Journal of Disability Policy Studies

On March 22, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued a decision on a case that was on appeal from the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles County. In the case, Compton Unified School District v. Starvenia Addison, the court of appeals addressed the issue of whether the school district had failed to identify the child for services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. The authors review the effects of the court’s decision and note its implications for school districts, particularly in regard to the use of response to intervention.

The expansion of the global economy, characterized by shifts in the organization of labor markets, has increased demands for flexible employment. Changes from standard, permanent employment relationships to nonstandard or “precarious” work arrangements have become the normative template in many work settings. Although significant scholarship explores precarious employment among the nondisabled, little work examines precarious work among persons with disabilities, especially women. Drawing on a secondary analysis of a series of longitudinal, semistructured interviews, this article explores the personal and structural barriers to employment that five women with complex episodic disabilities identify as welfare recipients within the context of precarious employment. Implications for practice relationships and policy that consider an alternative understanding of (dis)ability and employability as a contingent, fluid embodiment are considered.

Laws mandate early intervention programs across many different countries, such as the United States, the countries of the European Union, and Turkey. Studies have shown that such programs can be critical to the healthy development of children with disabilities, especially those who are deaf. Furthermore, research addressing the delivery of early intervention programs offers guidelines that, when followed, presumably maximize the programs’ intended benefits. In this study, the authors used a quasi-mixed, monostrand method to investigate how families of children with disabilities in Turkey perceived the service delivery they were receiving. Organizing their perceptions under a framework related to the Turkish-law-mandated guidelines, the authors found that the provision of services varied greatly from one professional team task to the next. Implications for the improvement of service delivery are discussed.

To support the employment of persons with disabilities, state Medicaid programs are allowed to offer personal assistance services (PAS) at work as well as at home. These employment-supportive personal assistance services (EPAS) can be used to help persons with disabilities obtain or retain employment. This article explores Medicaid-funded EPAS through examination of programs in seven states and analysis of results from PAS user focus groups and employer interviews. Medicaid policy recommendations include: link EPAS with existing PAS programs in Medicaid state plans or waivers, distinguish EPAS from job- or task-related assistance that is the responsibility of the employer, and specify explicit coverage for personal care services at home, at the work site, and for work-related transportation.

The One-Stop Career Center system in the United States and the Jobcentre Plus system in Great Britain provide universal access to public employment services targeted at all job seekers, including people with disabilities, and employer services. Studies have identified challenges with these universal models in that some job seekers with disabilities may have additional or more intense support needs. Disability specialist positions provide one way of addressing these needs. This article examines their roles and responsibilities and their effectiveness in improving employment service delivery through these systems. The article highlights commonalities and differences associated with the roles between the two countries and discusses implications for improving effectiveness. Findings are based on a scoping review of existing empirical research that was conducted in 2008. The article concludes with directions for future research.

Timely access to health care has become a leading concern for many Canadians. At the center of the debate lies the more volatile issue of whether some diagnostic procedures and surgeries should be completed at private health care facilities rather than through the public system. This article provides review and discussion regarding the risks and benefits involved in the use of private health care options, in particular with respect to musculoskeletal illness/injury. The authors conclude that employers considering the use of privately funded options for employees should evaluate this decision carefully and contemplate seeking advice from legal and ethical experts prior to implementation.