Employment Programs

WIPA was created to give beneficiaries guidance and information on available work incentives so as to increase employment. This report, the first in a series that make up the fifth Ticket to Work evaluation report, has three objectives: to capture stakeholder experiences with the program during start-up; to identify early opportunities for improvement; and to inform future program data collection, evaluation, and outcomes analyses.

Quantitative and qualitative data are pulled together for a summary of the enrollment and implementation experiences of state DMIE projects through December 2008. The Kansas, Minnesota, Texas, Hawaii and District of Columbia programs are profiled and then a national summary and implications are presented. Another report tentatively scheduled for the spring of 2010 will analyze whether the program improved outcomes for individuals and evaluate the implementation and phase-down activities.

The Network consists of 10 regional centers funded by the National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR), a division of the U.S. Department of Education. The mission is to provide information and Technical Assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to individuals, organizations and employers. They provide training materials, referrals, and a searchable database of legal documents, fact sheets and checklists.

This program (HWD) is Washington’s implementation of Medicaid Buy-In. The report evaluates HWD’s impact on employment and earnings, Medicaid coverage, and receipt of food stamps by comparing enrollees to traditional Medicaid participants. They found significant outcome improvements for the HWD group in several categories.

In March of 2006, 144 Minnesotans with disabilities and their families gathered to voice their concerns and ideas about meaningful choices and to learn about promising practices in employment and day services. People shared their experiences, strategies and best practices. Common themes from the workshops are gathered here and include definitions of meaningful daytime choice, things that contribute to it, things that prevent it, things that need to be improved, and recommendations.

The largest and fastest growing group of Social Security disability program beneficiaries is people with psychiatric disabilities. The paper finds that combining evidence-based supported employment with mental health services could reduce the rate of disability and enable those already disabled to gain employment, potentially saving personal and government money. Four policy recommendations are given to achieve this goal.

The conference took place in May 2009 in North Carolina and focused on the global advancement of the principles of self-determination. Presenters spoke on topics including Medicaid reform, self-directed budgeting, self-employment; quality, education, advocacy; and youth, among others. Included here are slides from talks as well as essays by the organizer on the purpose of public funding for services and challenges facing Medicaid.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics began publishing this data series in January 2009. It is gathered through the Current Population Survey, which began identifying persons with a disability age 16 and older in the civilian noninstitutional population in June, 2008. These materials provide information on comparisons with other data sources, variability of the data, and the types of data available. Additionally, links to historical data and alternate formats are given.

Meant for individuals with disabilities and entities that have obligations under disabilities law, the handbook provides basic information about disability rights and resources for finding out more. The book is in a Q and A format while the website is organized by topic. Employment, services and programs, public accommodations, housing, education, transportation, and technology and communications are all discussed.

Transitioning from school to work for youth with disabilities can be a complicated process. Sponsored by TransCen and the Johnson Scholarship Foundation, these online modules are designed to provide an overview for these young adults in transition, with a focus on work-based experiences, empowerment, health and social service linkage, family supports and interagency collaboration.