Disability

Fact Sheet: Building an Economy That Delivers for Women

This fact sheet offers a brief summary of CAP’s “Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy,” which provides federal and state policymakers with the tools they need to center women in their economic plans and grow the economy.

Playbook for the Advancement of Women in the Economy

This collection of policy recommendations reveals how policymakers can grow the economy by centering the changes that women need in their economic platforms.

Updating SSI Would Improve the Economic Resilience of Low-Income Women

New analysis from the Center for American Progress shows that households relying on Supplemental Security Income (SSI) face higher financial risks than non-SSI households with similar incomes.

Disabled Workers Saw Record Employment Gains in 2023, But Gaps Remain

New data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that in 2023, disabled people made record-breaking employment gains in a tight labor market; policymakers, however, must do more to close persistent gaps.

Long-Term Solutions to the Overincarceration of People With Mental Health Disabilities

Policymakers must focus on long-term structural changes in order to reduce the negative interactions of people with mental health disabilities with police.

How Labor Unions Help Reduce the Pay Gap for Disabled Workers

Disabled workers are underpaid, but union membership helps ensure they earn the same wages as their nondisabled peers.

The Recent COVID-Fueled Rise in Disability Calls for Better Worker Protections

Policymakers must take steps to address the recent rise in disability, which has been fueled by long COVID.

Toolkit: Submitting Comments in Support of HHS Rule To Improve Medical Equipment Accessibility

This toolkit provides guidance for reproductive rights and disability rights organizations and others who seek to submit a comment on the Biden administration’s proposed rule on Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.

Strengthening Early Childhood Health, Housing, Education, and Economic Well-Being Through Holistic Public Policy

The preschool years present a critical developmental period sensitive to changes in public health and social policy, for which robust investments in programs that support families can improve intergenerational outcomes.

Opinion: The GOP wants to put work requirements on Medicaid recipients. That could be devastating for thousands of Americans

Mia Ives-Rublee explains how instituting Medicaid work requirements could be detrimental to thousands of Americans.

A Collaborative Agenda for the Disability and Reproductive Justice Communities in 2023

The Center for American Progress recently hosted a roundtable of more than 20 advocates from the reproductive and disability rights and justice communities—and has compiled the top five policy priorities important to focus on this year.

Revolutionizing the Workplace: Why Long COVID and the Increase of Disabled Workers Require a New Approach

Using new data from the U.S. Census Bureau to examine the impacts of long COVID on the labor market, this report recommends that employers, unions, and policymakers create better workplaces for disabled workers and all workers.

The Biden Administration’s First 2 Years: Stories of Americans Who Benefit From a Government Invested in Their Future

This collection features stories from Americans across the country whose lives and communities have benefited from the legislative and executive actions passed under the Biden administration.

Administrative Burdens: How the Social Safety Net Is Failing Disabled People

Disabled Americans describe their, often dehumanizing, experiences trying to overcome unnecessary barriers to access vital assistance from the government.

How Dehumanizing Administrative Burdens Harm Disabled People

Unnecessary barriers make accessing basic supports extremely difficult for disabled people across the country.

Keeping Americans with disabilities from poverty must remain a priority

Mia Ives-Rublee discusses how the Supplemental Security Income program helped her overcome the structural barriers to employment and economic security that millions of disabled people experience and urges lawmakers to strengthen the program.

Recover, Rebuild, Reform: Stories of Americans Affected by the American Rescue Plan, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act

This CAP Action collection features stories from people in Arizona, Georgia, Nevada, and New Hampshire whose lives have been improved by the legislation passed during the Biden administration’s first two years.

The ADA at 32: Understanding the Rights of Disabled Asylum-Seekers

Experts discuss the Americans with Disabilities Act while highlighting the important intersection between immigration and disability rights.

Crossing the Border: How Disability Civil Rights Protections Can Include Disabled Asylum-Seekers

Civil rights protections designed to protect disabled people from discrimination, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, are powerful tools for ensuring that disabled asylum-seekers have access to the protection and services they need in the U.S. immigration system.

Rethinking Guardianship: Emma’s Story

Emma Budway describes her experience as a nonspeaking autistic woman under guardianship and the benefits of less restrictive alternatives.

Rethinking Guardianship To Protect Disabled People’s Reproductive Rights

Restrictive guardianships deserve increased scrutiny from policymakers in order to ensure that disabled people are not denied their reproductive rights.

The 32nd Anniversary of the ADA

Improving the U.S. Asylum System for Disabled Noncitizens

Removing Obstacles for Disabled Workers Would Strengthen the U.S. Labor Market

Although disabled people saw increased employment rates in 2021, their rates continue to lag significantly behind those of their nondisabled counterparts, signaling the urgent need for policy reform across federal and state governments.

Reproductive Justice for Disabled Women: Ending Systemic Discrimination

As access to reproductive rights continues to shrink in the United States, disabled women struggle to gain visibility around their rights and needs.

Employers Are Ignoring Disabled Workers at Their Own Peril

Mia Ives-Rublee urges employers to adjust to the needs of the disability community in response to the devastating COVID-19 pandemic.

Living at the Intersection: Black Disabled Women and Girls

This video features two Black disabled women—Eman Rimawi-Doster and Heather Watkins—who discuss the barriers they face.

Expanding Education Access for Black Girls With Disabilities

To create more equitable education systems, policymakers must understand how racism, ableism, and sexism intersect and negatively affect Black disabled girls’ ability to attain an education.

How To Make Policies Work for Black Women With Disabilities

To create more equitable systems, policymakers must take an intersectional approach that includes Black women and girls with disabilities.

10 Policies To Improve Economic Security for Black Women With Disabilities

To advance economic security for Black disabled women and girls, policymakers must make intersectionality central to modernizing the social safety net and to dismantling the barriers that contribute to inequality.

Improving Health Outcomes for Black Women and Girls With Disabilities

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed disparities in access, care, and health outcomes that Black disabled women and girls have had to face.

These 6 Priorities Show the Need for a Robust Domestic Discretionary Budget

Funding for government agencies expires on March 11; rather than pass another stopgap bill, Congress must pass full-year appropriations that adequately support the nation’s priorities and needs.

COVID-19 Likely Resulted in 1.2 Million More Disabled People by the End of 2021—Workplaces and Policy Will Need to Adapt

Workplaces will need to adapt to significant increases to both the disabled population and disabled workforce, and future labor market analysis must center disability.

Alleviating Food Insecurity in the Disabled Community

As food insecurity worsened for the disability community during the pandemic, several disability organizations developed innovative solutions that could provide a road map toward better equity around food access.

Returning To School Must Include a Reinvestment in Section 504 Plans

The United States Must Advance Economic Security for Disabled LGBTQI+ Workers

Data indicate that disabled LGBTQI+ workers experience higher rates of barriers to obtaining and maintaining employment, resulting in difficulties in obtaining economic security.

Investing in Home Care and Early Childhood Educators Has Outsize Impacts on Employment

Proposed investments in the Build Back Better agenda would benefit a significant number of workers, particularly women and women of color; transform the home care and early childhood sectors; and lift living standards and employment prospects for millions of Americans.

Supplemental Security Income: An Essential Program for Disabled Americans

Supplemental Security Income (SSI) is a vital anti-poverty program for disabled people, and Congress has the monumental opportunity to raise benefits and fix harmful archaic rules.

SSI Reform Would Boost Incomes for Seniors and Disabled People

By raising a low, outdated income floor, the SSI Restoration Act would pull more than 3 million Americans out of poverty.

The ADA at 31: Expanding Disability Rights in the Time of COVID-19

On the 31st anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and in light of the devastating impacts of the ongoing pandemic, this video emphasizes the need to permanently expand disability rights.

The ADA at 31: Access to Housing and Health Care Must Meet the Rise of Disability in the U.S.

The coronavirus crisis has proven that access to basic life amenities is a public health necessity; therefore, legislation should reflect the growing need for housing and health services.

Enhancing Accessibility in U.S. Elections

Voters with disabilities must have full and equal access to the ballot box.

Recognizing and Addressing Housing Insecurity for Disabled Renters

In light of new analyses showing that people with disabilities continue to face higher rates of housing insecurity, housing policies must center this community’s needs to ensure a more equitable housing system for all.

Disability-Forward Policy Recommendations To Advance Accessible and Affordable Housing for All

The federal government should enact the following policy recommendations to increase affordable, accessible, and inclusive housing for all—especially people with disabilities.

Sexual Violence and the Disability Community

The disability rights and justice movement and the reproductive health, rights, and justice movements must come together for nuanced discussions of the silent epidemic of sexual violence against disabled people.

Sexual Violence and the Disability Community Discussion Guide

Conversations around sexual violence must use justice frameworks to center the intersection of gender and disability violence.

Understanding the Policing of Black, Disabled Bodies

Current data collection on state violence does not paint a picture that is inclusive of victims with disabilities.

10 Local Offices on the Ballot That Are Important to the Disability Community

Here are 10 elected offices on ballots across the country that affect the day-to-day lives of all Americans, including those with disabilities.

The Disability Community Needs Paid Family and Medical Leave

Paid family and medical leave is a disability rights issue and helps provide people with disabilities the economic security they need to manage their health, care for loved ones, or receive care from their family.

Why Voting Matters for the Disability Community

A lot is at stake in the 2020 elections—and voter turnout among Americans with disabilities must be supported before and after the polls close.

Repealing the ACA Would Create Chaos for the Disability Community During a Pandemic

Repealing the Affordable Care Act would lead to chaos, risk, and harm for the disability community.

How the Child Care for Working Families Act Benefits Children With Disabilities and Their Families

The Child Care for Working Families Act provides solutions to meet the care needs of all families, including those with disabled children.

Mental Health Care Was Severely Inequitable, Then Came the Coronavirus Crisis

COVID-19 has exposed the disparities in the U.S. mental health system, leaving many Americans without accessible and affordable care as policymakers fail to adequately address the crisis.

Social Security Benefits for Workers Turning 60 in 2020 Will Very Likely Drop Due to the Coronavirus Pandemic

Congress could pass legislation that would prevent this outcome.

Investing in Home and Community-Based Care During the Coronavirus Pandemic and Future Disasters

The 21st anniversary of the Olmstead v. L.C. Supreme Court decision, which is occurring in the midst of a pandemic, is the perfect time to discuss the importance of home and community-based care.

Centering the Disability and Aging Communities in Federal Emergency Response Efforts

As Congress continues to negotiate how to respond to the COVID-19 crisis, it must consider preparing and responding to the occurrence of concurrent disaster events amid the 2020 hurricane season.

Vote by Mail Is One of Many Ways To Ensure the Disability Community Is Included in the Next Election

In-person voting must be coupled with the expansion of vote by mail to ensure that disabled voters can participate in this historic election.

The Trump Administration’s Deregulation of Nursing Homes Leaves Seniors and Disabled at Higher Risk for COVID-19

By rescinding regulations in the nursing home industry, the Trump administration has caused the coronavirus pandemic to grow in dangerous and unexpected ways.

Preparations for the Next Pandemic Must Improve Resources for Those At Greater Risk

The United States was unprepared to handle COVID-19’s outsize impact on the seniors and people with disabilities, and policymakers must implement permanent solutions to support the needs of these growing populations in future crises.

A Deadly Poverty Trap: Asset Limits in the Time of the Coronavirus

As the economic and public health crises caused by COVID-19 intensify, lawmakers must act now to eliminate or raise asset limits so that people with disabilities are not trapped in poverty.

Coronavirus Proposals Leave the Disability Community Behind

The people most vulnerable to the coronavirus struggle as Congress neglects to provide lifesaving resources and supports in stimulus packages.