It Counts To Have a Disability

The 2010 Census will be taken in less than two years, and I think it should be interesting to see the increase in the number of people with disabilities. Between aging baby boomers and troops returning from Iraq with disabilities, that segment of the population will be significantly larger than in the 2000 Census and will certainly affect projections, programs and fund allocations. Yes, I think it will be interesting.

How are people with disabilities counted, who is counted as having a disability, and what difference does it make?

I searched for the term disability in the U.S. Census and the only search result was the March 1999 Current Population Survey. That was a long time ago.The U.S. Census Bureau maintains the Current Population Survey (CPS) as a monthly survey updating labor characteristics of the population. On that March report nine years ago, there was only one question (Q59a) concerning disability:

(Do you/Does anyone in this household) have a health problem or disability which prevents (you/them) from working or which limits the kind or amount of work (you/they) can do?

• Yes
• No

That's it! Only people who answer yes to this question are counted as having disabilities. In this context, people with disabilities who are able to work with or without accommodations are not counted. And it is interesting to note that for the Census, anyone can say yes or no without any type of verification. What is the significance of that question?

The Census information tells us: "CPS data are used by government policy makers and legislators as important indicators of our nation’s economic situation and for planning and evaluating many government programs."

That sounds important to me. It seems to me that we -- society at large and the government in particular -- would benefit from knowing the number of people with disabilities, working or not, mobility impaired or ambulatory, hidden or obvious. If the CPS is meant to prepare our nation to plan and evaluate programs, it should cover every segment of the population in detail, including the disability community.

Maybe the 2010 Census will take care of that. Or maybe not.

The Census is changing. The process of collecting the numbers is becoming simpler. Perhaps the information being collected is improving, too. The projected questions for the 2010 Census and the new American Community Survey include a few more questions concerning disability (look at page 26) and they focus on general functional ability to perform daily tasks rather than just workforce participation.

Disabilities are to be counted in a manner similar to the counting of other population segments such as age and race. Just like when people tell their age without a corroborating birth certificate, and tell their race with no pedigree papers, people who claim disabilities are subject to the honor system -- we can say yes without a doctor's note.

Questions ask about vision and hearing as well as daily living such as dressing, climbing stairs, and running errands. There is no general question that asks if the person has a disability, so I think there will be many who will not be counted. There may be segments not yet considered when programs are set up and funds allocated.

The current change is meant to simplify and shorten the questionnaire. I'm all for that.