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Pennsylvania Statewide Independent Living Council

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POLICY ISSUES

Employment

People with disabilities want to work and make excellent employees, but high unemployment rates are a huge problem. Research shows that people with disabilities have a wide range of education, skills and experiences, and are determined to use their talents to meet the needs of their employers. This strong desire to work means people with disabilities arrive on time, miss fewer hours and are more productive than their co-workers without disabilities. Plus, in a labor market with constant turnover, people with disabilities are typically more loyal and remain with the same employer for years, thus reducing the cost of hiring and training new employees.

Despite these advantages, the unemployment rate among people with disabilities remains high, regardless of education or qualifications. In fact, people with significant disabilities have an unemployment rate of 70 percent, the highest of any group of Americans. Furthermore, access to education and training necessary to compete in today's world remains a concern.

Governmental policies can make the problem worse. People with disabilities do not choose poverty, but programs with eligibility rules can force people to remain poor to get or maintain access to benefits or health care coverage.

The PA SILC Employment Committee is working on all of these issues. The goals and actions of the committee are described below.

Employment Goal

Partner with PA Office of Vocational Rehabilitation [OVR], State Rehabilitation Council [SRC] and other interested stakeholders to educate policy makers on the benefits and need for people with disabilities to be gainfully employed and the budget implications that prevent that.

Action Steps:

Together with SRC and other interested stakeholders, develop relationships with a minimum of 10 participants that have benefited from OVR services to educate and mentor them about legislative advocacy

Create or participate in existing partnerships with local/regional OVR/CIL offices to develop support for IL and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) funding requests that jointly promote employment

Develop expertise at the state level in order to be available to policymakers, people with disabilities and the community

Implement communications strategy in coordination with SRC, and other interested stakeholders to promote the message to the public and to policymakers that people with disabilities want to work

Coordinate with the Youth Initiative to support transition issues

The committee wants to hear from you.
-Tell us about the employment situation for people with disabilities in your area.

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