We’ve spent a lot of time recently praising the federal government’s number of initiatives to improve career training and employment opportunities for people with disabilities. But a report published by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) at the end of June wonders whether more necessarily equals better.
The subtitle of the 91 page Employment for People with Disabilities report (PDF) says it all: “Little Is Known about the Effectiveness of Fragmented and Overlapping Programs.” In the course of their review, GAO auditors looked at 45 different programs that support employment for people with disabilities, finding that “all programs overlapped at least with one other program in that they provided one or more similar employment service” and that, even more distressing, “little is known about the effectiveness of these programs.”
Washington Post reporter Lisa Rein summarized the report in her July 3 article, but unfortunately did not attempt to reach officials within the various departments scrutinized by the review; instead she only offered the general, unattributed feedback provided at the close of the report. One thoughtful commenter to the article, however, who identifies themselves as Yankeebelle, cautioned readers that services for individuals with disabilities cannot be put into “one size fits all” categorizations — what a hearing-impaired individual requires is quite different from someone who is visually-impaired for example — and shouldn’t sidestep the benefits, writing:
People with disabilities who go to work, become tax payers, even if it is part time work and this is the first step to becomming more independent and not relying upon Social Security…and Medicare (Federal) / Medicaid (State) for insurance.
Nevertheless, the GAO’s call for better inter-departmental coordination should not go unheeded when it concerns how $4 billion in government funds are allocated in support of employment services for people with disabilities. Nor is it unreasonable to ask these agencies to establish metrics that help determine what is and is not effective in accomplishing the overarching goal of making life matter for these individuals.
It should also be noted that this is the second time this year the GAO has dinged the government for poor execution with regards to providing services to people with disabilities. It’s a given that an organization like ATI would find a way to tweak its contract services or Starworks program according to results and feedback from clients. The federal government should be held to at least the same standard.
Comments?
Image by USDAgov, used under its Creative Commons license
Enjoy the full features of Spotify Premium without paying a dime! This modded APK is packed with everything, from unlimited skips to no ads.
spotfimod.com/