i.e., work alongside people without disabilities at a market-driven wage); 38% in a sheltered workshop (work centers specifically for people with disabilities), and 9% in other settings (e.g., are self-employed).
  • Of those competitively employed, 28% work in customer service; 17% in retail; 16% in food service;  9% in offices; 8% in manufacturing, and 22% in other sectors such as childcare and landscaping.
  • Of the adults with ID employed in a competitive setting, over half (62%) have been at their job for three years or more.
  • However, only 26% of employed adults with ID have full-time jobs with only one third offered health insurance by their employer.

To read the full study, go to  http://cdn.umb.edu/images/mgs/Nat_Snapshot_of_Adults_with_ID_in_the_Labor_Force.pdf 

For those of you that work with this population of students, this is a very worthwhile resource.

Rochelle Kenyon, SME

 

 

 

 

Comments

Thanks for sharing this with the Career Pathways group, Rochelle.  I took the link to look at the full study, and was impressed with its methodology and discouraged by the findings that the number of those employed in competitive settings is low. I wanted to hear success stories, I guess, and that led me to thinking about the information shared by Janet Van Liere  with Alternative Staffing Alliance about DePaul Industries and their efforts on behalf of workers with intellectual disabilities (see the post at https://community.lincs.ed.gov/bulletin/depaul-industries-expands-staffing-enterprise-employ-job-seekers-disabilities-and-other).  I am wondering if Career Pathways members are aware of any other specific efforts to increase employment opportunities for such workers.  Do any of you work directly or indirectly with this population?  I think probably Chris Warland with the National Transitional Jobs Network could point us to some efforts. This is a topic that deserves more effort and discussion than it usually gets, and I wonder how many of the programs that our members represent have specific programs in place to address the issues of people with cognitive disabilities.  Please share what you know.

Donna Brian
SME Career Pathways

Project Search- http://www.projectsearch.us/ - is a work-based program that includes classroom instruction, hands-on training and exploration of careers within the facility where the activities take place.  Some of my colleagues here at the UT Center for Literacy, Education & Employment are participating in the program locally in Knoxville, TN with two hospitals.

Aaron

Aaron,

I wanted to piggy back on your Project Search comment.  For those unfamiliar with the program.  It started at Cincinnati Children's Hospital in 1996, and is a collaborative model with a host business, education system, and DRS support.  More than 42 states and the United Kingdom have programs.  Their web site: 

http://www.projectsearch.us/

Many of the programs partner with K-12 systems, some with adult programs such as Technology Centers.  It is a year program that typically runs on a school year calendar.  Interns (students enrolled) typically rotate through three 10 week rotations with job coach support.  They may have one hour of classroom instruction each day to work on soft skills.  The outcomes of employment for individuals participating in this program are higher than the nations average.  Kudos to these hardworking individuals.  Their National Conference is soon.  If anyone has a chance to attend, I highly recommend it.

8th Annual Project SEARCH Conference July 21-25, 2014 in Omaha, Nebraska! Best, Marcie 

 

 

I am not aware of any transitional jobs programs that specifically target people with intellectual disabilities. I know that the subsidized employment field has a lot to learn from the disabilities/vocational rehab community, but I am not aware of an instance in which our strategy has been tested with this population.

I know that there are other types of employment interventions that show promise--specifically Individualized Placement and Support (IPS, also known as Supported Employment) is an evidence-based model for people with mental illness. Also customized employment strategies like job carving or job sharing are used to move people with intellectual disabilities into employment, as is alternative staffing.

The NTJN would love to see the TJ model tested with this population, considering the value that it has demonstrated for other populations experiencing barriers to employment.

Best,

Chris Warland, National Transitional Jobs Network