According to the Pew Research Center, 46% of Americans 75 or older and 24% of Americans aged 65 to 74 report having a disability. On August 21st each year, Americans recognize the contributions of older adults in all aspects of society as part of Senior Citizens Day. Older adults contribute significantly to the American economy, with [click to continue...]
Veterans with Disabilities According to the U.S. Census, veterans who served after September 11th have a 43% chance of acquiring a disability. At the same time, only 27% and 16% respectively of Gulf War and Vietnam War Veterans had a service-connected disability. Veterans serving in “peacetime” had a 9% chance of acquiring a service-related disability. [click to continue...]
RespectAbility is proud to be a member of the Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE), a national organization that promotes the importance of community-integrated employment for people with disabilities. In early June, Wally Tablit, Senior Director for Leadership and Workforce Development, and I attended APSE’s annual conference in Columbus, Ohio, where we met with [click to continue...]
Almost everyone has seen a different, more prosperous world because of the ADA. 33 years in, we know this journey is long and not yet over. Inaccessible programs and businesses still exist. People with disabilities still languish in congregate care settings for lack of funding for home-based programs. The employment rate of people with disabilities [click to continue...]
Celebrating Pride Month In recognition of Pride Month, RespectAbility celebrates the diversity and positive impact the LGBTQ+ community adds to the United States. At the same time, we recognize that the data shows that full equity for the LGBTQ+ community in public life has yet to be achieved. This is of particular importance to the [click to continue...]
The heart of RespectAbility’s self-employment project is a collaborative gathering of best practices and resources. Like most collaborative processes, the project has many moving parts, but that doesn’t mean that we need to wait to start sharing the information with our readers. RespectAbility Policy Fellow Audrey Bayne has invested significant time and energy learning about [click to continue...]
As a final project for her Spring Fellowship, Policy Fellow Emily Snodderly wrote and delivered this policy speech examining the practice of paying subminimum wages to people with disabilities. In 1938, the Fair Labor Standards Act created the federal minimum wage, but it included an exception for people with disabilities. The exception was intended to [click to continue...]
Many Americans with and without disabilities use fixed-route transportation like a city bus or commuter rail to reach their desired destination. However, people with disabilities may need additional transportation assistance to reach destinations beyond traditional public transportation routes. Public transit authorities provide paratransit services for eligible persons with disabilities if they cannot safely travel short [click to continue...]
Asian American & Pacific Islander Heritage Month In celebration of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, RespectAbility recognizes the contributions of Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPI) to our society. According to the Annual Disability Statistics Compendium, there are 18,814,944 Asian Americans living in the United States. Out of that number, 1,454,941 have disabilities. [click to continue...]
Asian American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander (AANHPI) students are the least likely of all races to receive special education services. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 15% of all public school students are in special education, compared to only 8% of Asian American students. The gap is less drastic for Native Hawaiian/Pacific [click to continue...]
