One Small Change in Government Policy Equals Vast Disability Employment Increases

As government officials work to ensure the people with disabilities and other communities can fully participate in the workforce and economy, small adjustments to government policy have the potential to greatly expand the outcomes of existing, successful programs.

One key solution to increasing employment opportunities for people with disabilities is through the AbilityOne® Program, which provides work opportunities for people who are blind or have significant disabilities. But for the Program to truly make a difference, the federal government needs to expand its commitment to buying services and products from this Program as it does for other socioeconomic programs. The best and easiest way to do that is for Congress to establish a contracting goal of 1%, which can potentially add tens of thousands of jobs for the disability community.

Currently, only 0.55% of federal contracting goes to AbilityOne-authorized providers. By establishing a 1% contracting goal, Congress can level the playing field among federal agency priorities where existing goals for other programs range between 3% and 23%. This one small policy change could significantly increase employment opportunities for people with disabilities, who are a largely untapped and valuable talent pool.

SourceAmerica calls on government officials to remove obstacles to workplace accessibility and ensure people with disabilities can work where they are valued and fully provide for themselves and their families. By making this one small policy change, Congress can show its commitment to increasing employment for people with disabilities and all other socioeconomic groups.

Read SourceAmerica President and CEO Richard Belden's full article, originally published in March 2023.