From the Idaho Statesman:

Only 20 percent of Americans with a disability have a job, compared to 65 percent of people without a disability, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The jobless numbers for people with intellectual disabilities are believed to be even worse, although many are good workers when matched with the right job and supports, experts say.

The Statesman offers brief profiles of three people with disabilities who are in the work force. Sue Rodenbaugh, who has a developmental disability, works as a library page; Jeremy Watson, who has cerebral palsy, works full-time in the shoe department at Wal-Mart.

Kara Burnet, who has dysthimia, was working successfully in a clothing store until the state decided she no longer needed her job coach. The store disagreed, and fired her. She’s trying to find another job.

Gordon Graff, disability program navigator lead at the Idaho Department of Labor, called people with disabilities “a great untapped source of skills.”

“But in this economy, job openings for any person are dwindling to small numbers. A barrier, whether it is a disability, or language barrier, makes it that much harder for a person to get connected,” he said.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 24th, 2009 at 7:52 am and is filed under cerebral palsy, employment/jobs, intellectual/developmental disabilities. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.