Reform works --- data shows political action has increased the quality of life for disabled people

Increasing effective strategies for engagement with private sector employers is crucial to increasing employment opportunities and advancement for people with disabilities. Private sector employers understand that they have nondiscrimination obligations under Title I of the ADA, and employers that contract with the Federal Government know they have responsibilities under federal law to affirmatively recruit and hire qualified people with disabilities, but hiring will only increase when more employers are exposed to high-quality, easily accessible information on the benefits of a disability inclusive workforce. They also need information on recruitment strategies and accommodations. Employers, like anyone else not exposed to people with disabilities, may see a disability as a barrier to productivity, rather than see the person with skills and talents first. Effective engagement has the power to change such biases and stereotypes, creating opportunities for people with disabilities—whatever the disability—to obtain employment. Effective engagement helps employers view employees with disabilities as a natural part of a diverse, thriving workforce. In the robust labor market of recent years, private industry has had an abundance of jobs to fill and has sought talented people to fill them, yet talented people with disabilities have largely not benefitted by the increased job openings. While we have discussed several barriers created by federal law, regulations, and programs that act as barriers or impediments to entering or reentering the workforce, a persistent and equally important barrier is employer attitudes about disability and misunderstandings and bias about employing people with disabilities. One in five people have a disability; it is a natural part of human existence, not a ban on the ability to work or to be successful and productive on the job. Disability inclusion creates sustainable, long-term performance value—the challenge is to continue sharing this message with employers and reduce such biases and stereotypes so that employment opportunities expand. People with disabilities are a talent pool that has often been overlooked, but employers can benefit by engagement with federal agencies, VR agencies, and nongovernmental organizations that have expertise and abundant resources on In the robust labor market of recent years, private industry has had an abundance of jobs to fill and has sought talented people to fill them, yet talented people with disabilities have largely not benefitted by the increased job openings. 2020 Progress Report on National Disability Policy: Increasing Disability Employment 87 disability inclusion. Such engagement raises awareness about the immense talent pool with disabilities and increases information sharing. At their best, these connections will help build pipelines between job seekers with disabilities and employers, help form partnerships with employers to create internships and job opportunities, and increase opportunities for easy access to technical assistance to employers on legal and regulatory topics—all helping increase the workforce participation of people with disabilities. The most effective strategies for employer engagement on hiring employees with disabilities are those built on positive messaging about skills and talents, which helps counter stereotypes and bias about people with disabilities, and those highlighting the fact that disability inclusion contributes to a company’s bottom line.248 Employer engagement efforts, including campaigns and networking through disability inclusion-related conferences, are an important part of the picture because they help dismantle stereotypes about employees with disabilities, helping to open doors to inclusion in the nation’s workforce. This section highlights some, but not all, of the initiatives and efforts by federal and nongovernmental entities to engage employers on the topic of employing and retaining employees with disabilities and highlights the important role that the U.S. SBA could play to dramatically change employment opportunities for people with disabilities nationwide. Notable Federal Initiatives and Efforts Engage Employers in Disability Inclusion DOL/ODEP In April 2020, DOL/ODEP selected five National Provider Organizations (NPOs) to participate in its National Expansion of Employment Opportunities Network (NEON) initiative to increase competitive integrated employment for people with disabilities.249 According to DOL, “Partnership with provider networks is essential to promoting positive change . . . this initiative will help us better understand the barriers and, most importantly, solutions to increasing competitive integrated employment for individuals with significant disabilities.” Administered by ODEP, the initiative has selected the following five NPOs: ACCSES, a Washington, DC–based network of more than 1,200 organizations serving people with disabilities across the United States; American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR), a national, nonprofit trade association in Alexandria, Virginia, representing more than 1,600 private community providers of services to people with disabilities; Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE), a national, nonprofit membership organization in Rockville, Maryland, dedicated to Employment First, a vision that all people with disabilities have a right to competitive employment in an inclusive workforce; SourceAmerica, a Vienna, Virginia-based network of more than 750 community-based nonprofits that creates employment opportunities for a skilled and dedicated workforce of people with disabilities; and the Arc of the United States based in Washington, DC, the nation’s largest community-based organization of and for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.