Although the unemployment rate for Americans with disabilities has steadily decreased over the past three decades, in 2019 people with disabilities were still twice as likely to be unemployed compared to those without a disability. Now a George Washington University center hopes to keep making strides toward a more inclusive society as the COVID-19 pandemic stands to reverse decades of jobs gains in the disabled community.
“There are already so many challenges, and then you add COVID on top of it, and trying to figure out how to manage is very challenging,” said Maureen McGuire-Kuletz, an associate professor of counseling at the GW Graduate School of Education and Human Development.
During the pandemic, she said, Americans with disabilities have lost employment at a rate of 1 in 5 people, compared to 1 in 7 for those without disabilities.
Dr. McGuire-Kuletz co-directs the GW Center for Rehabilitation Counseling Research and Education (CRCRE) alongside Kenneth Hergenrather, who is also a professor of counseling.