March 24, 2025
Source: Southeast ADA Center and Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.
When the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) became a federal law in July 1990, one of its foundational goals was to promote economic self-sufficiency for people with disabilities. Researchers from the Southeast ADA Center (SEADA) and the Burton Blatt Institute (BBI) at Syracuse University have produced a research brief that describes how rates of poverty of people with disabilities is influenced by social and demographic characteristics.
The research brief examines how “intersectionality,” a concept that means that an individual’s identity is not based on just one trait or characteristic. Our identity is influenced by personal traits . These characteristics create complex and overlapping issues that may lead to discrimination against different groups, including people with disabilities who have rights under the ADA.
The research brief looked at poverty in three ways:
- How poverty affects people with disabilities in the eight Southeastern states;
- How being disabled is affected by poverty; and
- How poverty is affected by a person’s traits or social and demographic characteristics.
The research brief showed how being poor and disabled can be connected to a person’s social and demographic characteristics, as an example of intersectionality.
Key Takeaways:
- Many people with disabilities do not achieve the ADA’s goal of economic self-sufficiency.
- People with disabilities have higher poverty rates than people without disabilities across Southeast states.
- There are differences in poverty rates among people with disabilities based on social and demographic characteristics.
- People with disabilities tend to experience poverty for longer periods than people without disabilities.
Read the Research Brief:
Exploring Disparities in Poverty Rates Among People with Disabilities [PDF download]
Web: burtonblattinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/publication/bbi-research-brief-2-2025-02.pdf
For more information about this research project, contact:
Barry Whaley
Director of the Southeast ADA Center, A Project of the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University
Email: bawhaley@syr.edu
Phone: 404-541-9001
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