Workforce Infrastructure in Support of People with Disabilities: Matching Human Resources to Service Needs

摘要

Americans with disabilities depend on the disability services infrastructure, which consists of health, education, and social services programs. The need for these services is expected to increase significantly in the coming decades as a result of several factors, most notably the aging of the baby boom generation and declining birthrates. These trends threaten the future availability and quality of services for people with disabilities. As the threat grows, so do the downsides to the American economy and society, which are increasingly engaged competitively on a global basis. People with disabilities occupy a strategic place in America's ability to compete. Either their talents and ambitions will be developed into a resource for our society, or they will remain on the margins, battling for shrinking resources. This report from the National Council on Disability (NCD) presents recommendations (with a rationale for each) that call for partnerships among federal departments and agencies, their State counterparts, and the private sector, including organizations involved with education/training, health care, and employment services. A concerted effort is needed by these sectors to ensure that the projected shortfall in the workforce of the disability services infrastructure entities can be quickly overcome.