Facebook
Twitter
Maine's CHOICES CEO Project
Maine's Disability and Employment Dashboard
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
||
 |
 |
 |
|
|||
This section discusses the data sources for some of the previous charts.
Data Sources
U. S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey
Used in:
- Chart I. Employment Participation of Working-age Adults in Maine by Disability Status
- Chart II. Employment Participation of Working-age Adults in Maine by Disability Type
- Chart III. Median Household Income of Working-age Adults in Maine by Disability Status
- Chart IV. Poverty Status of Working-age Adults in Maine by Disability Status
- Chart V. Education Status of Working-age Adults in Maine by Disability Status
Overview
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a nationwide survey that provides communities a fresh look at how they are changing. It is a critical element of the Census Bureau’s reengineered census.
The decennial census has two parts: 1) a short form that counts the population; and 2) a long form that obtains demographic, housing, social, and economic data. Information from the long form is used for the administration of federal programs and the distribution of billions of federal dollars. Since the census is conducted only once every 10 years, the long-form information becomes out-of-date after a few years. The ACS is a way to provide long-form-type information each year instead of once every ten years. This ongoing survey will replace the long form in 2010. The ACS covers a broad range of topics about social, economic, demographic and housing characteristics of the U.S. population such as age, race, income, labor force status, health insurance coverage, marital status, disability, housing size, housing value and rent 1
Year of most recent available data: 2008
Definition of Disability
The U.S. Census Bureau uses an activity-limitation definition of disability. It defines a disability as: “…the restriction in participation that results from a lack of fit between the individual’s functional limitations and the characteristics of the physical and social environment.” 2
The 2008 American Community Survey identifies serious difficulty in four basic areas of functioning: vision, hearing, ambulation, and cognition. The ACS also includes two questions to identify people with difficulties that might impact their ability to live independently. The six different types of disability are identified using the six questions below. People aged 16-64 are classified as having a disability if they report having serious difficulty in at least one of these areas.2
| 2008 American Community Survey | 2003-2007 American Community Surveys | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census Term | Question | Census Term | Question |
| Hearing Difficulty | Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious difficulty hearing? | Sensory Disability | Does this person have any of the following long-lasting conditions: Blindness, deafness, or a severe vision or hearing impairment?
|
| Vision difficulty | Is this person blind or does he/she have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses? | N/A | Hearing and vision questions were not separated in 2003-2007 ACS |
| Ambulatory difficulty | Does this person have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? | Physical Disability | A condition that substantially limits one or more basic physical activities such as walking, climbing stairs, reaching, lifting, or carrying? |
| Cognitive difficulty | Because of a physical, mental or emotional condition, does this person have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? | Mental Disability | Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition lasting 6 months or more, does this person have any difficulty in doing any of the following activities: Learning, remembering, or concentrating? |
| Self-care difficulty | Does this person have serious difficulty dressing or bathing? | Self-care Disability | Dressing, bathing, or getting around inside the home? |
| Independent living difficulty | 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? | Go-Outside-the-Home Disability | Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition lasting 6 months or more, does this person have any difficulty in doing any of the following activities: |
N/A |
Employment disability question not included in 2008 ACS. | Employment Disability | Working at a job or business? |
Source: Brault, Matthew (September 2009). Review of Changes to the Measurement of Disability in the 2008 American Community Survey. U.S. Census Bureau. http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/disability/2008ACS_disability.pdf
Note that the Census Bureau changed the measurement of disability in the 2008 ACS, preventing comparison to earlier years. The most notable change to the disability measure includes the separation of the “sensory disability” question into two separate questions designed to measure hearing and vision difficulties. Also, the measure for employment disability was dropped altogether from the 2008 ACS because several studies had found that respondents had difficulty understanding the intended meaning.3
Definition of Employment
This category includes all civilians 16-years-old and older who were either:
- At work — this includes those who did any work during the reference week as paid employees, within their own business or profession, on their own farm, or as unpaid workers on a family farm or in a family business for 15 hours or more; or
- With a job but not
at work — this includes those who did
not work during the reference week but had jobs
or businesses from which they were temporarily
absent due to illness, bad weather, industrial dispute, vacation
or other personal reasons.
Those who are not classified as “employed” include people on active duty in the United States Armed Forces; people whose only work activity consisted of work around the house or unpaid volunteer work for religious, charitable, and similar organizations.4
Statistical Reliability and Validity Considerations
Every year, the Census surveys over 500,000 people nationwide for its ACS. From 2000 to 2004, Maine had between 3,800 and 5,000 adult respondents to the ACS. In 2005, the Census increased the ACS sample. This resulted in Maine having more than 7,000 respondents each year from 2005 through 2008. The increased size of the sample means the estimates given by the ACS have been getting more precise over time.
Internet Site for Further Information:
http://www.census.gov/acs/www/index.html
Rehabilitation Services Administration, RSA 911 Data
Used in:
- Chart VII. Number Entering Competitive Employment: Bureau of Rehabilitation Services
Overview
The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services operates Maine’s state vocational rehabilitation program, in partnership with the federal Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA). RSA provides the majority of the funding to BRS. To receive these funds, BRS is required to collect and submit data on consumer services, demographics and outcomes to RSA on a regular basis. The RSA 911 is a publicly-available database with aggregate information submitted by all states.
Year of most recent available data: 2008
Definition of Disability
To be eligible for vocational rehabilitation services, a person must have a “disability that keeps them from getting or keeping a job and need VR services to find or keep a job.” 5
Definition of Employment
The Bureau of Rehabilitation Services (BRS) closes active cases when the client has entered competitive employment and has stayed employed for a minimum of 90 days after receiving services. BRS defines competitive employment as, “…employment in the competitive labor market that is performed on a full-time or part-time basis in an integrated setting, and for which an individual is compensated at or above the minimum wage, but not less than the customary wage-level of benefits paid by the employer for the same or similar work performed by individuals who are not disabled.”6
Internet Sites for Further Information
http://www.statedata.info
http://rsamis.ed.gov
Social Security Administration
Used in:
- Chart VIII. Employment Rate of Individuals on Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Chart IX. Employment of Individuals on Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI)
Year of most recent available data: 2008
Definition of Disability
The Social Security Administration (SSA) defines disability as:
“The inability to engage in any substantial gainful activity
(SGA) because of a medically determinable physical
or mental impairment(s):
- That can be expected to result in death; or
- That has lasted, or that we can expect to last, for a continuous period of not less than 12 months.
If your impairment is other than blindness, earnings averaging over $900 a month (for the year 2007) generally demonstrate SGA. If you are blind, earnings averaging over $1,500 a month (for the year 2007) generally demonstrate SGA.” 7
In addition to meeting the SSA definition of disability, eligibility for SSI is also limited to those with little or no work experience and limited income and resources.
Internet Sites for Further Information:
http://www.socialsecurity.gov/policy/index.html
SSI Annual Statistical Report, 2008
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/ssi_asr/
Annual Statistical Report on the Social Security Disability Insurance Program, 2008
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/di_asr/index.html
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
|
