Federal Sources for Disability Statistics

Knowledge for Equity ConferenceNovember 13, 2012

U.S. Department of Education Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research

Federal Sources for Disability Statistics

http://www.ed.gov/

22

What’s The National Institute On Disability and Rehabilitation?

Located In the Department of Education, Office of Special Education and Rehabilitation Services (OSERS)

Small-$111 million annual budget. Staff of 40. Fund disability research

Source: American Community Survey; Slide courtesy of Cornell University Disability Statistics Center

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What is NIDRR and What does it do? Legislative authority:

Title II, Rehabilitation act of 1973, as amended.Mission-generate new knowledge and promoting

effective use of knowledge to improve the lives of people with disabilities.

Expand society’s capacity to improve the opportunities and accommodations for its citizens with disability

For more information on NIDRR go to its website


http://www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/osers/nidrr/index.html

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The scope of NIDRR mandate Fund grants that conduct research, training and product

technological products to improve the lives people with disabilities. NIDRR’s core outcome areas Employment/Work Support Community Living and Participation Health and Function Cross-cutting Responsibilities

• Technology/Engineering• Disability Statistics• Cross-cutting Collaboration (ED-OSERS, RSA, HHS,

Social Security, DOJ, VA, Treasury, EEOC, NIST, DOD)


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Disability Statistics. One of NIDRR’s ten funding mechanism’s are the

Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers (RRTC)Supports the STATS-RRTC at Hunter College.

http://disabilitycompendium.orgPreviously this Center was located at Cornell

University. NIDRR no longer funds this center, but this is still one of the best sources for disability statistics

http://www.disabilitystatistics.org


http://disabilitycompendium.org/

http://www.disabilitystatistics.org/

66

No One Data Set Covers All Data Needs American Community Survey (ACS)

Conducted by the U.S. by the U.S. Census Bureau. Annual survey of 3 million addresses in the U.S. Objectives

• Provide federal, state and local government agencies with information

• Replaced the replaced the decennial Census long form.• Provides timely annual data on housing, social and

economic statistics that can be compared across states, communities and population groups.

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ACS –Disability QuestionsACS disability questions used to identify

the population with disability.Six questions-new in 2008. These

questions are now used by the Current Population Survey (CPS), and decennial Census and HHS’ Healthy People 2020 recommendation for inclusion in all future population health surveys.


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Defining Disability-ACS six questions Hearing Disability (asked of all ages)

Question 16a. Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious difficulty hearing?

Visual Disability (asked of all ages) 16b. Is this person blind or does he/she have serious difficulty seeing

even when wearing glasses?

Cognitive Disability (asked of persons age 5 or older) 17a. Because of a physical, mental or emotional condition does this

person have difficulty concentration, remembering, or making decisions?


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Defining Disability-continued Ambulatory disability (asked of persons ages 5 or older)

17b. Does this person have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs?

Self-Care disability (asked of persons ages 5 or older) 17c. Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing?

Independent living disability (asked of persons ages 15 or older) 18. Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this

person have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping?

Overall disability in the U.S. Population is determined by the number of people reporting one or more of the six disability types.


1010

Other National Disability Data Sources

Current Population Survey (CPS) The CPS has the advantage of being the most comprehensive measure of employment information for the U.S. from 1981 on. Tracks employment status. Conducted by the Census Bureau for BLS. Monthly, periodic and annual sample survey of 50,000 households in

the U.S. Before 2008 used question about disability-related work limitations.

Decennial Census


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2010 Census Special EEO File Available December 31,2012 Disability data will be released as part of the EEO

file. This will include disability data by age, race, sex,

education, income, detailed occupation, employment, unemployment.

Geographic data available for counties, SMSA’s and the U.S.


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Other National Disability Data Sources-continued. National Health Interview Survey (NHIS)–Focuses on aspects

of health status of the population and use of health services.

Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP) Survey conducted by Census Provides key data about source and amount of income, program

participation. Measures the effectiveness of existing federal, state and local programs, estimates future costs and coverage of government programs, such as food stamps. Provides measures of economic well being.

Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) Objective of BRFSS is to collect uniform, state specific data on

preventive health practices and risk behaviors that are linked to chronic diseases, injuries, and preventable infectious diseases that affect the adult population.


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Questions and Cautions When Using Disability Data What is the purpose of the survey and how

does it define disability? What level of data does the survey provide? Use caution when comparing data among

different surveys. Be careful when comparing data from one

year to the next.

1414Source: American Community Survey; Slide courtesy of Cornell University Disability Statistics Center

1414

Disability Prevalence Rate in Population Ages 5+: 2010

14.9%People WithDisabilities*(36,399,700)

or 11.9%

PeopleWithout

Disabilities(305,353,600)

88.1%*Does not includepeople living inInstitutions.


Prevalence (Current Population Survey)

7.5 7.5

7.2

7.3

7.6

7.5

7.4

7.1

7.0

7.1 7.1

7.4

7.6

8.0 8.0

7.9

8.0

7.8

7.5

7.6

7.4

7.7

7.4

7.9

8.0

8.1

7.6

7.2

6.4

6.6

6.8

7.0

7.2

7.4

7.6

7.8

8.0

8.2

Perc

ent w

ith a

wor

k lim

itatio

n

Percent of people ages 18-64 with a work limitation

Summary of Current DataIn 2008, 7.2 percent of people aged 18-64 reported a work limitation. This percentage represented a total of 14.0 million people. Source CPS using work limitation question to identify those with a disability. CPS is now using ACS disability definitions..

1616

2010 2020 2030 2040 20505

10

15

20

25

30

12.4 13.1 14.1 14.9 15.2

20.622.8

25.927.6 28.2

Perc

enta

ge Persons with Substantial Disability as % of Projected US Population Persons with Substantial Disability as % of Population Between 20 and 64yrs

16

Source: RRTC Stats calculations for 2010 (American Community Survey) with future estimates applying distribution of disability by age cohort to projections of US population by age (Census Bureau).

Nation and NIDRR Face Challenges in Disability

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Prevalence Rate of Overall Disability by Age: 2010

The prevalence of disability in the US was: 3.3 percent for persons ages 4 and under; 5.1 percent for persons ages 5 to 15; 5.4 percent for persons ages 16 to 20; 10.3 percent for persons ages 21 to 64;; 25.5 percent for persons ages 65 to 74; and 50.5 percent for persons ages 75.

1818Source: American Community Survey

Disability Prevalence Rates, by Gender: 2010

4 > 5-15 16-20 21-64 65-74 75+0

10203040506070

0.86.5 6.3 10.4

26.035.2

0.7 3.7 7.010.1

25

39.7

Male FemaleAges

Perc

ent


Disability Prevalence Rates, by Race: 2010

Overall Disability

White Black/African American

Native Amer-ican

Asian Other Race(s)0

5

10

15

20

25

11.9 12.4 13.415.9

6.18.4Pe

rcen

t


Median Annual Earnings of Working-Age People (21 to 64)

In 2010, the median earnings of working-age people with disabilities who worked full-time/full-year in the U.S. was $35,900.

In 2010, the median earnings of working-age people without disabilities who worked full-time/full-year in the U.S. was $41,360.

In 2010, the difference in the median earnings between working-age people with and without disabilities who worked full-time/full-year was $5,460.

2121

Employment (full-time) Ages 21-64 Without 55.3% or 88,473,800 of 160,120,800 With a disability 21%, or 3,842,300 of 18, 348,600

Visual 24 % Hearing 35 % Ambulatory 15 % Cognitive 11 % Self-Care 8.9% Independent living 7.3%

Source: American Community Survey


Comparison of Median Household Income Between People With Disabilities and Those Without: 2010

Households with People with Disabilities

Households without People with Disabilities

$0.00

$10,000.00

$20,000.00

$30,000.00

$40,000.00

$50,000.00

$60,000.00

$70,000.00

$36,800.00

$59,400.00


Poverty Gap for the Population with Disabilities

In 2010, poverty rates were as follows: People without disabilities- 11.9 percent People with disabilities- 27.0 percentThe gap between rates for people with disabilities and

those without was 15.1 percent.


2005 2006 2007

Sensory disability 9.2 8.7 9.6

Physical disability 6.6 6.9 6.7

Mental disability 5.0 4.9 4.6

Self-care disability 5.4 5.8

Go-outside-home disability 4.8 4.6

Employment disability 5.3 4.8

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

10.0

Perc

ent w

ith a

t lea

st a

bac

helo

r's d

egre

e

Percent of people with at least a bachelor's degree, 2005-2007

Physical disability

Employment disabilityMental disability

Go-outside-home disability

Sensory disability

Self-care disability

Note: Ages 18-34 and not enrolled in school.Source: American Community Survey, 2005-2007.

Summary of Current DataIn 2007, there was no disability subgroup with more than 10 percent of people having at least a bachelor’s degree, with people with sensory disabilities having the highest percentage with at least a bachelor’s degree, at 9.6 percent.

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Summary of Findings Presented Here Disability prevalence rates vary by geography, age, gender,

race, and ethnicity. Individuals with disabilities are

Increasing in number; Include persons of all race/ethnic groups. Less likely to have a college degree; When employed, likely to earn less than persons without disabilities;

and More likely to live in poverty.

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Improved Disability Data

Challenges include: A constrained funding environment–keeping what we have; Avoiding duplication of research efforts; and Developing and implementing a new national survey on disability

Promising efforts include: Revised ACS questions and inclusion of individuals living in

Group Quarters; and New CPS questions on disability.

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My Contact Information

Doris Werwie, Ph.D. National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR)Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services U.S. Department of Education

Phone: 202-245-6564E-mail: [email protected]

Documents

Federal Sources for Disability Statistics