Journal of Disability Policy Studies current issue

From the Publications Director

Kipping, P. — 2008-05-19

Farewell and Thanks

Fiedler, C., Rylance, B. J. — 2008-05-19

Employer Perspectives on High School Diploma Options for Adolescents With Disabilities

Hartwig, R., Sitlington, P. L. — 2008-05-19

According to the amendments to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act, students with disabilities are required to participate in state- and districtwide assessments with appropriate accommodations and modifications when necessary. The data on the performance of students with disabilities on these assessments indicate that they are not performing well compared to their general education peers. As a result, some states are issuing alternate exit documents from high school in the form of occupational diplomas, General Educational Development diplomas (GEDs), and certificates of attendance, achievement, or completion. The authors interviewed a random sample of employers, asking them if they were willing to hire prospective employees with these types of alternate diplomas. Employers were least willing to hire individuals with certificates of attendance, achievement, or completion and most willing to hire those with occupational diplomas and GEDs.

Changing the Way Employees Interact With Guests With Disabilities

Hall, E. W. — 2008-05-19

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a disability awareness workshop and its effect on theme park employees. Two research questions were posed: Would employees who attended a disability awareness workshop demonstrate a greater knowledge base in disability issues and legislation? Would they alter their attitudes toward persons with disabilities? The 40 employees participating in this study were given the Facts About Disabilities Scale (FAD) and the Interaction With Disabled Persons Scale (IDP) as a pretest. Employees in the treatment group attended a 1-day disability awareness workshop. Following the workshop, all employees were given the FAD and the IDP as a posttest. A repeated-measures analysis of covariance revealed statistically significant differences in the knowledge levels of employees and more positive attitudes toward guests with disabilities as a result of attending the disability awareness workshop. Conclusions and recommendations for further research are provided.

User-Centered Policy Evaluations of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act: Evaluating E-Government Web Sites for Accessibility for Persons With Disabilities

Jaeger, P. T. — 2008-05-19

The author examines user-centered evaluations of e-government Web sites for compliance with a policy related to persons with disabilities: the requirements of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Although Section 508 requires that federal e-government sites offer equal access to all users, research indicates that inaccessibility is still prevalent. User-centered evaluation approaches offer a vital way to discover areas of inaccessibility on Web sites related to the requirements of Section 508. Following an overview of accessibility, Section 508, and e-government sites, the goals of evaluation and various approaches to evaluating e-government sites are analyzed. The author then focuses on methods and issues in user-centered evaluations of e-government that measure accessibility, and considerations for universal design and future studies. Sample instruments and example data from a 2006 study of e-government accessibility are included to illustrate methods and issues. Evaluating e-government Web sites can ultimately prove quite informative in ascertaining compliance with laws intended to promote accessibility.

Is Minority Status a More Consistent Predictor of Disability Than Socioeconomic Status?

Mwachofi, A. K., Broyles, R. — 2008-05-19

Applying the social and capabilities models of disability and using individuals as the unit of analysis, the authors examined the consistency of socioeconomic status and membership in a minority group as covariates of four dimensions of disability. Using the responses of 260,062 individuals to the 2003 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, the authors examined three binary variables identifying individuals who required assistive devices or experienced at least 1 day of limited activity because of physical, emotional, or mental problems or because of only physical problems. Among 55,026 respondents who experienced at least 1 day of limited activity, the authors examined variation in the number of disability days. After health needs, lifestyle risks, demographic attributes, and access to care were controlled, the results indicated that socioeconomic status is a more consistent predictor of disability than membership in a minority group.

The Challenge of Financing and Delivering Personal Assistant Services

Stout, B. J., Hagglund, K. J., Clark, M. J. — 2008-05-19

Over the past several years, a multitude of factors have converged to make the financing and delivery of personal assistant services (PAS) two of the most critical issues in American disability policy making. This article chronicles the development of assistive services and examines some of the more noteworthy strategies designed to improve PAS policy making. The argument is made that PAS should be a mandatory benefit provided through Medicaid. This approach, although imperfect, holds the greatest potential for improving the PAS delivery system. Incorporating PAS as a Medicaid benefit offers advantages over the current system, including the opportunity for ongoing need and satisfaction assessment among program beneficiaries, the development of a platform for strengthening the personal assistant workforce, and the ability to generate evidenced-based recommendations for improved service outcomes and cost-effectiveness.

Disability Access and E-Government: An Empirical Analysis of State Practices

Rubaii-Barrett, N., Wise, L. R. — 2008-05-19

Despite a body of federal and state laws and policies promoting access to e-government for individuals with disabilities, wide variation exists across the states in the level of Web site accessibility. This study seeks to identify factors accounting for why some states are more responsive than other states to the needs of people with disabilities in their use of e-government. Drawing on demographic, political, administrative, and economic arguments, the authors account for a substantial share of the variation among states using a model based on measures of need, partisan control of government, fiscal capacity, and state spending. The single most important variable in the model is the strength of a state's own technical assistance policy; the way a policy is formulated in terms of clarity of objectives and enforcement capacity is significant. The authors' findings have clear implications for policy formulation and implementation, and they suggest several avenues for future research.