DISABLED WORK FORCE

Disabled Work Force

Disabled Work Force

Case Study

Scott has worked at Stonewall Farm for over 14 years. He grooms and cares for horses. His boss says he is the best employee and is always ready to learn new things. Scott has Down syndrome and works with support from staff and his family. "He really adds a sense of family commitment to the place because he is there," Chris Coates of Monadnock Developmental Services said at the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce breakfast on Sept. 5. Coates was joined Sheila Mahon, also of MDS. They asked business leaders to "commit to diversify your work force," by hiring people with disabilities. Monadnock Developmental Services is a nonprofit agency based in Keene, which provides assistance to individuals with developmental disabilities, children with chronic health conditions, adults with an acquired brain disorder, and elders who want or need non-medical assistance in their homes. "We service people with disabilities," Coates said. There was a cultural shift when the Laconia State School was closed, he said. People with developmental disabilities were welcomed back into the community.

"The Monadnock region as a whole is cool," Coates said, "because we brought people back into this community." Now people with development disabilities are living on their own. "You may rent to someone with a developmental disability," he said. Coates said the disabled are an underutilized workforce. To remedy this, MDS has formed Monadnock Center for Successful Transitions. The center is asking businesses to recruit and interview people with disabilities as well as to open up opportunities for apprenticeship and job shadowing. Business owners are also being asked to consider modifications to the work place, Coates said. "Take a look at how you can modify to make your workplace more friendly." Mahon, the Monadnock Center for Successful Transitions' program director, said when people think of someone with a disability, they may think of someone in a wheel chair. Employers often say they need people with physical dexterity and computer skills. While people with disabilities may have restricted capabilities, she said, their skill sets and abilities are broad and varied. With small modifications, the disabled can easily be accommodated in the workplace. reorganizing the office to accommodate a wheelchair. The biggest concern businesses have about hiring the disabled, Mahon said, is the financial impact(Barr, Kristi 2008).

But nationally it costs companies £500 on average to modify the workplace for a disabled employee. There are also tax credits and state incentives for hiring disabled, she said. Coates said the disabled are unemployed at a higher rate than other workers. According to Cornell University, Coates said, 41 percent of adults (21-64) with disabilities are employed compared to 84.2 percent of the general public. Businesses need to broaden their ideas of what disabled people can do, Coates said. A Massachusetts group circumvented local business and purchased a hotel, he said. It has "35 rooms, right on the water and it's all run by people with disabilities. ... And then they bought an ice cream ...