All People Want Real Work
for Real Pay
By Don Lavin
There is a lot of talk
today about demand-side employment strategies in our nation’s
workforce development circles. America is working hard to prepare
and connect job seekers with its emerging workforce needs as defined
by our business leadership community. This makes a great deal of
sense. Who can argue with ideas to supply a prepared and talented
labor pool and insure a strong economy and world-class workforce?
The problem with a one-dimensional
view of workforce development is that many people with something
to contribute are often left behind. This is true for America’s largest minority population—people
with disabilities. Few realize that only three in ten citizens with
significant disabilities actually hold competitive jobs in the workforce.
This constitutes a 70% unemployment rate in an economy that features
a five percent rate for everyone else.
Is this merely a social problem of little concern to private industry?
Well, think about it. America not only loses the productivity of
some citizens, but our economy is dragged further by higher taxes.
It takes literally billions of dollars to fund the broad range of
Social Security disability, welfare, and community rehabilitation
needed by unemployed people with disabilities. The annualized costs
to operate these programs are growing out of control and are now
a fixed portion of our national, state, and local human service budgets.
So who owns this problem?
Unemployment is everybody’s problem!
We can choose to ignore it. However, institutionalized, persistent
unemployment is not going to go away by looking the other way. As
responsible citizens, we all have an important role in addressing
it. I don’t know of anyone who has all of the answers. Fortunately,
there is a national movement afoot to try to correct the present
problem.
National research demonstrations now tell us that many people with
disabilities can succeed when customized employment approaches are
used. This means they are served best when we see them as individuals
and look carefully at the unique talents they have to offer.
Let’s be clear
here. We are not talking about corporate charity or volunteer work.
We are talking about real work for real pay inside the workforce.
And we are talking about how customization of job duties, training,
work conditions, use of technologies, and other supports can lead
to success. Customization means planning and delivering support
one employee at a time.
Of course, a disability
condition should never be a deciding factor in hiring somebody
for a competitive job. Conversely, it shouldn’t
be an exclusionary factor either (unless it’s a bona fide hiring
issue). Hiring decisions should always be about one’s ability
to contribute and be productive.
With that said, wouldn’t it be wonderful if more employers
took an active interest to assess how customized employment can add
value to their business objectives? The late Francis Fogerty, a founder
of Rise, Incorporated, once said: “If every employer took an
interest and hired just one individual with a disability, we wouldn’t
need Rise.” Fogerty’s vision was accurate 34 years ago
and is right on target today.
Don Lavin is Vice President of Rise, Inc., Spring Lake Park. For
more information visit: www.rise.org
