StateData: Data on Employment & People with Disabilities
Institute for Community Inclusion, University of Massachusetts Boston
Federal and state policy have helped to ensure opportunities for people with disabilities to have meaningful jobs in their communities, as well as a path out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency. Yet, despite these efforts a gap remains between people with and without disabilities, and the gap widens further for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
This far-reaching, national data-collection project examines how and why persons with disabilities and IDD are often underemployed or unemployed, receive lower wages and live in poverty when compared with those without disabilities. The findings demonstrate an increasing need for policies, such as Employment First, and initiatives that prioritize employment, both of which can lead to improved outcomes and greater levels of self-sufficiency for the disabled and people with IDD.