Employment: Government Assistance

Various forms of government assistance programs exist for the deaf, including those for procuring employment or work-related training. In the United States, DisabilityInfo.gov was created as directed by President George W. Bush’s New Freedom Initiative as an online clearinghouse of information related to federal programs of use to people with disabilities, their families, and employers. Perhaps the most important program is the Social Security Administration’s Supplemental Security Income (SSI)program, which makes payments to low-income people who are 65 or older, blind, or disabled, on a monthly basis. In determining income eligibility, the blind and disabled are able to deduct certain expenses related to their increased cost of transportation, living, and job training. SSI payments assist those who are unable to work, or who have trouble ...