Disability Inclusive Employment Policy
Rehabilitation Research and Training Center Newsletter
January 2021 – Issue 1
Welcome
Welcome to the first issue of the Disability Inclusive Employment Policy RRTC Newsletter. Today’s unprecedented health, social, and economic challenges raised by the coronavirus pandemic require a retrospective, present-day, and prospective view of U.S. employment policy for individuals with disabilities. Over the next five years, the goal of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on “Disability Inclusive Employment Policy” (DIEP) will be to design and implement a series of studies that produce new data and evidence on policy levers to increase employment rates of persons with disabilities with the objective of informing current and future policy and program development. This project is a collaboration between Syracuse, Harvard, and Rutgers universities.
Anticipated outcomes for the target populations over the next five years include the following:
- Policy makers will have new evidence-based options for employment-related policy development;
- VR and workforce development professionals will have increased strategies to support job seekers with disabilities;
- Businesses and HR professionals will have new evidence-based practices to enhance worker retention and quality of work experience;
- Employment service providers will have new evidence-based strategies to improve employment, job retention, and employment reengagement;
- Individuals with disabilities will have access to new knowledge to explore alternative paths to employment and career advancement;
- Researchers and students will have new data and evidence to support existing and next-generation research ideas; and
- Across targeted audiences there will be a next-generation disability policy framework to advance employment and economic self-sufficiency for working-age adults with disabilities.
Recent Team Publications
- Disability Inclusive Employment and the Accommodation Principle: Emerging Issues in Research, Policy, and Law
Author: Peter Blanck - Telework After COVID: A “Silver Lining” for Workers with Disabilities?
Authors: Lisa A. Schur, Mason Ameri, & Douglas Kruse - Gig Workers with Disabilities: Opportunities, Challenges, and Regulatory Response
Authors: Paul Harpur & Peter Blanck
Research Spotlight
COVID-19 and Employment Losses for Workers with Disabilities: An Intersectional Approach
Authors Lisa Schur, Yana van der Meulen Rodgers, Douglas Kruse – Rutgers University
This paper studies the disparate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on workers with an array of physical and mental disabilities, using comparisons to otherwise-similar workers without disabilities, and within disability categories. We pay particular attention to an intersectional analysis of individuals with multiple identities, especially disability, race/ethnicity, and gender.
DISCLAIMER The contents of this newsletter were developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR grant number 90RTEM0006). NIDILRR is a Center within the Administration for Community Living (ACL), Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). The contents of this website do not necessarily represent the policy of NIDILRR, ACL, or HHS, and you should not assume endorsement by the Federal Government.”
About BBI
The Burton Blatt Institute (“BBI”) at Syracuse University reaches around the globe in its efforts to advance the civic, economic, and social participation of people with disabilities. Through program development, research, and public policy guidance, BBI advances the full inclusion of people with disabilities. BBI builds on the legacy of Burton Blatt, a pioneering disability rights scholar. BBI has offices in Syracuse, NY; Washington, DC; Atlanta, GA; New York City, NY; and Lexington, KY. Learn More about BBI