Integrating qualified workers with disabilities into the workforce.

Workers and workplaces: diversity, challenge and excellence. Please focus on these five words and allow them to serve as an introduction to a discussion of the inclusion of qualified workers with disabilities in the work force.

Workers

Of the estimated 43 million Americans with physical and mental disabilities, about 67 per-cent are unemployed. Of this 67 percent, a majority would like to work and are capable of participating in competitive employment. How, then, can we bring this population of unemployed people with disabilities to the attention of employers? At least one of the answers to this question is a strengthening of the working relationship between private industry and the State/Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Program.

Established in 1920, the State/Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Program has a 71-year history of success in training and placing people with physical and mental disabilities into the work force with over 15 million qualified workers with disabilities participating in competitive employment and contributing to the nation's economy.

At the very heart of the success of the program is the vocational counseling and guidance given by the rehabilitation counselor. Beginning with an evaluation process that identifies the vocational interests and potential of the individual, the rehabilitation counselor directs a program of services that includes skills training, social adjustment and community involvement directed to preparing the individual for entering the workplace.

Throughout this process, occupational information is vitally important. Both the rehabilitation counselor and the person preparing for work must be able to gain access to and use current information about the workplace, changes in labor needs and future trends. It is, therefore, clear that the occupational information system plays a significant role in the successful preparation of the person with a disability for entering the work force.

Last year, the State/Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Program provided services to about 1 million people. Of these, 226,000 were placed in competitive employment. In addition, the same program provided supported employment services to people with severe disabilities, leading to the placement of 50,000 people in integrated work settings with job coaches available.

Workplaces

People with physical and mental disabilities participate in every vocation known to our civilization, from service occupations to professional careers, from menial labor to scientific endeavors. A number of factors contribute to the inclusion of qualified workers with disabilities in all vocations. The service delivery system I have just discussed is one of them. Two others are technology and legislation.

In the last decade, nothing has changed the workplace more than technology; and while these changes are significant for all workers, they have had a particularly positive impact on the inclusion of workers with disabilities. With technology, it is now possible to access tasks that just a few years ago were off limits to people with disabilities. From something as relatively simple as lowering or raising a desk top to something as complicated as state-of-the-art computer systems, technology now makes it possible for full participation. Technology is also applied during the evaluation and training phases of preparation for work assuring that appropriate skills are present to take advantage of employment opportunities.

Recent legislation prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in hiring and retention practices by employers. The Americans with Disabilities Act passed by the United States Congress and signed into law by President George Bush also dictates the inclusion of people with disabilities in the provision of accessible transportation and telecommunications, both essential services for successful participation in competitive employment.

Similar legislation at the state level that speaks to the rights of people with disabilities also influences the workplace as well as the community and creates opportunities for people with disabilities to enjoy full access.

Diversity

All the information available to us about the work force indicates that by the year 2000 there will be great diversity with greater numbers of minorities and older workers. We can also predict there will be greater numbers of workers with disabilities. This population is better informed, better trained, protected from discrimination, and more assertive than it has ever been in the past. Civil rights legislation will open up the communities and the workplace,

but it will be up to all of us to open up the hearts and minds of employers to accept workers with disabilities.

It is relatively simple to remove physical barriers, but breaking down the barriers created by stereotypical attitudes about physical and mental disabilities is more difficult. While changes in the subtle barriers are gradually occurring, more public education is needed to prepare America for the diversity that will be prevalent in the work place by the year 2000.

Opportunities for qualified workers with disabilities will be greatly increased with the full implementation of the America 2000 program being advanced by the U.S. Department of Education. The strategies that speak to adult learning will include skills clinics where assessments and referrals will take place. There will be opportunities for everyone to participate in the adult learning programs. Through these initiatives, workers with disabilities will become more qualified to compete in a world economy and to assume the full rights and responsibilities of citizenship.

Challenge

Nothing will be more important to the economy than meeting the dual challenge of creating employment opportunities for Americans with disabilities and addressing the manpower shortage that will exist by the year 2000. Our nation's rehabilitation system plays a key role in meeting these two challenges. We must be prepared to provide training to greater numbers of people with disabilities so they may be included in the labor force. This challenge also includes offering quality training that addresses labor needs as well as the vocational choices of individuals. A strong, effective relationship between the State/Federal Vocational Rehabilitation Program and State Occupational Information Coordinating Committees will help us to successfully meet this challenge together.

Excellence

Over the years, many studies have been directed to the cost effectiveness of vocational rehabilitation. The results have always been the same, although the figures have varied from study to study. Vocational rehabilitation is cost effective. The successful outcomes return more dollars to the economy than the entire system takes away. It is therefore healthy for the national economy to train and place people with disabilities into competitive employment.

Numerous studies also show that the attendance rates of employees with disabilities is slightly better than those without disabilities and that slightly fewer accidents occur with workers with disabilities. Qualified workers with disabilities do not change jobs as often as able-bodied peers, and no additional costs are added to employer insurance as a result of their presence in the workplace.

Based on all we now know about the ability of people with physical and mental disabilities to function in the workplace-any workplace and based on the records of success those who do participate in competitive employment, it is reasonable to assume that inclusion of qualified workers with disabilities in the work force will contribute to the achievement of economic and social excellence in our society.

Eighty-five percent of America's work force for the year 2000 is already in the force today. Of this percentage, a significant number will experience injury or illness that will result in a disability that will require retraining in order to continue participating in competitive employment. The role of public vocational rehabilitation programs to assist workers to retain employment and to assure an adequate work force in the decades to come must not be overlooked.

Highly trained rehabilitation personnel will be required to address the complex challenges of providing adequate technical and professional training to people with disabilities who are returning to the work force. The role of rehabilitation professionals will interface well with the provisions of AMERICA 2000 that address adult learning directed toward competing in a global economy and full community participation directed toward a more meaningful life for all of us.