BBI Launches Podcast on Future of Disability Employment Policy
The 鈥檚 Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (DEP RRTC) has the second grant cycle of their podcast series, 鈥Let鈥檚 Get to Work: Reimagining Disability Employment Policy.” The podcast series is hosted by Peter Blanck, University Professor and Chairman of the Burton Blatt Institute, and produced by the in collaboration with leading economic and social policy researchers at Mathematica, Rutgers, Harvard and Cornell Universities. The series brings together scholars, national leaders, researchers, policymakers, business leaders and disability community advocates examining the future of employment policy for people with disabilities.
The inaugural episode spotlights Lex Frieden, a pioneering disability rights advocate and key architect of the independent living movement and the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. The episode explores Frieden鈥檚 life journey and his vision for advancing meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Frieden emphasizes the central role of employment in civic and economic participation.
鈥淚f we鈥檙e not working, then we鈥檙e not contributing to the public good,” he says. “We鈥檙e not paying taxes, we are not engaging in the economy to the extent that we can. By working, we are contributing to the product in the workforce, and we鈥檙e generating income that we can circulate back through the economy that will benefit the employers.鈥
Frieden notes that while significant advances have been made since the passage of the ADA, barriers remain.
鈥淭he younger generation is finding that there are still barriers to employment,鈥 he says. But he remains optimistic and confident that young and future advocates will 鈥減ick up the torch and move on, as I鈥檓 seeing happen.鈥
Listeners can access the inaugural episode online and with Frieden.聽聽
The is a research, education and training center dedicated to enhancing employment opportunities and outcomes for people with disabilities, developed under a grant from the National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research. The center has an expansive, five-year agenda of coordinated research projects designed to explore and identify the policies, factors and conditions that empower people with disabilities to access and succeed in the workforce. More information can be found on the center’s .
