[nfbmi-talk] misilc employment position statement

[Fred Wurtzel]

Well, there is no mention of minimum wages.  

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Sent: Monday, May 12, 2014 8:22 AM
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Subject: [nfbmi-talk] misilc employment position statement


People with Disabilities WANT to Work and Contribute to our Economy!!!

 

Summary: People with disabilities want to work and contribute to our
community. We encourage policy-makers to support policies that promote
employment for people with disabilities in competitive, integrated setting
so that our citizens with disabilities have the opportunity to achieve
economic self-sufficiency and reduce dependency on benefits.

 

Issue: Seventy percent (70%) of working age individuals with disabilities
have expressed the desire to find employment, yet they face a higher
unemployment rate than their non-disabled counterparts. According to the
United States Department of Labor the unemployment rate for people with
disabilities is 14.5%; versus 6.5% for people without
disabilities.(usdol.gov, March 2014)

 

Barriers to employment typically are not related to the disability, but
rather the disincentives and impact on Social Security and other benefits
and lack of employer awareness about hiring people with disabilities. Many
employers in Michigan have expressed a desire to hire more people with
disabilities, however they need to support of community organizations, such
as CILs, to help educate them about the Americans with Disabilities Act,
disability awareness and resources to help with low-cost reasonable
accommodations in the workplace. As an effort to increase knowledge about
the benefit to hiring people with disabilities Governor Snyder has hosted
the Michigan Disability Employment Summit in 2012 & 2013; where over 100
Michigan employers have participated each year.

 

Additional barriers to obtaining and maintaining employment also include the
need for in-home personal assistance to help address in-home support needs
for individuals to prepare for the work day. At this point there are very
few financial resources to help off-set the costs of these valuable in-home
supports. CILs have a small amount of funding, Personal Assistance Services
Reimbursement for Employment Program (PASREP), that is appropriated to help
off-set these costs, but due to the limited amount of money the program is
currently able to assist 35-40 working adults with disabilities. 

 

Recommendations: 

.         Adopt a statewide policy, either through legislation and/or
executive order, on employment that honors the choices and goals of the
individual and includes a variety of appropriate options to achieve those
goals. It is also recommended that the State of Michigan be a leader in
adopting these employment practices within state government;

 

.         Expand the number of sites incorporating the Pathways to Potential
model and ensure that each site includes access to employment and training
services for students with a mental illness, substance use disorder or
developmental disability;

 

.         Support the Independent Living Guide Pilot Project that is
designed to help individuals achieve economic self-sufficiency;

 

.         Continue to invest adequate funding in Michigan Rehabilitation
Services and the Bureau of Services for Blind Person to ensure people with
disabilities have access to vocational rehabilitation services and
Michigan's businesses have a resource to find qualified job candidates with
disabilities;

 

.         Increase support for Michigan's CILs to ensure they have adequate
financial resources to provide disability awareness and stigma reduction
training to business's and community members.

 

 

 

<continued on next page>

Closing:

 

Michigan's network of Center's for Independent Living (CILs) feel that
public policy and resources in the State of Michigan need to empower people
to live independent lives by working and contributing to our economy.
Policies that deter people from working need to be amended to ensure we are
not inadvertently perpetuating dependence.