Employer Attitudes to Hiring People with Disabilities

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Employer Attitudes to Hiring People with
Disabilities
NCHSD 2006 Fall MIG Technical Assistant Conference

• Christine Rinck, PhD and Julie Warm, PhD
• Institute for Human Development-University of
  Missouri-Kansas City

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• The purpose of the research was to identify
  perceptions about employment of persons with
  disability from the perspective of employers.

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Sample

• Seven focus groups throughout the state of
  employers (many recruited from Chamber of
  Commerce).
• Seventy-five responses from survey of focus group
  of employer participants

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Purpose

• To identify the perception of employers about
  hiring persons with disabilities.
• To identify policy issues

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Table 1Employer Perceptions about Employment of
Persons with Disabilities

• Fear of the Unknown
• Attitudinal Barriers
• Marketplace Competition
• Misperceptions
• Mental Illness
• Reasonable Accommodations

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Table 2Issues of Employers (2)

• Job Matching
• Transportation
• Personal Care Attendants
• Lack of Individuals with Disabilities who Apply
• Working with ADA
• Where to Access Resources and Support

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Figure 1 People with Disabilities Apply for
Employment in my Company
Scale 1Strongly Agree4Strongly Disagree
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Figure 2Training in Disability Issues
Scale 1None4A lot
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Figure 3Differences between Company Size and
Perception of Cost of Accommodation (Means)
Employees
Size
Scale 1Strongly Agree4Strongly Disagree
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Table 3What do you see as Challenges for
Employment of People with Disabilities (Means)
Scale 1Not a Challenge10Serious Challenge
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Table 4
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Table 5 Supports In Employment Settings (Means)
Scale 1Strongly Agree4Strongly Disagree
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Policy/Recommendations

• Foster More Hiring Persons with Disabilities
• More Linkages Between Vocational Rehabilitation
  and Employers
• More Education for Supervisors on Disability
  Awareness
• Explain the Role of Personal Care Attendant
  and/or Employment Specialist
• Issues of Confidentiality with Personal Care
  Attendant

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Policy/Recommendations (2)

• Helping Persons with Disabilities Apply to More
  Employment Settings
• Help Smaller Companies Learn how to Accommodate
  Inexpensively
• Assure Person with Disability Knows Work Social
  Skills
• Monetary Incentives