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Defining Disability
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"Disability" includes a wide range of conditions. Disability impacts people's lives in a wide variety of ways, and the level of impact can range from minimal to extensive.
In some cases, a person's disability is minor, something that is controlled through medication, or requires some simple adaptations. In other cases, a person's disability plays a major role in their lives, impacting their ability to earn a living, to participate in activities in the community, and to do many of the things that many non-disabled people take for granted in their daily lives.
Disabilities are often not apparent.
Learning disabilities, psychiatric disabilities, epilepsy, and multiple sclerosis are just a few of the many disabilities that are often "hidden". Never presume that someone doesn't have a disability just because it is not readily apparent.
Disability is a natural part of the human existence.
There has been a major shift in our society's view of disability. Disability used to be seen as an aberration, something that had to be "fixed" before a person could fully participate in their community. A more progressive view is that disability is simply part of a person's identity, not something to be fixed, and that people with disabilities have the same right as anyone else to full participation in society.
Legal definitions vary considerably.
A person may be considered "disabled" under the Americans with Disabilities Act but not by their state's vocational rehabilitation agency. Also, particular conditions specify the criteria that a person must meet in order to have that condition. For example, not all people who wear glasses have a legal visual impairment. The following are some important resources with legal definitions of "disability":
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): A physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities of such individual; a record of such an impairment; or being regarded as having such an impairment.
Social Security: The inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity by reason of any medically determinable physical or mental impairment(s) which can be expected to result in death or which has lasted or can be expected to last for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.
Rehabilitation Act: The term "individual with a disability" means any individual who has a physical or mental impairment which for such individual constitutes or results in a substantial impediment to employment and can benefit in terms of an employment outcome from vocational rehabilitation services.
Under WIA regulations, people with disabilities are defined using the ADA definition. On a practical level, this means that there will be people who utilize One-Stop services who are considered to have a disability, but do not meet the more restrictive definition under the Rehabilitation Act, and therefore are not eligible for services from Vocational Rehabilitation as a One-Stop partner.
Click here for a Learning Disabilities/Welfare-To-Work packet. (PDF Format)
Pilot Projects
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The identification of disabling conditions and referral to human services agencies has focused for the most part on the most obvious physical disabilities or issues arising from a client request for exemption from work requirements. There are many challenges to uncovering "hidden" disabilities that may have been interfering with a client's participation in welfare to work programs, employment or other human services programs. Starting in 2001 DOL, in partnership with the NY State Education Department, VESID and SUNY University Center for Academic and Workforce Development (UCAWD) implemented several learning disability pilot projects in Erie and Franklin Counties and a Spanish Language Learning Disabilities Screening project in Erie, Chautauqua and Monroe Counties. Additional pilot projects are currently coming on-line, or are in the planning stages.
What Workforce Staff Should Know
Asking About Disability and Respecting Confidentiality in Employment Services Delivery
For a variety of legal, ethical and practical reasons, the employment service system should create a culture that shows respect for an individual's right to privacy. Local employment systems should have a clear guidelines for staff concerning sharing of any personal information about a customer with other staff and service providers, including information about a person's disability. People with disabilities vary significantly in their comfort level concerning disclosing information about their disability. It is important that employment systems consider disclosure and confidentiality issues in service delivery for people with disabilities, and that staff will be well versed in proper guidelines for respecting the privacy of all job seekers.
Different Rules for Service Providers and Employers
There are important distinctions about inquiries and disclosures of disability-related information:
Throughout delivery of services, employment staff may become aware that a job seeker has a disability. As a provider of services you are legally permitted to make inquiries about the presence of disability to assist the job seeker in decision-making for proper job match.
Employers, however, are not permitted to ask about the presence of a disability prior to an offer of employment. This means that employment staff may have more information about a job seeker then they are permitted to provide to the employers they contact on behalf of the job seeker during the job search.
Employment staff may not make unnecessary inquiries into the existence of a disability and it is a completely voluntary decision by the job seeker concerning whether or not to supply any disability information. Possible reasons for asking about disability include:
To determine if the individual is eligible for special services or funding.
For data collection purposes as stipulated by the Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity regulations.
As part of the process for provision of accommodations so the individual can fully benefit from services. Requests for information concerning the presence of a disability cannot be used as a basis for excluding individual from receiving services. It is illegal to deny services based on an individual's disability, unless the disability cannot be reasonably accommodated.
Registration and Intake
Requests for information about presence of a disability during the registration/intake process should be made only in writing. A simple yes/no check off box on the registration/intake form is suggested.
If an individual will need assistance in filling out a registration/intake form, this should be done in a private area where responses will not be overheard.
The reason(s) for asking this information should be made very clear.
It should be stated both verbally and in writing that the decision to disclose any information concerning the presence of a disability is strictly voluntary.
During the Course of Service Delivery
Discretion should be used in discussing disability issues with job seekers.
Staff should avoid asking about the presence of disability or specific questions about an individual's disability in group settings.
Knowledge and access to information concerning an individual's disability should be limited only to staff who require this information for service delivery.
Staff should be respectful of privacy issues when discussing a job seeker's needs with other staff.
The information requested and discussed with job seekers and employment staff should be limited strictly to that which would impact the job search/placement process.
Maintain Confidentiality of Records
Steps should be taken to ensure that records and case notes are kept confidential. This includes keeping paper files and records in secure places, and designing electronic information systems with multiple levels of access.
Guidelines for Staff
In sharing personal job seeker information with others, staff should consider the following issues:
Will the sharing of personal information on the job seeker result in the ability of program to better meet the job seeker's needs?
Am I limiting the information shared strictly to what is relevant to this situation?
Is it possible for me to discuss an issue with others without identifying the job seeker by name?
Successfully respecting an individual's right to privacy about their disability and the extent of disclosure of the challenges his/her disability presents will mean a better outcome for the job seeker.
Simple Screening Tool for a Learning Disability
When a job seeker experiences difficulty performing certain tasks, there is a possibility they may have a learning disability. Employment staff is not intended to be diagnosticians. However, this simple screening tool can assist in determining the possible presence of a learning disability.
A Checklist is a Guide – A List of Characteristics
It is difficult to provide a checklist of typical characteristics of adults with learning disabilities because their most common characteristics are their unique differences. In addition, most adults exhibit or have exhibited some of these characteristics. In other words, saying yes to any one item – or several items – on this checklist does not mean that an individual has a learning disability. However, if the job seeker answers "yes" to most of the items, and experiences these difficulties to such a degree that they cause problems in employment, education and or daily living, it might be a sign that the person could benefit from further specialized assessment from a qualified professional.
Information should be collected discreetly and in a manner that respects the individuals right to privacy.
A specialized assessment from a qualified professional will help determine how best to support the individual's employment and training goals, and help the individual obtain additional support services. Such an assessment cannot and should not be used to exclude the individual from employment services.
There are many useful checklists available from a number of organizations. The following checklist was adapted from lists developed by the following organizations: Learning Disabilities Association of America, For Employers – A Look at Learning Disabilities, 1990; ERIC Clearinghouse on Disabilities and Gifted Education, Example of Learning Disability Characteristics, 1991; The Orton Dyslexia Society' Annals of Dyslexia, Volume XLIII, 1993; and The Council for Learning Disabilities, Infosheet, October 1993.
Checklist for Possible Presence of a Learning Disability
- Does the person perform similar tasks differently from day to day?
- Does the person read well but not write well, or write well but not read well?
- Is the person able to learn information presented in one way, but not another?
- Does the person have a short attention span, impulsivity and or difficulty maintaining focus?
- Does the person have difficulty telling or understanding jokes?
- Does the person misinterpret language and or have poor comprehension of what is said?
- Does the person have difficulty with social skills?
- Does the person misinterpret social cues?
- Does the person find it difficult to memorize information?
- Does the person have difficulty following schedules, being on time, or meeting deadlines?
- Does the person get lost easily, either driving and or moving around large buildings?
- Does the person have trouble reading maps?
- Does the person often misread or miscopy?
- Does the person confuse similar letters of numbers, reverse them or confuse their order?
- Does the person have difficulty reading the newspaper, following small print and or following columns?
- Is the person able to explain things orally, but not in writing?
- Does the person have difficulty writing ideas on paper?
- Does the person reverse or omit letters, words, or phrases when writing?
- Does the person have difficulty completing job applications correctly?
- Does the person have persistent problems with sentence structure, writing mechanisms and organizing written work?
- Does the person spell the same word differently in one document?
- Does the person have trouble dialing phone numbers or reading addresses?
- Does the person have difficulty with math, math language, and math concepts?
- Does the person reverse numbers in a checkbook and have difficulty balancing a checkbook?
- Does the person confuse right and left, up and down?
- Does the person have difficulty following directions, especially multiple directions?
- Does the person appear to be poorly coordinated?
- Is the person unable to tell you what has just been said?
- Does the person hear sounds, words or sentences imperfectly or incorrectly?
Locating a Qualified Professional
To find a qualified professional who can assess whether an individual has a learning disability, employment staff should begin with the resources available for assessment from various One-stop partners, including vocational rehabilitation, education, community rehabilitation agencies, and others.
Best Practices
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