Many disability advocates and service providers know that the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is astronomical - statistics commonly pin it at around 70 percent. As a blind employment specialist who works for the State of California I knew this but it never fails to shock me. I set out to list some of the barriers to work that might be contributing to this elevated number.

Sara, who owns a business that provides training and consulting about adaptive technologies for visual impairments, had an interesting take on the cause of unemployment. She attributed the elevated rate of unemployment among visually impaired people to lack of opportunity. "We don't get fired enough," she quipped. She went on to explain that many visually impaired people don't start their first job until they are in the mid-20s or later. This also means they don't get hired enough.

Less Exposure to the Workplace

Often people without disabilities learn appropriate behavior and workplace etiquette when they are in their teens. If they get fired because they aren't punctual or for another other reason people lose their (first) jobs, it is not such a catastrophe. "If you were flipping burgers or grooming pets and got fired, you (hopefully) learn your lesson and move on to another job," Sara added.

It is likely that employers are more tolerant of teenagers on their first job than of adults. Employers sometimes allow adolescents longer probation periods and room for error for employees in their 20s or 30s. The expectations are different for individuals who do not have a lot of job experience. Employers may assume that because the employee is an adult they have had considerable experience on the job.

A disabled person who is a first-time worker not only has to learn to identify and meet the employer's expectations, to adjust to the workplace culture and figure out how to fit in with co-workers, they have to learn how to do the job itself. This often presents another unique challenge. A disabled first-timer may have to learn new adaptive technologies to do their job. This is an additional task that non-disabled first-timers don't have to confront.

Fewer Options

Another reason why unemployment is so high among people who have disabilities might be because they have fewer options for work. This became apparent to me though another comment Sara made. She told me about a client she had who lived in Redwood City, California. Her employment counselor secured a job interview for her with a company in a city that would have taken nearly 3 hours to reach via public transportation. A person who could drive might be able to cut the commute time and take the job but it was out of the question for this jobseeker.

Disincentives to Work

Another important factor that people with disabilities struggle with is fear of taking a job because it they think they will lose their Social Security benefits. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides monthly disability income for those who meet Social Security rules for disability and who have limited income and resources. Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) is wage replacement income for those who pay Federal Insurance Contributions Act (FICA) taxes when they have a disability meeting Social Security disability rules.

To qualify to receive SSI or SSDI, an individual's monthly-earned income must be less than $830 (for 2005). Earned income or substantial gainful activity (SGA) dollar amounts are adjusted every January, a process called indexing. Social Security has separate rules for those who are eligible for benefits because they are blind. SGA is $1380 in 2005 for blind beneficiaries. (http://www.db101.org) This can be a disincentive to work.

In some states programs are being made more flexible to encourage work. A Benefits Specialist working at the Independent Living Resource Center in San Francisco, California, for example, told me there is now a kind of deductible (on earned income) after which the government deducts $1 in assistance for every $2 earned. This allows more flexibility to earn income and receive benefits. In California, the Medi-Cal program allows their clients to earn up to $47,000 before they lose their medical insurance benefits.

Discrimination

Discrimination in the workplace is one of the main reasons people with disabilities have high rates of unemployment. This includes stereotyping and making assumptions about what people can and cannot do because of their disability. I became blind when I was 57. My experience is very different from someone who became blind when they were a child or someone who has been blind since birth. This illustrates that assumptions cannot be made even for those who have the same/similar disability.

Potential employers and co-workers may make false assumptions about what a person with a disability can and cannot do. It doesn't excuse them but it means we have to take the initiative to make our full capabilities known.

I believe solutions to remedy the unemployment crisis will require the cooperation and effort of several groups including employers and human resource managers, people with disabilities, services providers and the community at large. There is no quick fix but beginning to name the barriers might be a good place to start.

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