For Immediate Release: December 9, 2020
Contact:
- Keri Gray, AAPD, kgray@aapd.com
- Peter Blanck, Principal Investigator, Syracuse University, pblanck@law.syr.
edu - Meera Adya, Syracuse University, madya@syr.edu
- Michael Morris, National Disability Institute mmorris@ndi-inc.org
Washington, D.C. – The American Association of People with Disabilities is proud to be a part of the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on “Disability Inclusive Employment Policy” (DIEP), a newly-launched center that will advance inclusive disability employment through research. The research conducted by the DIEP RRTC will help to shape inclusive employment policies and programs in the future and help bring about the full participation and inclusion of people with disabilities in the workplace.
The launch of the DIEP RRTC comes at a time when heightened disparities in health, wealth, and employment have highlighted long-standing ableism, racism, and ageism in our society. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate of people with disabilities was 7.3%, more than twice as high as the 3.5% unemployment rate of people without disabilities. During the pandemic, a million people have lost their jobs, and people with disabilities were more likely to have been dismissed from employment.
In order to promote disability inclusive employment, AAPD joins several other partners in the DIEP RRTC, including Disability:IN, National Governors Association, Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation, Association of People Supporting Employment First, Independent Living Research Utilization, National Disability Institute, Center on Women and Work, and ABLE National Resource Center. The DIEP RRTC aims to accomplish these outcomes in the next five years:
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“Policy makers will have new evidence-based options for employment-related policy development;
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VR and workforce development professionals will have increased strategies to support job seekers with disabilities;
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Businesses and HR professionals will have new evidence-based practices to enhance worker retention and quality of work experience;
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Employment service providers will have new evidence-based strategies to improve employment, job retention, and employment reengagement;
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Individuals with disabilities will have access to new knowledge to explore alternative paths to employment and career advancement;
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Researchers and students will have new data and evidence to support existing and next-generation research ideas; and
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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.”
Learn more about the Disability Inclusive Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on the center’s website.
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AAPD is a convener, connecter, and catalyst for change, increasing the political and economic power of people with disabilities. As one of the leading national cross-disability civil rights organizations, AAPD advocates for the full recognition of rights for the over 60 million Americans with disabilities. AAPD’s programs and initiatives have been effective in mobilizing the disability community through communications advocacy; cultivating and training new and emerging leaders with disabilities through leadership development programs; increasing the political participation of Americans with disabilities and elevating the power of the disability vote through the REV UP (Register! Educate! Vote! Use your Power!) Campaign; and advancing disability inclusion in the workplace through the Disability Equality Index (DEI) — the nation’s leading corporate benchmarking tool for disability equality and inclusion. To learn more about AAPD, visit www.aapd.com.