How much more does it cost to live with a disability in the United States? People with disabilities encounter expenses for items such as medical care, assistive technologies, transportation, and caregiving that those without disabilities do not incur. These expenses can weigh heavily on household finances and increase the risk of poverty.
Under the direction of Project Principal, Zachary Morris, PhD, Assistant Professor in the School of Social Welfare, the School has been awarded an $88,749 grant from the FINRA Investor Education Foundation to research the economic disadvantages experienced by people with disabilities.
“With this research, we hope to inform the national conversation about the extra costs of disability, as well as the implications of these expenses on the well-being of the 20 million working-age adults in this country living with disabilities,” said Dr. Morris.
The project consists of a collaborative effort with co-PI Stephen McGarity, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Tennessee College of Social Work; Nanette Goodman, MS, Senior Researcher at National Disability Institute; and Asghar Zaidi, PhD, Vice Chancellor Government College Lahore, Professor of Gerontology at Seoul National University, Korea and Visiting Professor at the London School of Economics and Political Science, London.
The project will draw on multiple national surveys to provide the first statistical estimates of the extra costs of living with a disability in the U.S. In an article forthcoming in the Journal of European Social Policy, Dr. Morris and Dr. Zaidi estimated the extra costs for people living with disabilities in 15 European countries. This project extends this line of research to the United States.
National Disability Institute, a non profit organization focused on the financial health and wellness of people with disabilities in the US, will publish a policy report and hold public webinars in order to disseminate the research findings widely to financial planners, policy makers, and other stakeholders. The project is funded by the FINRA Investor Education Foundation. The FINRA Foundation, established in 2003 by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc., empowers underserved Americans with the knowledge, skills and tools to make sound financial decisions throughout life.
