Turning workers' challenges into workplace assets

When the coronavirus pandemic shut down school buildings and led to many people working from home in New York City, a city child care program was launched to give children a place to go while they were learning from home. However, the program failed to accommodate children with disabilities who required the assistance of a paraprofessional. After realizing the gap in care, the city is now working to increase access.

In Arizona, state officials recruited individuals for volunteer committees to have oversight of the state Division of Developmental Disabilities that was responsible for caring for those with developmental disabilities. Although the program was initially successful and "helped Arizona earn its reputation as one of the best states in the country for the care of people with developmental and intellectual disabilities," in recent years, a series of resignations and increased workload have left some of the panels "barely functioning."

The Volunteers of America's Face Forward 2 program offers a second chance to youth offenders by focusing on education and employment. Destyni Iverson believes the program potentially changed the trajectory of life. She said she felt hopeless when she enrolled, and was on the verge of becoming a high school dropout. Now she is enrolled as a nursing student at Cuyahoga Community College and believes she has a bright future.

Floare de Cires addresses the employment barriers people with disabilities face by training them in culinary and hospitality skills that help them integrate into the workforce and build a sense of independence.

Lionheart Ability Leaders International Foundation (LALIF) uses a comprehensive training program to empower parents, teachers and those living with vision and hearing impairment. Their programming teaches educators how to understand tactile sign language, and also empowers parents on how best to support their children living with disabilities.

The Beautiful Gates Handicapped People Center builds mobility aids like wheelchairs and crutches and distributes them to people with disabilities, particularly those paralyzed by polio. Since forming in 1998, Beautiful Gate has distributed 32,000 wheelchairs and mobility tools.

To eliminate the practice of custody relinquishment to mental health services, some states are building more comprehensive systems of care for children that focus on crisis prevention and de-escalation. More accessible and affordable wraparound services have reduced the need for and use of inpatient psychiatric hospitalizations, emergency rooms, juvenile detention, residential treatments, and police involvement.

The Let Cerebral Palsy Kids Learn foundation trains Nigerian teachers in how to better serve students with the condition, while also educating parents about cerebral palsy and providing support and assistance to place their children in mainstream schools. The organization has placed more than 100 students in partner schools since 2017 and has trained more than 500 parents and teachers.

Even as several states banned subminimum wages for disabled workers and adopted versions of the "employment-first" legislation in the country, the Center for Human Services became an anomaly when it closed its sheltered workshop programs in Missouri where they find immense support. In the last five years, the non-profit has focused, instead, on helping adults with disabilities gain employment in traditional jobs in their own communities and earn minimal wages.

Angel Rider Wheelchairs provides free wheelchairs to children across Rwanda. The group constructs and distributes the wheelchairs themselves and coordinates with the National Council of Persons with Disabilities, who provides a list of children nominated to receive one. Access to the wheelchairs have changed the quality of life for many of the children, allowing them to attend school and other social activities for the first time in their lives. The non-profit has donated over 2,000 wheelchairs in the last five years.