Evaluating the Accessibility of American Job Centers for People with Disabilities Final Report

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Release Date: January 01, 2017

Evaluating the Accessibility of American Job Centers for People with Disabilities Final Report

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About the Report

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In 2012, the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) contracted with IMPAQ International, LLC and its partners, the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) and Universal Designers and Consultants (UD&C), to measure the accessibility of American Job Centers (AJC) for people with disabilities. The bulk of previous research on AJC accessibility involved case studies or limited surveys focused on specific issues. Prior to this study, there had been no comprehensive survey of AJCs. In addition, the majority of earlier studies focused on compliance checklists, rather than a broader concept of accessibility that focuses on usability. The main objective of this study is to rigorously measure the accessibility of the nation’s AJC system to people with disabilities and, based on this information, make recommendations for improvements, as appropriate.

Research Questions

  • To what degree do AJCs provide accessible services to people with disabilities (overall accessibility)?
  • How does this vary by the type of accessibility (physical, programmatic, and communication)?
  • How does accessibility vary by the characteristics of AJCs (e.g., affiliate vs. comprehensive or urban vs. non-urban)?

Key Takeaways

  • Almost two-thirds (63%) of AJCs were “not fully accessible” to people with disabilities.
  • Almost all centers are physically accessible, most are communications accessible, and close to half are programmatically accessible.
  • Urban AJCs were more likely to be accessible than non-urban AJCs. Fewer rural AJCs had achieved full accessibility than those that served mostly urban or mostly suburban communities.
  • Comprehensive AJCs were more likely to be fully accessible than affiliate AJCs.
  • AJCs operated by for-profit firms, or mixed consortia of public and private agencies were more likely to be fully accessible than publicly operated AJCs.
  • Northeastern AJCs tended to have higher programmatic accessibility scores than AJCs in the other regions. Neither physical accessibility nor communications accessibility seemed to vary significantly across regions.
  • AJCs that served a larger number of customers were more likely to be fully accessible than smaller AJCs.

Citation

Chamberlain, A., Heuser, A., Kracker Selzer, A., Magill, K., Matite, M., Poe-Yamagata, E., Toms Barker, L. (2017). IMPAQ International. Evaluating the Accessibility of American Job Centers for People with Disabilities. U.S. Department of Labor, Final Report. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.