Nearly a quarter of a century after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), people with disabilities remain severely under-employed. All the while, they command a disproportionate share of public monies through Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI), and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). This report seeks to contribute to the conversation on current disability policy, as well as offer short-, mid-, and long-term solutions. The document opens with a history of the Social Security Administration (SSA), the federal agency responsible for setting national disability policy. This is followed by a discussion of SSA’s primary categories of client support: health care and employment initiatives. The health section details the medical coverage attached to both SSDI and SSI, with a particular focus on the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Next is a review of work incentives offered to SSDI/SSI beneficiaries. Concluding this chapter is an investigation of the causes of under-employment that continue to plague the disabled circle, in spite of these many interventions. The study continues by exploring various issues affecting today’s U.S. disability policy. These include both exogenous and endogenous factors, including the growth of SSDI and SSI; the structural issues inherent to the current paradigm, as well as a number of disincentives to employment. The analysis then turns to disability policy in the international community. Of particular interest are the experiences of Sweden and the Netherlands as they established fiscally sound policy while assisting the nation’s disabled. From these case studies emerge several lessons pertinent to the U.S. This chapter closes with a thorough analysis of these European nations’ responses to their ever-growing disability programs, and the implications for disability policy makers and advocates. Concluding the report are several recommendations that can guide policy makers and advocates as they strive to place the disability community on the path to self-sufficiency. Most relevant and promising to the U.S. are the passage of the ABLE Act, instituting a national Medicaid Buy-In, and establishing a central disability agency. With successful implementation of these reforms, American with disabilities can potentially finally realize what the ADA promised 25 years ago. / text

Purpose: The purpose of this thesis was to: a) describe the current context of Ontario’s employment policies by conducting a policy analysis to understand the ways in which the Ontario Human Rights Code, the Labour Relations Act, and Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA) function together to provide a framework for action to guide employer attitudes towards disabilities in the private sector of Ontario, and b) investigate employer knowledge/understanding and application of these three policies in the Ontario private sector by conducting interviews. Methods: To perform the policy analysis, relevant documents were systematically collected and qualitatively analyzed. In addition to the policy analysis, semi-structured interviews were conducted with three employers to investigate the policy knowledge and application in the workplace. Results: From the policy analysis, ten themes arose: anti-discrimination and accommodation, the individual complaint system of the Ontario Human Rights Code, the need for government participation, education, and awareness in the AODA, the application of the Labour Relations Act, required employer knowledge of the three Ontario policies, minority group treatment of people with disabilities in policy, the collectivist responsibility under the AODA, the definition of disability, the impact of the definition of disability on employers, and the cost of accommodation. The themes arising from employer interviews were: view of disability, knowledge and application of the three policies, the “fit” of a prospective employee, the importance of a human resources department, and the presence of accessibility in the workplace. Summary: Together, the three policies addressed anti-discrimination in the workplace for employees with disabilities by mandating reasonable accommodation for all. Under the AODA, standards of accommodation were established and enforced through random government inspections, and under the Ontario Human Rights Code, accommodation challenges were addressed by a case-by-case method. Employers must be privy to the responsibility to provide accommodations for people with disabilities, as the enforcement mechanisms differ. In reality, there is a large variance in the application of the central policies, and employers without a human resources department appear to understand fewer details of the policy requirements. This understanding did not appear to impede accommodation for employees with disabilities. / Thesis (Master, Rehabilitation Science) -- Queen's University, 2014-06-23 22:02:01.639

The Work-Disability Functional Assessment Battery (WD-FAB) is a self-reported measure, developed to allow the SSA to collect systematic and comprehensive information about claimants’ functioning. It consists of eight scales: Basic Mobility, Upper Body Function, Fine Motor Function, Community Mobility, Cognition & Communication, Resilience/Sociability, Social Interactions, and Mood & Emotions. Three studies were conducted to evaluate the WD-FAB and apply it as an outcome measure to examine questions relevant to work disability measurement. "Examining Activity Domain Structure of the International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF)" empirically tests the structure of the WHO’s ICF Activity subdomains by comparing it to the empirical structure of the WD-FAB. The comparison found good alignment between the physical function WD-FAB scales and ICF Mobility; several Activity subdomains converge into Cognition & Communication in the WD-FAB. Mental Functions and certain Interpersonal Interactions converge. A re-organization of the subdomains into distinct, measurable constructs is presented for future ICF revisions. "Who Applies to Social Security Disability Programs? Demographic and Functional Differences among Claimants" examines how Social Security disability claimants compare sociodemographically to the working age US population, assesses differences in claimants’ functional status by demographic characteristics, and showcases a method to detect Differential Item Functioning (DIF), which, once controlled for, minimizes measurement error. 17 items displayed DIF, primarily based upon gender. Claimants were sociodemographically different from the general sample and reported lower functioning. Within claimants, there were very few differences of consequence in function between different sociodemographic groups. "Determining Functional Profiles of Common Conditions explores the relationship between diagnoses and function." Common patterns of diagnoses among claimants were identified: musculoskeletal, cancer, multisystem, neurological & sensory, and mental conditions. Many of the diagnosis groups showed unique functional features. The identification of functional profiles for different condition groups suggests that WD-FAB scores may add value to the disability determination process. There is no single litmus test for work disability, but incorporating self-reported experiences is becoming an increasingly common focus in the field. This work demonstrates how a conceptually grounded self-reported measure of functioning can be used to understand the condition of individuals whose health limits their ability to work.

This research explores a disability community’s success in drawing public attention to an unlawful development of policy, that community’s efforts in resistance, and the experiences of those individuals in relation to subsequent neoliberal silencing. Specifically, this study examines the experiences of people on disability assistance in British Columbia who successfully appealed the Ministry’s unjust denial of the Community Volunteer Supplement (CVS) and documents participants’ reactions to the government’s later repeal of the CVS program. Five individuals were interviewed about their experiences in resisting the Ministry of Social Development and Social Innovation’s practice to wait list CVS applicants, a benefit they were legislatively entitled to receive. Of the participants interviewed, three identified as women and two identified as men. Utilizing a post-structural feminist theory, influenced by critical disability theory and Foucault, a key finding of this research is that participants’ experiences with the CVS is connected to their experiences of poverty, resistance, and community. / Graduate / 2017-08-01 / 0630 / 0452 / 0617 / cwitkowskyj@gmail.com

The Motor Group of the European Council was commissioned in the autumn of 1997 to prepare a proposal for a new European Bus and Coach Directive. In the beginning, most of the Member States did not have the accessibility requirements as their main concern; still a smaller network with actors from the National delegations from Britain, Germany and Sweden would influence the other National delegations in the Council group to finally agree to retain the requirement of accessibility of the Directive. Within the EU decision process, the European Disability movement acted as a strong player during the whole negotiation process using the proposal to a new Bus and Coach Directive as a tool to influence key actors to go towards a Directive with a strong approach for accessibility. Policy Transfer and Policy Transfer Network are used as analytical tools to understand and structure the transfer of the question of accessibility during the negotiation process. Actors understanding how the bureaucratic process works within the EU decision system have a chance to contributing for the changes in the directions they wishes for within a range of policy areas. The principal aim of the Directive was to guarantee the safety of passengers and to provide technical prescription in particular to wheelchair users. In the end it turned out to be one of the most successful achievements for the European Disability movement in history.

This work analyses compliance of disability policy in the states of Visegrad group, i.e. Czech Republic, Slovak Republic, Poland and Hungary. It examines legislation adopted at the supranational level and their subsequent implementation in the policies of particular national states. It deals with the development of policies for people with disabilities since 1989 with the emphasis on similar historical development in these countries. It describes in detail various national strategies, legal acts and measures adopted, possibilities their enforcement and public attitude towards the issue. The outcome of this study is to compare disability policies in the examined countries while the research shows that in the Czech and Slovak Republic the compliance rate is significantly higher than in Poland and Hungary. Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

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Policies are shaped by social values and assumptions, and can significantly impact the delivery of health and social services. Marginalized groups are often disadvantaged in the political realm and reliant on publicly funded services and supports. The purpose of this research is to consider how public policies are constructed and implemented for marginalized groups and to increase understanding of the consequences of policy reform. It draws on a case study of the Ontario Disability Support Program, Employment Supports (ODSP-ES) and considers the impact of the policy revision that occurred in 2006 on employment support services for people living with mental illness. A constructivist grounded theory approach guided data collection and analysis. Key policy documents were analyzed and 25 key informant interviews were conducted with individuals who were involved in: the construction and/or implementation of the policy; developing and/or delivering employment services under the policy; or advocacy work related to the policy. The findings highlight the impact of outcome-based funding on employment services and practices, and provide lessons for the construction and implementation of public policy for marginalized groups. The new funding system has promoted a shift from a traditional social service model of employment supports towards a marketing model, wherein services focus on increasing job placement and short-term job retention rates. However, the introduction of market principles into employment services has had significant implications for people living with mental illness. Employment programs are required to absorb increased financial risk, thereby altering the way service providers work with clients to help them find and keep jobs; there is a heightened focus on the rapid placement of clients into available jobs and less attention to the quality of employment being achieved and to complex barriers that prevent individuals from succeeding with employment. Although ODSP-ES has been somewhat successful at connecting people with disabilities to competitive employment, it has led to secondary consequences that compromise its overall utility. The findings highlight the complexity of constructing and implementing public policy for marginalized groups and suggest that evaluating public policy is an interpretative exercise that should be explored from multiple perspectives beyond the stated objectives.