Brigida Hernandez

A voice in the chorus: perspectives of young men of color on their disabilities, identities, and peer‐mentors

With the rise of violence during the 1990s, the number of persons who acquired a spinal cord injury as a result of gunshot trauma increased dramatically in the United States. This qualitative study examined disability, race, and contribution of peer‐mentors to the development of identity. Six men with a violence‐related spinal cord injury participated in a focus group. They were injured for at least two years, making positive gains in their lives, and training to become peer‐mentors at a rehabilitation hospital. In addition, 16 men with a newly‐acquired spinal cord injury from gunshot trauma participated in an individual interview. These sixteen participants were all mentees (or recipients) of the peer‐mentor program. Principles of grounded theory were used to code and analyze data. Data converged on three main themes: (1) disability viewed as a wake‐up call or blessing, (2) disability viewed as a turning point, and (3) disability viewed as identity transforming.With the rise of violence during the 1990s, the number of persons who acquired a spinal cord injury as a result of gunshot trauma increased dramatically in the United States. This qualitative study examined disability, race, and contribution of peer‐mentors to the development of identity. Six men with a violence‐related spinal cord injury participated in a focus group. They were injured for at least two years, making positive gains in their lives, and training to become peer‐mentors at a rehabilitation hospital. In addition, 16 men with a newly‐acquired spinal cord injury from gunshot trauma participated in an individual interview. These sixteen participants were all mentees (or recipients) of the peer‐mentor program. Principles of grounded theory were used to code and analyze data. Data converged on three main themes: (1) disability viewed as a wake‐up call or blessing, (2) disability viewed as a turning point, and (3) disability viewed as identity transforming.

Moving Beyond Misperceptions: The Provision of Workplace Accommodations

This mixed-methods study examined the provision of workplace accommodations in the health care, hospitality, and retail sectors. First, focus groups with administrators from each sector revealed that accommodations costs were viewed as minimal (although frontline managers were perceived as having misperceptions). Second, the provision of accommodations as documented through human resources records for health care and hospitality indicated that accommodations were infrequent, not costly, and provided to employees with disabilities. Finally, retail employees (irrespective of disability status) reported many more accommodations than health care and hospitality workers. To dispel misperceptions related to accommodations, education is critical and social workers are well-positioned for this role.

Corporate Culture and Employment of People With Disabilities: Role of Social Workers and Service Provider Organizations

Corporate culture reflects an organizations value system and impacts the recruitment, retention, and promotion of employees. Individuals with disabilities are positively impacted by a corporate culture that espouses and establishes a diverse workforce as a priority. This article provides an overview of corporate culture and the employment of individuals with disabilities, and presents a case example of the corporate culture of a large not-for-profit disability service organization. With an in-depth understanding of corporate culture and disability issues, social workers can be particularly helpful to applicants and employees with disabilities as well as employers.

Payoffs of participatory action research: racial and ethnic minorities with disabilities reflect on their research experiences

The disability community has experienced a long history of segregation and exclusion. With the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, discriminatory attitudes and behaviors would no longer be tolerated under law. In recent decades, disability researchers have also experienced a shift in how research projects are designed and conducted, with participatory action research (PAR) playing a prominent role. This paper provides an overview of these shifts and presents a qualitative study that explored the extent to which racial and ethnic minorities with disabilities were empowered by a PAR project that aimed to increase the physical accessibility of their communities. Content analysis of individual interviews revealed the following main themes: (1) increased knowledge of disability rights; (2) increased sense of independence; and (3) increased desire to advocate. Implications of this study include the important role that PAR may play in empowering racial and ethnic minorities with disabilities.

Taking it to the streets: Ethnic minorities with disabilities seek community inclusion

This research project on participatory social action aimed to increase the physical accessibility of communities by engaging sixteen ethnic minorities with disabilities in promoting change. Participants attended a one‐day workshop and were provided with detailed information about effective ways to enforce compliance with the public accommodations provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). After the training, participants conducted a total of 96 accessibility surveys, and provided face‐to‐face feedback to business owners and managers. Six months later, they conducted reassessments of these establishments to determine whether changes had been made. Results indicated that significant changes were made to improve accessibility for the entrances, aisles, and restrooms of these establishments. Implications of this study suggest that citizens who are most affected by laws and policies can be influential in changing their communities.

Assessing and Improving Accessibility of Public Accommodations in an Urban Latino Community

This study was designed to assess and promote compliance with the public accommodations provisions (Title III) of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in an urban Latino community. Title III of the ADA requires the removal of physical barriers that prohibit people with disabilities from entering public establishments and accessing their goods and services. An educational intervention was used, whereby the physical accessibility of 38 establishments was assessed. Following this baseline assessment, culturally competent ADA information and feedback were either mailed or personally presented to the owners and managers of these establishments. After at least 4 months, the physical accessibility of these establishments was reassessed. Results indicated that from baseline to reassessment, the establishments averaged one accessibility improvement per site. Presenting ADA information and feedback in person was more likely to lead to accessibility improvements than was mailing these materials. When establishments were assessed by a person with a visible disability, owners and managers were not significantly more likely to make accessibility improvements than when the assessor had no visible disability. However, prior contact with people with disabilities was positively related to improving accessibility. Reasons for not making accessibility improvements included misconceptions and misinformation about the ADA and people with disabilities. Overall results indicate the usefulness of face- to-face feedback and prior contact with people with disabilities in efforts to increase the physical accessibility of public accommodations.

Accessibility of Public Accommodations in Three Ethnic Minority Communities

This study assessed compliance with the public accommodations provisions (Title III) of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Title III of the ADA requires the removal of physical, procedural, and attitudinal barriers that prohibit people with disabilities from entering public establishments and accessing their goods and services. The physical accessibility of 90 establishments located in three ethnic minority communities was assessed. Following each assessment, ADA information and feedback were presented to business owners and managers in either English or Spanish. Results revealed that 23 (25.6%) were fully accessible, 43 (47.8%) were accessible with minor assistance, and 24 (26.7%) were inaccessible with minor assistance. Establishments identified as for-profit tended to be more accessible than those identified as not-for-profit. Overall, findings indicate that much work remains to improve the ADA compliance of places open to the public.

Patient-centered medical homes for patients with disabilities.

The patient-centered medical home is an innovative approach to improve health care outcomes. To address the unique needs of patients with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs), a large health care provider reevaluated the National Committee for Quality Assurances 6 medical home standards: (a) enhance access and continuity, (b) identify and manage patient populations, (c) plan and manage care, (d) provide self-care and community support, (e) track and coordinate care, and (f) measure and improve performance. This article describes issues to consider when serving patients with IDDs.

Employment and People With Disabilities

This special issue addresses employment barriers experienced by people with disabilities. Considering the current economic state of this nation and growing unemployment rate, this theme is particularly relevant. Even before the recession, the disability community had struggled with obtaining competitive employment, with figures indicating that about 38% were employed part time or full time (Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Disability Demographics and Statistics, 2007). To date, research has shown that there are multiple contributors to the lack of employment opportunities for the disability community. These contributors can be understood on both an individual and societal level. The articles that appear in this special issue address these individual and societal contributors as well as implications for the field of social work. To start the issue, Fabricio Balcazar and Tina Taylor-Ritzler write about factors associated with employment success among racial and ethnic minorities with disabilities. Historically, African Americans and Latinos have experienced poorer employment outcomes when compared to Whites with disabilities. The Balcazar and Taylor-Ritzler article focuses on cases of employment success and factors that have facilitated gainful employment. Of note, using qualitative methods, these factors were identified through interviews with counselors who supported racial and ethnic minorities with disabilities during various phases of the job hunt. The second article by Wehmeyer, Parent, Lattimore, Obremski, Poston, and Rousso focuses on employment outcomes for another disadvantaged group, women with disabilities. Within the realm of work, research indicates that women with disabilities do not fare as well as men with disabilities (Rousso & Wehmeyer, 2001). To address this disparity, the authors present a model and structured curriculum that aims to empower this group by engaging them in self-directed employment planning. Social workers assisting marginalized groups with employment might find both articles useful when developing work plans. For the third article, Rimmerman and Araten-Bergman examine the relationship between employment and social participation. Although their sample reflects on the experiences of Israelis with disabilities, they used an Journal of Social Work in Disability & Rehabilitation, 8:99–101, 2009 Copyright # Taylor & Francis Group, LLC ISSN: 1536-710X print=1536-7118 online DOI: 10.1080/15367100903200353