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March 2009, Vol.9, No.3
AJMR, a top journal in special education and social sciences, is now the American Journal on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Click here to read more.
Dear AAIDD Friends and Colleagues:
- U.S. Department of Labor publishes nation’s first official measure of unemployment rate facing people with disabilities.
- Maine, New York, Connecticut, North Dakota, and Rhode Island led the nation in fiscal effort for intellectual and developmental disability services, reports the latest State of the States in Developmental Disabilities study.
- Children with nonsyndromic intellectual disability appear to have a genetic mutation that contributes to this condition, discover researchers at the University of Montreal.
- U.S. Vice President Joe Biden appoints Kareem Dale as Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy.
- All U.S. states now mandate at least 21 newborn screening tests for life-threatening disorders, according to a new March of Dimes report.
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR PUBLISHES NATION’S FIRST OFFICIAL MEASURE OF UNEMPLOYMENT RATE FACING PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Although it is widely believed that people with disabilities typically face a higher rate of unemployment than individuals without disabilities, official estimates were not available until now. The U.S. Department of Labor released the first of its monthly data series on the employment status of people with a disability, assisting the nation in understanding how the changing labor market conditions affect Americans with disabilities. In January 2009, the unemployment rate of persons with a disability was 13.2 percent, compared with 8.3 percent for persons with no disability and the employment-population ratio for persons with a disability was 20.0 percent, compared with 65.0 percent for persons with no disability.
Every month henceforth, the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Office of Disability Employment Policy will publish disability employment data on their websites at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsdisability.htm and www.dol.gov/odep. To access the current report, visit www.bls.gov/cps/cpsdisability.htm.
MAINE, NEW YORK, CONNECTICUT, NORTH DAKOTA, AND RHODE ISLAND LED THE NATION IN FISCAL EFFORT FOR INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITY SERVICES, REPORTS THE LATEST STATE OF THE STATES IN DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES
With the economy on everyone’s mind, we asked noted researcher, David L. Braddock for highlights from his latest State of the States in Developmental Disabilities study, a book that tracks developmental disability spending in the United States. Braddock points out that “In 2006 [the latest edition of the study contains data up to year 2006], in contrast to the current economic situation, most states experienced reasonably good economic and fiscal conditions. In spite of this, the national growth rate for total adjusted ID/DD spending in fiscal year 2005 to 2006 was 0.2%.....the slowest growth rate in institutional-community ID/DD spending in 30 years of data collection by the State of the States project.” Click here to read highlights from the State of the States on historical trends and state initiatives in fiscal effort; supported living; supported employment; family support; use of Waiver; and contraction of public/private institutions.
To learn more about the State of the States in Developmental Disabilities and purchase the book, click here.
CHILDREN WITH NONSYNDROMIC INTELLECTUAL DISABILITY APPEAR TO HAVE A GENETIC MUTATION THAT CONTRIBUTES TO THIS CONDITION, DISCOVER RESEARCHERS AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL
“Nonsyndromic mental deficiency”, a condition of intellectual disability which affects individuals who otherwise look normal, may be related to a genetic mutation in an individual, reveals new research by Jacques L. Michaud, a geneticist at the Sainte-Justine University Hospital Research Center at the University of Montreal. The researchers say that these new mutations that arise in children, while not present in their parents, may represent a common cause of intellectual disability. The study titled “Mutations in SYNGAP1 in Autosomal Non-Syndromic Mental Retardation” by Fadi F. Hamdan et al. is published in the February 5 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. To read an abstract, click here. To read a news release on the discovery from the University of Montreal, click here.
U.S. VICE PRESIDENT JOE BIDEN APPOINTS KAREEM DALE AS SPECIAL ASSISTANT TO THE PRESIDENT FOR DISABILITY POLICY
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden announced Kareem Dale as Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy, as he led a Presidential Delegation at the 2009 Special Olympics World Winter Games in Boise, Idaho. For the first time, a U.S. President has a Special Assistant focused exclusively on disability policy. To read more, click here.
ALL U.S. STATES NOW MANDATE AT LEAST 21 NEWBORN SCREENING TESTS FOR LIFE-THREATENING DISORDERS, ACCORDING TO A NEW MARCH OF DIMES REPORT
In 2005, the first year that the March of Dimes report card measured state-by-state requirements on expanded newborn screening, only 38 percent of infants were born in states that required screening for 21 or more of 29 core conditions. Today, nearly all babies born in the U.S. live in states that require screening for 21 or more of these treatable disorders, reveals a new report issued by the March of Dimes. To read more, click here.