The Employee Research System is a database established by the Institute for Economic Empowerment to collect Community Rehabilitation Program (CRP) employee information.  ERS tracks employment information of people with significant disabilities over time, enabling ongoing analysis of employee-level outcomes.  By participating in the ERS, a range of benefits are provided to CRPs such as detailed reports that will assist in advocacy, business development, policy development, fundraising, benchmarking, continuous improvement and the assessment of the quality of the work environment for people with disabilities (this relates directly to the Quality Work Environment initiative).
 

The number of CRPs providing data for the ERS continues to grow!  We now have 26% of AbilityOne employees represented in the system (from NISH affiliated CRPs). 
 

We are analyzing the data and producing reports.  The results are really interesting and we are learning a lot about the AbilityOne employees.  For example, over two-thirds of AbilityOne employees are persons with intellectual/developmental disabilities or mental illness.
 

We have also learned that we have a minority majority workforce.  The graph below shows a comparison of the race/ethnicity of the AbilityOne employees compared to employed persons (Bureau Labor Statistics data) and the wider US population (census data).
 

Sign your agency up now to participate in ERS!  For more information contact Peta Leonard on 571-226-4513 or by email This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .