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Jobs for the disabled
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March 23, 2000: 8:14 a.m. ET
Employment options have improved for people with developmental disabilities
By Staff Writer Alex Frew McMillan
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NEW YORK (CNNfn) - Only three out of 10 people with developmental disabilities have jobs -- meaning that the unemployment rate is 70 percent for the 1.2 million Americans of working age who have a developmental disability, compared with a U.S. national average of 4.1 percent.
"It's just a huge, huge tragedy," said Steven Eidelman, executive director of the ARC of the United States, formerly the Association of Retarded Citizens. "The unemployment rate for people with disabilities in general is at least 10 times the national average."
The rate is higher for those with developmental disabilities, which typically involve some type of mental retardation and possibly physical problems, such as with cystic fibrosis.
"It's basically an untapped resource," agreed William Kiernan, who tracks employment data and serves as director of the Institute for Community Inclusion in Boston.
Tight market creating chances
But job opportunities have improved, even from just a few years ago. So has the attitude of many employers, teachers and family members.
"About 30 to 35 years ago, we didn't think people with disabilities could do anything, and we treated them accordingly," Kiernan explained. "About 20 to 25 years ago, we assumed they could do things but only special things, light assembly work, like putting stickers on things."
Around 15 years ago, Kiernan continued, so-called "Supported Employment" caught on. Developmentally disabled people received on-the-job training and support to help them with their jobs.
Beyond the Four Fs
But the preconceived notion was still that the jobs were limited to the Four Fs:
- "food," i.e. food preparation and service
- "filth" i.e. cleaning and janitorial service
- "flowers" i.e. simple landscaping or decoration, and
- "factories" i.e. light assembly work.
That is starting to change as employers face "full employment." Some developmentally disabled people are landing clerical, back-office retail and front-office service jobs in industries such as finance and insurance, and even basic high-tech assembly jobs. Some jobs have genuine career and promotion prospects.
"Companies realize they spend X dollars on recruiting and training any employee," Eidelman said. "What we've convinced them is, this person may cost you more to train. But the job won't turn over as fast."
"As Americans we argue about almost everything, but one of the core values of our society -- it's not written in our Constitution -- but it's work," Eidelman said. "Many people with developmental disabilities know that and feel that way too."
Local programs can find the right employee match
The nonprofit Lifeworks Services Inc., based in Mendota Heights, Minn., places developmentally disabled people into clerical jobs. It has put 540 people into companies such as American Express Financial Advisors, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, electric utility Northern States Power, and Minnesota Life Insurance Co.
The Lifeworks clients, who have IQs below 70, get coaching to help them in their jobs. The amount varies, but the idea is to gradually reduce the amount of supervision. Some people always need daily, even constant supervision. Others need a checkup once a month.
Some employees earn less than the minimum wage because they cannot hold full-time jobs. In this case, they get a Special Minimum Wage Certificate from the U.S. Department of Labor and need regular checkups to make sure they have not improved their output and deserve higher pay.
Still, the average wage for Lifeworks clients is $5.46 an hour. The range spans from under $1 to $12 an hour, depending on capabilities. Given that many do not work full-time, last year 523 workers earned $2.5 million, just under $4,780 apiece.
That is in keeping with national averages. According to Kiernan, 82 percent of people with mental retardation earned less than $5.50 per hour and worked an average of 25 hours a week in 1997, according to the latest data available.
Employer can benefit, too
The coaches are paid by Lifeworks. Spokeswoman Mary Hassing says the company benefits from lower turnover. Sometimes the developmentally disabled people do a particular job better, Hassing said, as happened at Blue Cross.
A microfiche machine that needed staples removed from papers fed into it kept malfunctioning because employees forgot. But the developmentally disabled employee who started supervising the machine was more diligent and cut out almost all the stoppages.
Other employees deliver faxes or fix copy machines. Of the 14 people Lifeworks placed at Minnesota Life, the company has subsequently taken 13 on as full-time employees.
Tips for developmentally disabled job seekers
Here are some pointers suggested by disability workers to help people with developmental disabilities and their families look for jobs:
- Ask what the disabled person might like doing. The fatal flaw in many work programs was not to consider the person who will be working, Kiernan said.
- Exposure helps. It is hard to tell what job you want if you have never held one. Programs that spend a day or two at a workplace introduce a disabled person to the working world.
- Schools and state and local agencies often have programs that help developmentally disabled people identify careers and develop career-development plans.
- Most states have at least two agencies that can help: a state mental retardation and developmental disabilities department, and a state vocational-rehabilitation department. They may be separate agencies or under a department such as the state department of labor.
- It is who you know, not what you know. "I always encourage families to network," Eidelman said. "You should be asking, 'Who do you know that has a business that might be hiring?'"
- Make sure the job is real work. Companies sometimes offer charity positions without much purpose. Worse, they may abuse an employee. "It's got to be real work that the company needs to be done, and the person needs to be valued," Hassing said.
- The more integrated disabled employees are into a department and with nondisabled people, the better their pay, according to data from Kiernan.
- Ongoing training, coaching and support are essential. Some programs will also pair people with different disabilities to work together, or even live together.
- Even very independent disabled people need a monthly checkup. "If they have an emotional or medical crisis, they need help. That's the kind of time that people lose their jobs," Hassing said.
- The Americans with Disabilities Act prevents companies from discriminating against disabled people, but only if they can fulfill the job requirements. Companies cannot insist a typist have a pilot's license, for instance, but they can insist the typist type 40 words a minute.
- Jobs can be created or shared. That is where a local program can work with an employer. "Most jobs have a portion the developmentally disabled person can't do," Hassing said. "We try to match a person to the right job." Or three people to share a job.
- Disabled people who qualified for programs such as Social Security's Supplemental Security Income or Disability Insurance were sometimes worse off taking low-paid jobs that made them lose their benefits. The Work Incentives Improvement Act, passed last year, should remove most of those pitfalls, Eidelman said.
- Consider whether the work culture and available support matches with a particular person and meets the needs given their disability, Kiernan said.
- The President's Committee on the Employment of People with Disabilities is trying to educate employers about working with disabled people. It is holding four job fairs -- in Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Atlanta and Denver -- in 2000.
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