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Overly generous entrance criteria were worsened by policies that discouraged employment once someone started getting disability payments. And permissive guidelines encouraged applications for disability benefits, with their virtually lifelong guarantee of monthly money rolling in. An industry emerged-mostly comprised of lawyers-to advocate for admission to the rolls. Numerous factors contribute to this trend, including the time limits placed on welfare benefits, an important reform that had an unintended consequence: it led caseworkers to encourage people to apply for disability support. Facing the prospect of permanent unemployment and disability benefits, she contacted TTW, a program that helped her to land a permanent position in procurement and logistics for Maryland’s state government.ĭisability rolls have skyrocketed over the past two decades. The episode lasted just seconds-Shirley felt fine, and despite its strangeness, she put it out of her mind-but episodes recurred. My car veered into the adjacent lane.” When a loud, urgent car horn snapped her back into consciousness, Shirley corrected her steering just in time to avoid a collision at 65 miles per hour. “I was on the Pennsylvania Turnpike,” she recalls, “and I had fallen asleep at the wheel without realizing it. Her body went into auto pilot as she lost awareness of what she was doing. One Saturday in 2008, while driving her 10-year-old son to the mall, Shirley was overcome by sleepiness and muscle weakness. Ticket to Work (TTW), a little-known program, exemplifies the success of this endeavor.Ĭonsider Shirley’s story. October marks National Disability Employment Awareness Month, dedicated to helping people with disabilities get jobs.