Environmental Scan of Pathways to Economic Self-Sufficiency for People with Disabilities

In the U.S., about 11 percent of people ages 18 to 64 living in the community have a disability. Health conditions that cause disability can negatively affect the human capital development of children and the ability of adults to engage in the labor force. Adults ages 16 to 64 with disabilities have a substantially lower rate of labor force participation than their counterparts without disabilities. The low employment rate contributes to high rates of poverty among working-age adults with disabilities relative to their non-disabled peers. Numerous federal programs can help people who experience the onset of a disability establish, maintain, or return to economic self-sufficiency. Programs that offer income support can help people with disabilities meet basic needs, stabilize their financial circumstances in ways that allow them to pursue work, and in some cases reduce disincentives to work. Programs that offer health care support can help people manage their disabilities and maintain the health needed to participate in the labor force. Programs that provide education and employment support can help people with disabilities build skills and experience, and find and maintain jobs. However, the eligibility requirements for some programs can create disincentives for economic self-sufficiency because they require participants to have limited income and earnings. This report presents a landscape of policies and programs available to people with disabilities, including information about who the programs serve and how their rules may help or hinder participants progress towards economic self-sufficiency.