Washington, April 26 – As voters head to the polls in Pennsylvania today, RespectAbility released its Pennsylvania Disability Voter Guide. There are 1,689,123 Pennsylvanians with disabilities, 831,700 of whom are between the ages of 21-64. There are an additional 59,000 people with disabilities between the ages of 16-20. Pennsylvania’s voters are looking to know where the candidates stand on important disability issues in order to increase opportunities for competitive, integrated employment for people with disabilities.
The #PwDsVote 2016 Campaign Questionnaire was designed for people with disabilities (PwDs) and those who love them to know where candidates stand on the issues. The questionnaire asked all of the presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle to comment on 16 disability questions. Former Sec. of State Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders responded by addressing all of the questions, and Ohio Gov. John Kasich filled out parts of the questionnaire. They each have significantly different views on the issues. Despite numerous requests in person and by phone and email, the campaigns of Sen. Ted Cruz and Republican frontrunner Donald Trump have not yet filled out the questionnaire.
RespectAbility is nonpartisan and does not endorse candidates. The questionnaire is purely for educational purposes as voters go to the polls.
Fully one-out-of-five voters have a disability, and 52 percent of likely voters have a loved one with a disability. Only 34 percent of working-age Americans with disabilities have jobs, despite the fact that the vast majority want to work. More than 11 million working age people with disabilities are now living on government benefits in our country. Pennsylvania’s Governor, Tom Wolf, recently issued an extremely positive executive order to expand job opportunities for people with disabilities.
RespectAbility President Jennifer Laszlo Mizrahi, who recently met with Governor Wolf, said, “We are deeply grateful for Governor Wolf’s leadership. We want to ensure that the next president of the United States has a similar commitment. Our community is looking for jobs so we can achieve the American dream, just like anyone else. It is vital for us to know where the candidates stand economic, stigma, education, safety, transportation, housing, healthcare, foreign affairs and other issues. The candidates have hugely different ideas about how to deal with the issues. Thus, it’s extremely important to read their full answers so you can understand their vast differences.”
There are 1,689,123 Pennsylvanians with disabilities, 831,700 of whom are between the ages of 21-64. There are an additional 59,000 people with disabilities between the ages of 16-20.
RespectAbility has submitted comments for all 50 states’ drafts of the Unified Plan as required under Section 102 of the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA). Pennsylvania’s WIOA draft has a commitment to Employment First principles. Competitive, integrated employment for people with disabilities is an essential goal for the state. When looking at the numbers of people in Pennsylvania with a disability, their employment rates and their dependence on entitlement programs, it is easy to see why this work is so important.
Expanding job opportunities for people with disabilities is a win-win-win for employers, taxpayers and people with disabilities alike. It is good for employers because the loyalty, talent and skills of workers with disabilities contribute to the employers’ bottom line. It is good for the workforce system because improving services and supports for job seeker with disabilities will benefit others with different barriers to employment. It is good for people with disabilities who want the dignity, pride, friendships, independence and income that work provides.
The WIOA draft plan does well in focusing on certain key elements for improving employment for people with disabilities from beginning training for people with disabilities at an early age, focusing on ages 14 and older to including people with disabilities on Citizen Advisory Committees and focusing on Industry Partnerships and Sector Strategies.
However, Pennsylvania has a lot to accomplish to improve its ranking in the country for employment of people with disabilities. Pennsylvania ranks 31st in the percent of people with disabilities employed (34.5 percent). Furthermore, these statistics include those employed in sheltered workshops and/or only working part time. View the rankings of all 50 states and compare.
Pennsylvania also has a large employment gap between people with disabilities employed versus people without disabilities employed – 42 percent. This lack of employment for people with disabilities creates poverty, powerlessness, and poor health. Polls and studies show that people with disabilities want the opportunity to have the dignity and independence that jobs provide.
America has 1.2 million youth with disabilities, between the ages of 16 and 20. Each year 300,000 of them age into what should be the workforce, but stigmas and lack of knowledge about the capabilities of people with disabilities means that most do not find employers willing to hire them. Young adults with disabilities in all of these states are hoping to find work. They have high expectations and deserve the opportunity to achieve the American dream. Young people with disabilities may simply need some thoughtful help to transition into the workforce. See data on all 50 states here: State Data.
RespectAbility will continue to urge Cruz and Trump to submit their ideas for the disability community. When they do so, we will update the guide. The questionnaire is being distributed to more than 50,000 people who care about disability issues, more than ten thousand of whom live in the early primary states and the heads of more than 100 national disability organizations, many of whom will share with their own lists. RespectAbility also has placed online ads sharing the questionnaire.
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