Jonathan Duvall
University of Pittsburgh
Department of Rehabilitation Science
and Technology
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Approximately 18.7% of Americans have a
disability
◦ Difficulty performing certain functions
◦ I.e. seeing, hearing, talking, walking, climbing stairs,
lifting and carrying
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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
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Numbers will continue to rise
◦ Improved health care and longer length of life
Brault MW. Americans with disabilities: 2010: Current population reports. Household Economic Studies. July 2012:702
131.
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August 2013
National unemployment rates
◦ % of people currently looking for jobs
◦ People with disabilities: 14.1%
◦ People without disabilities: 7.1%
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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.
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Employment rates after the ADA (1990)
◦ ↓ for people with disabilities
◦ Remained constant for people without disabilities
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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 4with
disabilities. Journal of Human Resources 2002;37(2):231-250.

≈ $357 billion on assistance for working-aged
people with disabilities (2008)
◦ ≈ 12% total federal outlays

Significant market of consumers

Clinical and technological innovations

Diversity in the workplace

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◦ Discretionary spending > $200 billion/year
◦ Assistive technology
◦ Healthcare
◦ Improve employee performance
◦ Expand customer base
Increased income tax revenue
Replace jobs lost after retirement of babyboomers
Brault MW. Americans with disabilities: 2010: Current population reports. Household Economic Studies July 2012;705
131.

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;17:177186.
2. National Organization on Disability. 2000 Survey of Americans with disabilities. National Organization on
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Disability/Louis Harris and Associates.

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
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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.
8
http://www.ncset.hawaii.edu/publications/pdf/Social%20Security%20and%20Undergraduates%20with%20Disabilities.pdf
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Pubmed Keywords:
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Student
Disability
Disabilities
Employment
University
Attendant
State Medicaid Policy
Personal Assistant(s) Services
Medicaid Income Limits
Social Security Income limits
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Statistics on employment of people with
disabilities
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Federal registrar bulletins
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Entitlement employment predictors
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Creation and evaluation of potential solutions
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Nothing to solve the problem
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Allow people with disabilities to receive
attendant care and other social services
regardless of income
Deduct/Charge a percentage of income to
offset costs.
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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
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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
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Current Policy
Government
Individual
Status Quo
$3,780
$900
Employment
$0
-$380
Proposed Policy
Government
Individual
Status Quo
$3,780
$900
Employment
$2,255
$1,875
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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.
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