Research Activities
The New England ADA Center is one of ten regional Centers comprised of the ADA National Network. The Centers are a nation-wide infrastructure that supports voluntary compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Each Center is responsible for technical assistance, training, public awareness, and dissemination of Federally approved materials on the ADA.
The New England ADA Center also has a research agenda to improve education and employment outcomes for people with disabilities. To meet this agenda, we partner with the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts.
We have four on-going research activities:
Research Activity #1
Disability and the Great Recession of 2007
The Impact of the Great Recession Upon the Unemployment of Americans with Disabilities
American labor markets have entered into period of extraordinary decline since the end of 2007. The magnitude of job losses since that time has been quite large with the number of payroll jobs in the nation declining by more than 7 million jobs since December 2007 through September 2009. But payroll employment declines are only one manifestation of the losses sustained by American workers since the beginning of the ‘Great Recession.’ The recession has resulted in a more than a doubling in the number of unemployed workers in the nation, an increasing withdrawal of workers from active participation in the job market, reduced hours of work and declining wages of those who are working.
The impact of the recession on different working age population groups has been quite varied. As we will explore in this paper, rates of job losses have differed widely across industries and occupations, with blue collar workers in goods producing industries bearing a disproportionate share of the losses associated with the collapse of the nation’s financial system the event which triggered the extraordinary declines in the labor market which we have observed since the fall of 2008.1 Teens and young adults have also experienced disproportionate adverse impacts from the recession as have those with fewer years of schooling.
Using new monthly data from the Current Population Survey (CPS) this paper explores the nature and size of the labor market problems experienced by the population of disabled persons included within the scope of the CPS survey in the U.S. and the New England region. However, before we undertake this discussion it is useful to provide a more detailed discussion of the labor market impacts of the Great Recession that began at the end of 2007.
Research Activity #2
New England ADA Center Unveils New Findings on Community Colleges and Students with Disabilities
President Obama's strategy to increase degree attainment will require increased graduation by community college students, many of whom have disabilities, according to a new study by the DBTAC-New England ADA Center and Northeastern University economists Neeta P. Fogg and Paul E. Harrington published in the Fall 2009 issue of The New England Journal of Higher Education.
Fogg and Harrington's articlePaternalism to Self-Advocacy notes: "In high school, students with disabilities are in a protected environment compliant with IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) legislation, where their disabilities are diagnosed, IEPs (Individualized Education Plans) are designed and services specific to their disabilities are provided. In college, the responsibility for disclosing disabilities and seeking services falls squarely on the student."
"Community colleges are in the business of serving large numbers of students with a variety of disabilities, but their knowledge of these students--who they are or even how many of them are enrolled--is often quite limited," write the Northeastern economists.
Read the latest research findings 'From Paternalism to Self Advocacy: Obama's community college graduation strategy and students with disabilities' (Available as a PDF or Microsoft Word document.)
Detailed information: Research Activity #2
Research Activity #3
On-Line Job Guide
Through an analysis of databases, create systematic method for targeting growing jobs and employers (by names and addresses) and matching them with local college programs graduating students with disabilities who can fill those jobs. This is a promising practice research design contributing to the state of the art that can be replicated, culminating in producing and disseminating a “Guide to New England Jobs” for individuals with disabilities.
(Detailed information about Research Activity 3 coming soon)
Research Activity #4
Tracking students with disabilities from high school through college to determine factors shaping their success in post-secondary education.
An analysis of individuals with disabilities holding a bachelors or higher in the college labor market in New England and nationally.
(Detailed information about Research Activity 4 coming soon.)
In the meantime, you may read the latest research in the Center For Labor Market Studies’ From Labor Shortage to Labor Surplus: The Changing Labor Market Context and its Meaning for Higher Education. (Available as a PDF or Microsoft Word document.)
