Strategies for Helping People with Disabilities Achieve Vocational Goals and Make Informed Choices about Work

Ellice Switzer, program director of inclusive workplaces at the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability, discusses two projects at the institute that will provide policymakers with research-based recommendations to support people with disabilities seeking jobs in integrated settings paying above subminimum wage.

In September 2026, the U.S. labor force participation rate for people with disabilities ages 16 and older was 24.7%, versus 67.5% for people without disabilities in the same age group. Historically, people with disabilities – especially those with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) – have been excluded from the competitive labor market. A common approach to this problem in the 20th century was to employ people with significant disabilities in segregated training facilities, often referred to as “sheltered workshops.”

Due to provisions in the Fair Labor Standards Act, most employees in sheltered workshops earn a subminimum wage. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (and supported by an analysis of workers in New York by researchers at the Yang-Tan Institute), the median wage for an employee with a disability in a sheltered workshop is estimated at around $3.50 per hour. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, though most states require a higher minimum wage; for example, in New York, the minimum wage is $16 to $17 per hour, depending on location.

The number of people paid subminimum wage in the U.S. decreased dramatically between 2001 and 2025, falling from 424,000 to roughly 40,000. Many states, including New York, have adopted policies aimed at reducing those numbers even further. As sheltered workshops close throughout the country close, questions remain about how to help people transition from segregated subminimum-wage work to competitive integrated employment while pursuing their employment goals.

Researchers at the Yang-Tan Institute (YTI) are exploring those questions through two projects. 

Program Evaluation of the Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment Project

The first project, a program evaluation of the federally funded New York Subminimum Wage to Competitive Integrated Employment (SWTCIE) demonstration project, has already given YTI researchers insight into the characteristics of workers earning subminimum wages. The researchers have also identified several important strategies that create opportunities for people with significant disabilities and limited vocational histories to achieve vocational goals and make informed choices about work. 

These strategies include: 

• Providing repeated exposure to high-quality information about competitive employment over time
• Offering information about work incentives for Social Security beneficiaries
• Making meaningful efforts to engage the families or caregivers of adult workers

One of the demonstration project’s most effective interventions is a curriculum designed to increase self-advocacy for employment, deployed by independent living centers. The researchers have collected many stories of workers who pursued competitive work for the first time after becoming more comfortable advocating for themselves and their employment goals. 

Competitive Integrated Employment Systems Transformation Project

For second project, YTI researchers are identifying a set of “high-leverage” state policies and practices that promote competitive integrated employment. YTI researchers are working closely with policy leaders from states where people with IDD have higher employment rates to find out more about policies and practices associated with stronger employment outcomes. 

This research, called the Competitive Integrated Employment Systems Transformation project, is affiliated with the Disability Employment Policy Rehabilitation Research and Training Center at Syracuse University’s Burton Blatt Institute. The project is funded by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. 

YTI faculty will use results from both projects to inform local, state and federal policy leaders who are tasked with improving employment outcomes for people with IDD. 

About the Yang-Tan Institute on Employment and Disability

Providing practical information to policymakers, employers, educators and others who assist people with disabilities is a core focus for the Yang-Tan Institute, which is part of Cornell’s ILR School. The institute’s mission is to advance knowledge, policies and practices that enhance equal opportunities for all people with disabilities. Its research, training and technical resources expand knowledge about disability inclusion, leading to positive change.

The institute leads many grant-funded projects, including Making Work Work: Quality Work and Quality Care and the Northeast ADA Center. The institute also receives funding via a New York state legislative appropriation to assist with disability-related initiatives, and it offers a variety of professional education opportunities.