Featured Publications

A DIALOGUE ON REFORMING DISABILITY INSURANCE: Supporting Economic Freedom for People with Disabilities

SYNOPSIS In 2006, the World Institute on Disability (WID) put forward a variety of policy proposals to improve the Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) system, aimed at ensuring that people with disabilities have the opportunity to fully participate in the workforce and be economically self-sufficient. A central proposal that came out of this project is the creation of a work support and supplemental income insurance program that would help to decrease attachment to the SSDI system and increase attachments to the workforce. In 2010, the Center for American Progress (CAP) and The Hamilton Project (THP) jointly released a paper outlining a similar policy proposal, with key differences in approach. What follows is WID’s response to the CAP/THP paper, written with the intention of furthering the public discussion on this important issue.

Curriculum on Abuse Prevention and Empowerment (CAPE)

CAPE, Curriculum on Abuse Prevention and Empowerment is a comprehensive training curriculum for people with disabilities, services providers, and family members about abuse awareness and prevention strategies. Funded by the National Institute on Disability Rehabilitation and Research (NIDRR), CAPE (Curriculum on Abuse Prevention and Empowerment) explores fundamental issues of abuse, best-practices training approaches, and personal stories of resisting and recovering from abuse. CAPE focuses particularly on preventing abuse by anyone in a “helping role,” including informal or paid assistants, family members, and services providers. CAPE is available in English and Spanish, is captioned, and accessible to screen readers.

Work Incentives Information Services: Developing a State-Focused Training and Technical Assistance Center

State and federal rules on access to health coverage and benefits can bewilder even a Ph.D. Some programs, like Social Security disability benefits, have thousands of pages of laws and regulations governing them. Every program has its own unique set of rules on interaction with other programs. The resulting confusion can have a devastating impact on people using more than one program or contemplating a return to work. What can state agencies and other organizations do to help people with disabilities navigate this network and improve their lives? In a groundbreaking new manual—Work Incentives Information Services: Developing a State-Focused Training and Technical Assistance Center—the California Work Incentives Initiative (CWII) at the World Institute on Disability (WID) presents a clear blueprint on how to establish a technical assistance and training center (“TA Center”) addressing these issues. With a focus on improving employment outcomes for people with disabilities, the manual offers detailed information on providing training and other direct services, web based services, and benefits calculators. Based on eight years of practical experience and lessons learned at CWII, the manual offers integrated approaches to solving stubborn benefits information and work incentives problems. “The goal of the manual, and ultimately the TA Center, is clear,” says CWII Director Bryon MacDonald. “Get the right information into the right hands at the right time. That is what consumers need to make important decisions affecting their lives. And that’s what we hope to facilitate with this publication. State agencies, employers, disability community advocates, and employment support planners will find real value in a review of the materials in this manual.” The manual is a product of Contract: SS00-05-60088 between the World Institute on Disability and the Social Security Administration, Office of Program Development and Research.

Sticks and Stones: Disabled People’s Stories of Abuse, Defiance and Resilience

Sticks and Stones is a collection of over fifty stories about facing abuse and violence. The compelling stories are told by a diverse group of people with disabilities, as well as family members, services providers, and other allies, and cover a wide range of mistreatment and recovery experiences. Studies show that abuse and violence are high-priority concerns for disabled people; rates of abuse are shockingly high. Women and children with disabilities are sexually assaulted at a rate that is three times higher than the one for those without disabilities. Disabled men also experience high rates of abuse. The goals of this book include giving voice to people with disabilities who have confronted abusive situations, breaking their isolation, and revealing the complex issues of abuse and violence, particularly the ones faced by those who depend on help from family or paid assistance.

Latinos with Disabilities in the United States: Understanding & Addressing Barriers to Employment

Proyecto Visión released this in-depth analysis of the challenges Latinos with disabilities face in the U.S. job market. The report includes promising employment practices and individual success stories form across the country. The paper identifies factors contributing to disabled Latinos’ difficulties utilizing services and becoming employed, highlights exemplary research and vocational projects, and makes recommendations on how to improve employment outcomes for Latinos with disabilities.

Access to Medical Care: Adults with Physical Disabilities

This 22-minute DVD and training curriculum for physicians, dentists, nurses, and other medical staff covers issues that affect the quality of care for patients with disabilities in outpatient clinical settings. Interviews with expert medical providers and a diverse group of people with disabilities address cultural competence; access and communication issues in the clinic; common myths and stereotypes about disability that interfere with accurate assessment of patients; and barriers to health care delivery.

Change from Within: International Overview of the Impact of Disabled Politicians and Disability Policy Bodies on Governance

This volume presents the results of a five-year international investigation into disability and governance. It examines three interrelated topics: the impact of disabled individuals who have been elected or appointed to high governmental office; the scope, structure and impact of national disability policy bodies; and the increasing accessibility of the machinery of democracy, especially elections and voting. “Change from Within” is the first international report on this significant topic.