Skip to main content

Series - Data Note

WIA Employment Outcomes and Trends

DataNote No. 19, 2008

This data note focuses on employment outcomes for individuals served by the One-Stop system through the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) Adult funding stream1. Outcomes data include the rate of WIA customers entering employment and their employment retention rate. This data note compares outcomes among adults with reported disabilities to those without reported disabilities. Reporting of disabilities by One-Stop customers is voluntary. It is likely that some WIA Adult Services customers with disabilities do not disclose a disability and are therefore undercounted.

Job Seekers with Disabilities at One-Stop Career Centers: An Overview of Registration for Wagner-Peyser Funded Employment Services

DataNote No. 15, 2008

This data note explores how states vary in the number and percentage of job seekers with disabilities who register for services and identify as having a disability. In 2005, across all states and the District of Columbia, 3.1% of all job seekers were people who reported having a disability at registration (see table). The percentage of registered job seekers with a disability ranged from 0% in Washington D.C. to 8.3% in Delaware. The percentage of individuals identifying they have a disability has shown a steady increase over time, from 2.3% in 2002 to the 3.1% 2005 figure. In examining and interpreting this data, it is important to note that this data may not fully reflect the use of these services by people with disabilities, as it does not include individuals with non-apparent disabilities who have declined to identify that they have a disability.

Timeframe from Application to Closure in Integrated Employment for Vocational Rehabilitation Customers with Developmental Disabilities

DataNote No. 14, 2008

This data note describes the integrated employment timeframe from application to closure for people with developmental disabilities (i.e., mental retardation, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and autism) whose cases were closed by VR in 2006 (N = 27,579). VR typically closes cases when applicants have been in employment for at least 90 days.

Disability and Occupation

DataNote No. 13, 2007

It is well-documented that people with disabilities have a significantly lower rate of employment than people without disabilities (36% versus 74% according to the 2006 American Community Survey (ACS). Less is known about the types of work they do. Using the occupational classification system within the ACS, researchers explored the prevalence of people with disabilities within occupational groupings and discuss its relationship to occupational growth1. Future analysis will address variation across disability groups.

SSI recipients with disabilities who work and participation in 1619b

DataNote No. 12, 2007

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a federally funded program that provides cash assistance for basic needs. Individuals with a low-income who are over the age of 65, blind, or have a disability are eligible for assistance. SSI beneficiaries typically also receive health insurance coverage through Medicaid. Losing Medicaid benefits can be of concern for SSI recipients with disabilities who desire to work, or are currently working. Section 1619b of the Social Security Act allows individuals to work and continue to receive Medicaid assistance when their earnings are too high to qualify for SSI cash payments as long as they meet other eligibility requirements for the SSI program and continue to need Medicaid in order to work.

VR Rehabilitation Rates of People with Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities (MR/DD) in 2005

DataNote No. 11, 2007

Of the over 48,000 persons nationwide with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities (MR/DD) who closed out of the Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) system after receiving employment services in FY2005, more than half were successful closures, yielding a rehabilitation rate of 56.9%. The rehabilitation rate is calculated by dividing the number of successful closures, which is employment in any setting with the exception of sheltered workshops, by the total number of closures who received employment services.