Parents welcome more job support for people with disabilities, but say ‘real test’ is staying employed
Parents of children with disabilities have welcomed a government task force's call for stronger job support, though their approval comes with a caveat. Landing a first job, they say, is only half the struggle; the harder test is holding onto it. People with disabilities often lose positions not because they cannot do the work, but because a workplace stops adjusting to their needs over time. Any support scheme, the parents insist, must account for how much one disability can differ from another. Something as small as flexible hours or a job coach on call can decide whether a placement survives its first difficult months. They also want employers judged on retention rather than on hiring figures that flatter an annual report. Several parents accept the new measures are a start, but say they intend to hold the agencies to their word. What families are asking for is steady work and a career path, not a revolving door of short-lived placements.
Employment support also must account for the wide range of abilities and needs among people with disabilities, say parents in response to recent recommendations by a government task force.