Disability Employment: Disincentives and Proposed Approach

1. Disability Employment: Disincentives and Proposed Approach Jonathan Duvall University of Pittsburgh Department of Rehabilitation Science and Technology

2. Some Statistics… • Approximately 18.7% of Americans have a disability • Difficulty performing certain functions • I.e. seeing, hearing, talking, walking, climbing stairs, lifting and carrying • 12.6% have what qualifies as a severe disability • Someone who is unable to perform one or more activities • Needs assistance from another person to perform basic activities • Numbers will continue to rise • Improved health care and longer length of life BraultMW. Americans with disabilities: 2010: Current population reports. Household Economic Studies. July 2012:70-131.

3. More Statistics… • August 2013 • National unemployment rates • % of people currently looking for jobs • People with disabilities: 14.1% • People without disabilities: 7.1% • Labor force participation rates • % of people actually working • People with disabilities: 20.5% • People without disabilities: 69.1% Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. http://www.dol.gov/odep.

4. Trends in Employment • Employment rates after the ADA (1990) • ↓ for people with disabilities • Remained constant for people without disabilities • Why? • Employer accommodations (or lack thereof) • Costs of accommodations • Ramps, readers for the blind, sign language interpreters, etc. • Difficult-to-measure costs • Flexible schedules, part-time work vs. full-time, providing less-stressful or -complex environments • Attitudes toward disability • Social Security policy • Loss of goods and services with higher income • Bound J, Waidmann T. Accounting for recent declines in employment rates among working-aged men and women with disabilities. Journal of Human Resources 2002;37(2):231-250.

5. Economic Implications • ≈ $357 billion on assistance for working-aged people with disabilities (2008) • ≈ 12% total federal outlays • Significant market of consumers • Discretionary spending > $200 billion/year • Clinical and technological innovations • Assistive technology • Healthcare • Diversity in the workplace • Improve employee performance • Expand customer base • Increased income tax revenue • Replace jobs lost after retirement of baby-boomers BraultMW. Americans with disabilities: 2010: Current population reports. Household Economic Studies July 2012;70-131.

6. Other Implications: Person with a Disability • Psychological • Provides valued social role in our society • Sense of personal efficacy • Higher life satisfaction and better adjustment1 • Social • People with disabilities less likely to participate in social activities2 • Increase social integration • Reduce isolation 1. Yasuda S, et al. Return to work after spinal cord injury: A review of recent research. Neuroreahbilitation 2002;17:177-186. 2. National Organization on Disability. 2000 Survey of Americans with disabilities. National Organization on Disability/Louis Harris and Associates.

7. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Income (SSDI) • SSI pays 4.6 Billion dollars to 8.2 million disabled people every month (Aug ’12 to Aug’13) • Average payment is $520 • SSDI paid 10.2 Billion to 10.6 million in 2012 • Average payment was $960 http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/ssi_monthly/2013-08/table01.pdf

8. How many undergrad disabled students are on SSDI or SSI? • SSA program participants represented 8.3% of all undergraduates with disabilities or 125,000 students. Of these, 57% or 71,000 were SSDI participants, 36% or 45,000 were SSI participants, and 7% or 8,000 received both SSI and SSDI. • For all groups, students with orthopedic impairments represented roughly a third of all undergraduates with disabilities. Students with mental illness and health impairments were the second and third most predominant disability groups represented. http://www.ncset.hawaii.edu/publications/pdf/Social%20Security%20and%20Undergraduates%20with%20Disabilities.pdf

9. Literature Review • Pubmed Keywords: • Student • Disability • Disabilities • Employment • University • Attendant • State Medicaid Policy • Personal Assistant(s) Services • Medicaid Income Limits • Social Security Income limits

10. Results • Statistics on employment of people with disabilities • Federal registrar bulletins • Entitlement employment predictors • Creation and evaluation of potential solutions • Nothing to solve the problem

11. Potential Solution • Allow people with disabilities to receive attendant care and other social services regardless of income • Deduct/Charge a percentage of income to offset costs.

12. Case Studyof individual on SSI who wants to work • Person receives $900 SSI and attendant care waiver for 56 hours/week at $12/hr (~$2,880/month) • Government pays $3,780/month, Person receives $900/month • Under current policy where person would gain employment and receive $2500/month salary (30k) • Government pays $0, Person receives -$380

13. Case Studyof individual on SSI who wants to work • Person receives $900 SSI and attendant care waiver for 56 hours/week. • Government pays $3,780, Person receives $900 • Under New policy where person receives $2500/month salary and pays 25% fee • Government pays $2,255-taxes, Person receives $1,875-taxes

14. Case Studyof individual on SSI who wants to work

15. Potential Solution Outcomes • More people with disabilities will want to be employed • The person with the disability will make more money, will be integrated into the community and may possibly obtain private health insurance through employer. • The amount of money paid out by government will be lowered. Amount of money paid by SSI and Attendant care services will be reduced based on the individual’s income • There is a fear that more employed people would request services, but if they don’t need the services, why would they pay a percent of their income for an unneeded service.