FINANCIAL HARDSHIP AMONG PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES: LOUISIANA Having a disability — whether apparent or non-apparent, physical or cognitive — can be a substantial barrier to financial stability. Yet traditional economic measures hide the full extent of financial hardship for the 16% of people in Louisiana (716,266) who have a cognitive, hearing, vision, or ambulatory disability, or one that makes self-care or independent living difficult. According to the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), 24% of people with disabilities in Louisiana (174,988) lived in poverty in 2019. However, United For ALICE data shows that another 35% (251,436) were also experiencing financial hardship, in households that earned above the FPL but not enough to afford the basics in the communities where they lived. The reality is that 60%of all people with disabilities in Louisiana lived in a household with income below the ALICE Threshold of Financial Survival in 2019. This includes households in poverty as well as those who were ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed. ALICE households don’t earn enough to afford the essentials of housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, a smartphone plan, and taxes — the basics needed to live and work in the modern economy (see Key Terms, pg. 3). This Research Brief shows that there are people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold of all ages, races/ethnicities, and educational levels, in a variety of living arrangements and employment situations. People with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold live in all communities across the state (PUMAs), at rates ranging from 46% in southern New Orleans and 47% in northern Jefferson Parish to 79% in central New Orleans.
People With Disabilities, Financial Status, LA, 2019 Number of People With Disabilities in Louisiana = 716,266
KEY FINDINGS
• Sixty percent of people with disabilities in Louisiana lived in households experiencing financial hardship in 2019. While 24% were below the FPL, an additional 35% were ALICE. • People with disabilities in Louisiana faced substantial barriers to employment: In 2019 they were nearly three times as likely to be out of the labor force as people without disabilities (60% vs. 21%). But even for people with disabilities who worked full time, 37% were below the ALICE Threshold. • Among people 25 and over with only a high school diploma or GED, 60% of those with disabilities were below the ALICE Threshold compared to 43% of those without disabilities. This trend continued throughout all levels of higher education. • Almost one-fourth (21%) of people with disabilities under age 65 living below the ALICE Threshold were not enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare in Louisiana in 2019.
Note: This research uses American Community Survey Public Use Microdata Samples (ACS PUMS) and focuses on people with disabilities, whose ALICE status is determined by household income compared to local cost of living. In Louisiana, out of 716,266 people with disabilities, there were 174,988 (24.4%) in poverty plus 251,436 (35.1%) ALICE, which totals to 426,424 (59.5%) below the ALICE Threshold and rounds to 60% in this Brief and on the ALICE Disabilities Data Dashboard.
• During the pandemic, from July 2021 to February 2022, 40% of people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold in Louisiana reported feeling anxious nearly every day.
Sources: ALICE Threshold, 2019; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, PUMS, 2019
ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
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DEFINING “DISABILITY”
The task of defining disability is complex, dynamic, multidimensional, and contested. How disability is defined has significant implications for people with disabilities, including determining who has access to federal programs and protections under the law. The legal protections outlined in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) give one of the broadest definitions, including anyone with a “physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more major life activities, a person who has a history or record of such an impairment, or a person who is regarded by others as having such an impairment,” which also covers people with chronic health conditions such as cancer or diabetes, and those with service-related disabilities (military veterans will be the subject of the next ALICE in Focus Research Brief). But eligibility definitions, like the criteria used for Social Security disability-related benefits, are often more limited. Individual experiences also vary greatly, and some people do not want to disclose their disability due to real or perceived stigma. In this ALICE in Focus Research Brief, “people with disabilities” include those who have an ambulatory disability, a cognitive disability, a hearing or vision disability, or a disability that makes self-care or independent living difficult, as reported in the 2019 U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). This ALICE research uses the ACS definition and dataset because it is the only source that includes disability status and the information needed to determine a person’s ALICE status — their household composition, income, and location. The ACS’s questions about disability — outlined in the table below — are asked for each member of a household. Of people with disabilities in Louisiana in 2019, just over half had one of the six types of disability listed below (375,081), meaning that a significant number (341,185) had two or more. People with two or more disabilities were more likely to be below the ALICE Threshold (65%) than people with one disability (55%) and people without disabilities (44%).
Total Number of People With This Disability
Percent Below ALICE Threshold (Poverty + ALICE)
Ambulatory: Does this person have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs? (Age 5+ only)
356,240
63%
Cognitive: Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions? (Age 5+ only)
273,334
64%
Independent Living: Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have difficulty doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping? (Age 15+ only)
244,717
66%
Hearing: Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious difficulty hearing? (All ages)
188,303
55%
Vision: Is this person blind or does he/she have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses? (All ages)
174,319
64%
Self-Care: Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing? (Age 5+ only)
137,095
66%
Any of the Above = Person With a Disability
716,266
60%
American Community Survey Question, Louisiana, 2019
Note: Respondents who report any one of the six categories above are considered to have a disability. Respondents can respond “yes” to one or more questions; therefore, the number of “yes” responses for each question does not sum to the total for “Any of the Above.” People with more than one disability are only counted as one person in the total. Learn more about definitions of disability and other key issues on the ALICE in Focus: People with Disabilities webpage.
The extent of financial hardship for people with disabilities, as outlined in this Brief, is substantial; yet the degree of hardship is likely even higher than estimated by the ALICE measures. There are two reasons for this. First, the Household Survival Budget includes the cost of household basics for all households, yet research shows that costs for households that include someone with a disability are higher than average. Second, nearly 41,500 people with a disability in Louisiana were excluded from the ALICE analysis in 2019 because they lived in Census-defined “group quarters”: almost 35,200 in institutional group quarters (such as nursing homes or correctional facilities) and nearly 6,300 in non-institutional group quarters (such as group homes, college dormitories, or military barracks). Because the cost of living in these settings differs substantially from the cost of living in a household, their ALICE status cannot be determined. This Brief also does not include people experiencing homelessness, who are not counted in the ACS. ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
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DEMOGRAPHICS People with disabilities span all categories of age, sex, race/ethnicity, national origin, living arrangements, work status, and educational level. In general, people with disabilities are more likely to have income below the ALICE Threshold than people without disabilities. At the same time, certain demographic groups — including those that face systemic racism and sexism — have higher rates of disability. This intersectionality also increases rates of financial hardship, especially for people with disabilities who are female; Black, Indigenous, and other people of color; and/or born outside of the U.S., as well as for other groups — like LGBTQ+ individuals — who are not fully represented in the ACS data.
Key Terms • People With Disabilities: People with one or more of the disabilities listed on page 2. • ALICE: Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed — households that earn above the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) but cannot afford the basic cost of living in their county. While the FPL for a family of four in 2019 was $25,750, the average bare-minimum cost of living for a family in Louisiana according to the ALICE Household Survival Budget was nearly $70,000. Despite struggling to make ends meet, ALICE households often do not qualify for public assistance.
Age
There are people with disabilities of all ages, though disabilities are more common in older people. In 2019, 6% of children under age 18, 14% of people age 18–64, and 39% of seniors (65+) in Louisiana had one or more disabilities. However, children with disabilities were more likely to live in households below the ALICE Threshold than adults or seniors with disabilities. In Louisiana in 2019, 82% of children under age 5 with disabilities and 62% of children age 5–17 with disabilities lived in households below the Threshold, compared to 59% of adults (18+) with disabilities. Coupled with caregiving demands, the cost of raising children and the added expense of resources often needed for children with disabilities can limit a parent’s earning potential and overall household income. This is especially true for families who are not eligible for Medicaid, have limited private insurance coverage, and/or are not eligible for publicly-funded programs such as Early Intervention that provide therapies and services for free or at a reduced cost based on child and family need. Children with disabilities were also more likely to live in households below the Threshold (62%) than those without disabilities (57%).
• ALICE Threshold: Derived from the Household Survival Budget, the average income that a household needs to afford housing, child care, food, transportation, health care, and a smartphone plan, plus taxes. Calculated for various household types for every U.S. state and county. • Below ALICE Threshold: Includes people in poverty-level and ALICE households combined.
ALICE Disability Data Dashboard Visit the ALICE Disability Data Dashboard to explore more than 100 variables related to people with disabilities living in financial hardship by:
While the rate of financial hardship was similar across adult age groups, seniors with disabilities were less likely to be in poverty (in part due to Social Security and Supplemental Security Income) but were more likely to be ALICE than younger adults with disabilities.
• State, regional, and local geographies • Demographic categories including age, race/ethnicity, sex, and nativity • Household characteristics like work status and living arrangements • Access to key resources
The type of disability also varied by age in Louisiana. For children (those under age 18), the most common was a cognitive disability (in 73% of children with disabilities over the age of five). For adults, the most common was an ambulatory disability, which was reported by 45% of people with disabilities age 18–64 and 65% of seniors with disabilities in Louisiana. ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Visit UnitedForALICE.org/Focus-Disabilities
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people with disabilities, 64% of people with disabilities who report being of two or more races, and 61% of American Indian/Alaska Native people with disabilities lived in households below the ALICE Threshold, compared to 52% of White and 37% of Asian people with disabilities.
Sex
In 2019, the ACS included only one question on sex with only two options — “male” or “female” — and respondents were not able to report gender identity or sexual orientation. The ALICE data reflects these limited options.
In Louisiana, American Indian/Alaska Native people had the highest rate of disability at 17%, and Asian people had the lowest rate at 9%.
Overall, the rate of disability was similar for females and males in Louisiana (16% for both groups), which differs from national rates that show a higher prevalence of disability for females. A few key exceptions were that among people with disabilities, males 5–17 were more likely to have a cognitive disability (84% compared to 58% of females in that age group) and males over 18 were more likely to be deaf or hard of hearing. Females age 65 and older were more likely to have a disability that makes independent living or self-care difficult, which is partly a reflection of females’ longer life span — average life expectancy in the U.S. is 80 years for females vs. 74 for males — and the higher prevalence of disability among older seniors (age 74+).
For many racial/ethnic groups, people with disabilities in Louisiana were more likely to be below the ALICE Threshold than those without disabilities. The gap in financial hardship between people with and without disabilities also differed by race/ethnicity. Among White people, 52% of people with disabilities were below the Threshold compared to 32% of people without disabilities — the largest gap of any racial/ethnic group. And while the gap in financial hardship by disability status was smaller for other groups, the overall rates were higher. For example, 75% of Black people with disabilities were below the Threshold, compared to 61% of Black people without disabilities.
Overall, 62% of females with disabilities were below the ALICE Threshold compared to 56% of males with disabilities, demonstrating the compounding impact of systemic inequities by both disability status and sex. This held true for most disability types except for disabilities that make independent living or self-care difficult, which reflected similar rates of financial hardship for both males and females. While the ACS does not include data on this topic, additional research shows the intersectionality between gender identity, sexual orientation, and disability. People who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender are more likely to report having disabilities and facing financial hardship. LGBTQ+ people with disabilities face challenges that can undermine wellness and financial stability: employment discrimination, bullying and harassment in school, higher rates of mental health conditions, and limited access to LGBTQ+ inclusive health and community services.
Race/Ethnicity and Nativity
In 2019, the largest number of people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold in Louisiana were found in the largest racial/ethnic populations: People with disabilities below the Threshold were predominantly White (225,038), Black (175,439) and Hispanic (12,470). Yet Black people, American Indian/Alaska Native people, and people of two or more races with disabilities were disproportionately ALICE — a result of persistent racism, discrimination, and systemic barriers that limit their families’ access to resources and opportunities for financial stability. In Louisiana in 2019, 75% of Black ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Race/Ethnicity in Louisiana, 2019
Percent With Disabilities Below ALICE Threshold
Percent Without Disabilities Below ALICE Threshold
American Indian/Alaska Native
61%
61%
Asian
37%
49%
Black
75%
61%
Hispanic
54%
57%
Two or More Races
64%
52%
White
52%
32%
Note: All racial categories except Two or More Races are for one race alone. The Hispanic group may include people with disabilities of any race.
The way schools address the educational needs of students with disabilities can contribute to the perpetuation of educational gaps by race/ethnicity. There were substantial differences by race/ethnicity in how K–12 public school students were identified as having a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Nationwide, compared to all students 4
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with disabilities, Black students with disabilities were more likely to be identified with emotional disturbance or intellectual disability and more likely to receive disciplinary removal; Asian students with disabilities were more likely to be identified with autism and graduate high school; and White students with disabilities were more likely to be served in a general education classroom.
with disabilities in Louisiana who graduated high school but didn’t complete post-secondary education were below the ALICE Threshold in 2019, compared to 43% of their peers without disabilities. Educational disparities by race/ethnicity are well known, and having a disability expands these gaps further. In 2019, 9% of Hispanic people and 12% of Black people with disabilities in Louisiana had a bachelor’s degree or above, compared to 17% of White people with disabilities. And at every educational level, Black people with disabilities were more likely to be below the ALICE Threshold than White people with disabilities. Differences by sex were more complicated. Among people with disabilities in Arkansas, there were more females than males who had an associate, bachelor’s, or master’s degree, but fewer females who had a professional or doctoral degree. Yet at every educational level, females with disabilities were more likely than males with disabilities to be below the ALICE Threshold.
Work Status
Both English-speaking ability and whether an individual was born outside of the U.S. also have an impact. Nationwide, people with disabilities born outside of the U.S. were more likely to be below the ALICE Threshold. However, this was not the case in Louisiana: 53% of people with disabilities born outside of the U.S. were below the Threshold, compared to 60% of people with disabilities born in the U.S. Yet both rates were higher than for people without disabilities born in the U.S. (43%). Rates were even higher (74%) for people with disabilities living in a family with limited Englishspeaking ability in Louisiana.
Employment: In Louisiana in 2019, there were 147,275 people with disabilities age 18–64 in the labor force, accounting for 7% of the total labor force population and making up 40% of people with disabilities in that age group. Whether working full or part time, they were more likely to be below the ALICE Threshold than people without disabilities: 37% of full-time workers with disabilities were below the ALICE Threshold compared to 26% of full-time workers without disabilities. For people with disabilities who worked part time, the rate of financial hardship was 58%, compared to 52% for part-time workers without disabilities.
Educational Attainment
Research shows that people with higher academic degrees generally have greater earning power, but also that low income reduces educational opportunities, especially for graduate and professional degrees. Having a disability adds yet another dimension. Among people age 25 and older in Louisiana, people with disabilities were less likely to have graduated from high school or to have completed a GED (77%) compared to people without disabilities (89%) in 2019. People with disabilities in this age group were also less likely to complete post-secondary education: 20% of people with disabilities attained an associate degree or higher, compared to 35% of people without disabilities.
Rates of employment and wages for people with disabilities in Louisiana vary based on the type of disability, as well as age, sex, race/ethnicity, and educational attainment. Current laws also permit employers to pay some workers with disabilities less than minimum wage: In Louisiana, as of April 1, 2022, 149 workers earned a subminimum wage.
Most notably, across all educational levels from high school on, people with disabilities were more likely than those without disabilities to be below the ALICE Threshold. For example, 60% of people age 25 and older ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
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For workers in Louisiana with a high school degree, 49% of people with disabilities were below the ALICE Threshold, compared to 39% of people without disabilities. And while the overall rate of hardship decreases with higher education, the gap in rates between people with and without disabilities remains. In 2019, for workers in Louisiana with an associate or bachelor’s degree, 25% of employed people with disabilities were below the Threshold compared to 18% of workers without disabilities. For people with a master’s degree or higher, the rates were 15% below the Threshold for those with disabilities compared to 12% for those without.
Out of Labor Force: Another 224,810 people with disabilities age 18–64 in Louisiana were out of the labor force (not employed and not looking for work). People with disabilities in Louisiana were nearly three times as likely to be out of the labor force as people without disabilities (60% vs. 21%). And people with disabilities out of the labor force were far more likely to be below the ALICE Threshold than people with disabilities in the labor force (72% vs. 45%). Rates of labor force participation also varied by type of disability in Louisiana. In 2019, half of people who were deaf or hard of hearing (age 18–64) were working or looking for work. But people with other types of disabilities were more likely to be out of the labor force — 69% of people with a cognitive disability, 74% of people with an ambulatory disability, 80% of people with disabilities that make self-care difficult, and 82% of people with disabilities that affect a person’s ability to live independently.
Overall, people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold in Louisiana were concentrated in occupations with low median hourly wages. For example, in 2019, 61% of people with disabilities working as a cashier (median wage of $9.97 per hour) were below the ALICE Threshold. Even more striking, 75% of people with disabilities working as a cook (median wage of $10.74 per hour) and 92% of people with disabilities working as a maid or house cleaner (median wage of $9.72 per hour) were below the Threshold. Many people with disabilities rely on direct care workers or direct support professionals, who provide support for daily living and other essential activities. For years, both fields have faced significant challenges hiring and retaining staff, a situation made even more difficult by the pandemic as providers compete with offers of less demanding entry-level work at higher wages. For example, in the direct care field, made up of workers who are primarily women, primarily people of color, and often immigrants, staffing challenges were heightened during the pandemic as workers faced increased levels of uncertainty and physical and mental stress. In Louisiana in 2019, home health aides and personal care aides earned $9.03 per hour. In addition, many direct care workers themselves have disabilities. In 2019, just over 4,000 personal care aides and more than 1,500 home health aides in Louisiana had a disability, and 75% and 89%, respectively, were below the ALICE Threshold.
Seniors: While seniors overall are staying in the labor force longer, only 10% of Louisiana seniors with disabilities were in the labor force in 2019, compared to 25% of seniors without disabilities. Of seniors in the labor force, 30% with disabilities were below the ALICE Threshold compared to 22% for seniors in the labor force without disabilities.
Unemployment: In addition to physical and cognitive issues that make it difficult for some people with disabilities to work, people with disabilities face other barriers to employment including discrimination, accessibility issues, income and asset limits for public benefits programs, and transportation challenges. These barriers are most apparent in the difference in unemployment rates: In Louisiana in 2019, people with disabilities were more than twice as likely as people without disabilities to be not working, but actively looking for work (11% vs. 5%).
ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
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In 2019, there were 275,543 children in Louisiana living in a household where someone had a disability, and 66% were below the ALICE Threshold. When a parent or guardian had a disability, the share of children below the Threshold rose to 71%.
Living Arrangements
People with disabilities who are ALICE live in households of varying size and composition, both of which impact financial stability. Overall, people with disabilities in Louisiana tend to live in smaller households. The most common household size for people with disabilities in Louisiana in 2019 was two people (compared to four among people without disabilities).
Children with disabilities who lived with two adults were more likely to be financially stable than children living with a single parent or guardian. Despite this, even in households with two working adults, 31% of children with disabilities were below the ALICE Threshold. When only one out of two adults worked, the rate increased to 68%. Children with disabilities who lived in a household with a single working parent or guardian were even more likely to be below the Threshold (at 85%). Overall, people with disabilities in Louisiana were more likely than people without disabilities to live alone. Just over 152,000 people with disabilities in Louisiana lived alone in 2019. People with disabilities who lived alone were more likely to be below the ALICE Threshold (76%) than people with disabilities who lived with one or more other people (55%).
Although people with disabilities age 18–64 in Louisiana were much less likely to be employed (35%) compared to people without disabilities (75%), most people with disabilities in this age group lived with at least one working household member (56%).
ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Seniors (65+) lived alone at even higher rates than people age 18–64 in Louisiana (29% vs. 12%). And seniors with disabilities living alone were more likely to be below the ALICE Threshold (74%) than seniors with disabilities living with one or more other people (49%).
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People With Disabilities by Household Financial Status and Key Demographics, LA, 2019 TOTAL ALL PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
BELOW ALICE THRESHOLD
716,266
426,424
0–17 Years
62,495
38,994
18–24 Years
30,228
19,350
25–44 Years
119,540
72,661
45–64 Years
222,317
136,624
65–74 Years
132,849
70,579
75+ Years
148,837
88,216
Female
376,255
234,401
Male
340,011
192,023
American Indian/ Alaska Native
3,670
2,250
Asian
6,719
2,477
Black
234,556
175,439
Hispanic
23,087
12,470
Two or More Races
12,011
7,657
434,843
225,038
12th Grade or Lower
145,808
113,940
High School Graduate
351,764
210,139
Associate or Bachelor's Degree
94,506
35,970
Master’s or Doctoral Degree
31,465
8,031
Employed Full-Time
100,131
37,059
Employed Part-Time
30,310
17,446
Unemployed
16,834
11,280
224,810
162,850
POVERTY
ALICE
ABOVE ALICE THRESHOLD
AGE
SEX
RACE/ETHNICITY
White
EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT
WORK STATUS
Not in Labor Force
Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers for ease of reading, which may result in percentages totaling 99% or 101%. The groups shown in this figure overlap across categories (Age, Sex, Race/Ethnicity, Educational Attainment, and Work Status). Sex includes the sex reported by the respondent for household members; the ACS only includes the options “male” or “female.” All racial categories except Two or More Races are for one race alone. The Hispanic group may include people with disabilities of any race. The Educational Attainment category includes people age 25+ and is based on the highest level of educational attainment. The Work category includes only people age 18–64. View more on the ALICE Disability Data Dashboard. Sources: ALICE Threshold, 2019; U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, PUMS, 2019
ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
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ACCESS TO RESOURCES Despite legislation that prohibits discrimination against people with disabilities in areas such as employment, housing, access to health services, education, and public transportation, people with disabilities still often confront barriers to accessing basic resources. This is especially significant because people with disabilities who are below the ALICE Threshold are much more likely to lack stable housing, quality child care and early education, private health insurance, and home internet access. At the same time, many people with disabilities who struggle to afford the basics are not eligible for public assistance programs. When these household necessities are at risk, there are both short- and longterm cumulative consequences.
By race/ethnicity, in 2019, Black and Hispanic people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold in Louisiana were more likely to live in renter households (at 51% each) than White people with disabilities below the Threshold (32%). In Louisiana, over half (53%) of people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold living in renter households were rent burdened (paying more than 35% of income on rent), slightly higher than the rate for people without disabilities below the Threshold (50%). In contrast, for people above the Threshold, only 4% with and without disabilities were rent burdened. The rates of cost burden were lower for people in owneroccupied households, but there were still large gaps by income in Louisiana. Nearly one-third (29%) of people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold in owneroccupied households were housing cost burdened (paying more than 35% of income on mortgage, plus utilities, taxes, and insurance), slightly higher than for people without disabilities below the Threshold (26%). Yet for people above the Threshold, only 3% with and without disabilities were owner cost burdened.
Stable Housing
Housing instability has a profound impact on overall well-being. A lack of stable housing puts people with disabilities at risk for poor physical and mental health, and may even undermine their ability to live independently in the community. Discriminatory housing practices, a lack of affordable housing, and limited accessible housing stock make it difficult for people with disabilites to find a safe and affordable place to call home. In addition, there are long waiting lists for housing assistance, including a wait of more than 10 years for the Medicaid Home and Community Based Services (HCBS) waiver program in some states. In Louisiana, there were 21,575 people on the waitlist in 2020.
The highest rates of rent burden for people with disabilities in Louisiana — above 65% — were in southern Shreveport, East Baton Rouge Parish, and northeast New Orleans; and the highest rates of owner cost burden for people with disabilities — above 25% — were in southern and central New Orleans.
People with disabilities living in rental housing units and in households that are housing cost burdened (paying more than 35% of income on rent or mortgage) are more likely to experience housing insecurity and are therefore also at greater risk of becoming homeless. Overall, 29% of people with disabilities in Louisiana were in renter households and 71% were in owner-occupied housing in 2019. However, there were differences by age and income: •
For people with disabilities under age 65: Those below the ALICE Threshold were more likely to live in renter households than owner-occupied housing (49% vs. 51%). Those above the ALICE Threshold were far less likely to be renters (17% vs. 83%).
•
For seniors with disabilities (age 65+): Seniors were more likely to live in owner-occupied housing, but income gaps remained. Below the Threshold, 26% of seniors with disabilities were renters and 74% were in owner-occupied housing, compared to seniors with disabilities above the Threshold: 7% in renter households and 93% in owner-occupied housing.
ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
Health Insurance
Access to health insurance is critical to both wellness and financial stability for people with disabilities. Because of Medicare, almost all seniors in Louisiana with and without disabilities had health insurance in 2019 (99% for both groups of seniors). There were lower rates for people under 65, especially those below the ALICE Threshold: 86% of people below the Threshold had some form of health insurance in 2019. People with disabilities below the Threshold were more likely to have health insurance than people without disabilities below the Threshold (92% vs. 85%), which likely reflects the increased need for health services in this population. People with disabilities below the Threshold in Louisiana were more likely to have public insurance (68%), while people with disabilities above the Threshold were more likely to have private insurance (64%).
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Medicaid and Medicare, programs designed specifically to provide medical coverage to people with low or fixed incomes and to cover some people with disabilities, were also not fully available to people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold. Almost one-fourth (21%) of people with disabilities under the age of 65 and living below the ALICE Threshold in Louisiana were not enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare. Compared to neighboring states, Louisiana had the lowest percentage of people with disabilities under 65 and below the ALICE Threshold who were not enrolled in Medicaid or Medicare; Texas had the highest at 44%.
Louisiana, 2019 Health Insurance S
Medicare S
Medicaid S
TRICARE/ VA S
No Health Insurance
Below ALICE Threshold
Above ALICE Threshold
Without Disabilities Under 65 Below ALICE Threshold
24% (65,502)
14% (23,063)
3% (45,921)
70% (186,660)
27% (45,015)
52% (772,463)
4% (9,778)
8% (13,216)
2% (35,821)
8% (21,363)
7% (12,217)
15% (218,660)
With Disabilities Under 65
high-speed internet (48%) than people without disabilities below the Threshold (56%), people with disabilities above the Threshold (70%), and people without disabilities above the Threshold (75%). Access to high-speed internet also varied by location in Louisiana. High-speed internet access for people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold was lowest in the northern part of the Imperial Calcasieu Regional Planning and Development District, covering Beauregard, Allen, and parts of Calcasieu parishes (27%) and highest in the southern part of East Baton Rouge Parish (84%). Even with internet access, people with disabilities often face additional barriers online, as most websites do not meet Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) for accessibility.
Public Assistance
For a variety of reasons, public assistance does not reach all people in households that are struggling. While most people in poverty are eligible, those in ALICE households often earn too much to qualify for assistance. In addition, income and asset limits for public assistance can create “benefits cliffs” that limit economic mobility. Supplemental Security Income (SSI) provides financial assistance to people with disabilities who have limited income and resources. Yet the criteria are so limited that only 18% of people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold in Louisiana received SSI payments in 2019; in other words, 82% (348,428 people) did not. To be eligible, applicants cannot have assets greater than $2,000 for an individual and $3,000 for a married couple — a level that has not been updated in nearly 40 years, and that creates a substantial barrier to saving and wealth-building for people with disabilities and their families.
Access to Technology
Access to the internet, digital devices, and assistive technology can be a lifeline for people with disabilities, yet there is a digital divide by disability status, in addition to broader digital divides by income, race/ethnicity, and location. While internet access has become almost ubiquitous across Louisiana, in 2019, people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold had some of the lowest access rates to even the most common technological device — a smartphone. Only 70% of people with disabilities below the Threshold in Louisiana had a smartphone, compared to 88% of people without disabilities below the Threshold, 86% of people with disabilities above the Threshold, and 94% of people without disabilities above the Threshold.
Of neighboring states, Louisiana had the highest SSI participation rate for people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold (18%) and Arkansas had the lowest (15%). While the eligibility threshold for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) is higher than that of SSI (130% of the FPL), it still does not reach all households in need. Even though all people with disabilities living in households with income below the FPL should be covered by SNAP, in Louisiana, only 57% of people with disabilities in poverty (99,593), and a mere 22% of people with disabilities in ALICE households (55,288), participated in this program in 2019. This left a gap of over 271,500 people with disabilities whose families were struggling to make ends meet in Louisiana but not participating in SNAP.
In Louisiana in 2019, 79% of people with disabilities had some type of internet access at home, but rates were lower for people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold (72%). And with the increase in remote work and education, a high-speed internet connection has become more important; yet people with disabilities below the Threshold were far less likely to have ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
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IMPACT OF THE PANDEMIC The inequities and barriers to financial stability that many people with disabilities face were exacerbated during the dual health and economic crisis of the COVID19 pandemic. The challenges included a higher susceptibility to severe illness and death, a risk of being triaged out of COVID-19 treatment when supplies became scarce, limited options for those in congregate settings to transition to community settings, lack of access to in-person special education services and supports, low priority for vaccine distribution, an extensive shortage of direct care and support workers, and substantial communication barriers due to maskwearing and social distancing (especially for people who are deaf, hard of hearing, deaf-blind, or blind). For people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold, there were added challenges related to finding and keeping employment, limited income/savings, and additional costs associated with living with a disability (such as those related to personal assistance, home accommodations, and transportation).
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Food insufficiency: Throughout the pandemic, people with disabilities in Louisiana struggled to afford food: 25% of people with disabilities reported that their household sometimes or often did not have enough to eat, compared to 9% of people without disabilities. And respondents with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold were even more likely to report that they did not have enough to eat (31%).
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Interrupted learning: The pandemic has disrupted elementary, secondary, and higher education for more than two years, and students with disabilities — of all income levels — have been disproportionately affected. For example, the more than 7 million students nationwide (age 3–21) who received educational services under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act faced unique barriers, as students with disabilities were not as easily transferred to online learning, and families tried to provide support typically provided in the classroom.
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Depression and anxiety: In Louisiana, people with disabilities were almost four times as likely as people without disabilities to report that nearly every day over the last two weeks they had been bothered by feeling down, depressed, or hopeless (31% vs. 8%). Respondents with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold were even more likely to report feeling depressed nearly every day, at 36%. Similarly, 38% of people with disabilities reported that nearly every day over the last two weeks they had felt nervous, anxious, or on edge, compared to 11% of people without disabilities. And people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold were even more likely to report feeling anxious nearly every day, at 40%.
As shown in our recent report, The Pandemic Divide, households below the ALICE Threshold suffered disproportionately during the pandemic. Expanding on those findings, our analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau’s Household Pulse Surveys* (July 2021–February 2022) reveals that people with disabilities and their households were more likely than people without disabilities to be adversely impacted by the pandemic — financially, physically, and emotionally. And these negative impacts were even more substantial for people with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold: •
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Work loss: In Louisiana, respondents with disabilities were more likely than those without disabilities (29% vs. 20%) to report that they or someone in their household had experienced a loss of employment income in the last four weeks. Respondents with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold were even more likely to have experienced loss of employment income in the household, at 32%. Paying bills: In Louisiana, people with disabilities were more likely than those without disabilities to report that their household had difficulty paying for usual household expenses, including food, rent or mortgage, car payments, or medical expenses (59% vs. 29%). And it was even harder for respondents with disabilities below the ALICE Threshold, with 68% reporting difficulty paying usual expenses.
* Note: The definition of disability in the Household Pulse Survey is slightly narrower than the ACS definition and includes vision, hearing, cognitive, and mobility difficulties.
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ALICE IN FOCUS: DISABILITIES – INCOME STATUS BY STATE, 2019 TOTAL
State
United States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
% of Total Population With Disabilities 13% 16% 11% 13% 18% 10% 11% 12% 13% 11% 14% 13% 12% 14% 11% 14% 12% 14% 18% 16% 17% 11% 12% 14% 11% 17% 15% 13% 12% 12% 13% 10% 16% 11% 13% 11% 14% 16% 15% 14% 13% 14% 12% 15% 11% 9% 15% 12% 13% 20% 12% 14%
Household Income Status
Number of People With Disabilities 40,434,657 769,303 79,509 922,089 514,950 4,021,107 592,807 403,194 126,113 76,380 2,853,249 1,304,551 158,166 243,291 1,397,737 883,592 367,405 397,383 770,522 716,266 219,249 655,840 765,568 1,368,811 580,489 484,021 877,364 136,694 225,574 370,117 169,791 892,076 322,997 2,167,144 1,355,008 81,249 1,581,356 607,461 598,976 1,760,256 131,554 716,796 99,428 1,019,172 3,250,934 286,502 88,783 994,957 934,774 346,842 670,110 77,150
% People With Disabilities, Poverty
% People With Disabilities, ALICE
% People With Disabilities, Below ALICE Threshold
18% 21% 16% 17% 23% 15% 14% 16% 13% 24% 16% 18% 12% 16% 17% 18% 17% 16% 25% 24% 18% 16% 17% 19% 16% 23% 20% 16% 14% 16% 13% 14% 21% 21% 18% 18% 20% 21% 15% 19% 20% 19% 14% 20% 18% 13% 14% 15% 13% 21% 16% 16%
34% 33% 28% 32% 33% 39% 36% 32% 30% 41% 37% 39% 33% 29% 28% 29% 26% 30% 30% 35% 36% 34% 40% 28% 30% 35% 33% 27% 29% 31% 36% 33% 31% 37% 34% 24% 29% 29% 39% 31% 35% 34% 28% 37% 33% 26% 38% 35% 30% 33% 27% 23%
51% 54% 43% 48% 56% 55% 50% 48% 44% 65% 53% 57% 45% 45% 45% 46% 43% 46% 55% 60% 54% 50% 57% 48% 45% 58% 53% 43% 43% 47% 49% 47% 52% 58% 52% 42% 48% 49% 55% 50% 54% 53% 42% 57% 51% 39% 52% 50% 43% 54% 43% 39%
Note: Percentages are rounded to whole numbers for ease of reading. In Louisiana, out of 716,266 people with disabilities, there were 174,988 (24.4%) in poverty plus 251,436 (35.1%) ALICE, which totals to 426,424 (59.5%) below the ALICE Threshold and rounds to 60% in this Brief and on the ALICE Disabilities Data Dashboard.
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ALICE IN FOCUS: DISABILITIES – KEY INDICATORS BY STATE, 2019 State
United States Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware D.C. Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming
TOTAL
Rent Burden
Owner Burden
Internet
SSI
Number of People With Disabilities Below ALICE Threshold
% With Disabilities Below ALICE Threshold Paying 35% or More on Rent
% With Disabilities Below ALICE Threshold Paying 35% or More on Mortgage
% With Disabilities Below ALICE Threshold with High-Speed Internet Access
% With Disabilities Below ALICE Threshold Receiving SSI
57% 53% 57% 57% 46% 63% 58% 60% 60% 51% 65% 52% 61% 55% 57% 56% 51% 54% 49% 53% 50% 63% 55% 59% 58% 48% 51% 52% 46% 70% 56% 61% 49% 59% 53% 55% 55% 50% 58% 59% 51% 48% 59% 47% 57% 57% 64% 55% 60% 46% 60% 59%
38% 29% 33% 36% 30% 45% 42% 59% 41% 37% 39% 33% 40% 37% 46% 37% 39% 31% 30% 29% 45% 45% 49% 38% 41% 25% 34% 39% 43% 43% 50% 60% 34% 49% 35% 35% 37% 30% 38% 41% 49% 31% 31% 31% 34% 38% 50% 35% 42% 25% 42% 36%
53% 41% 41% 52% 42% 60% 59% 58% 61% 51% 57% 54% 62% 49% 48% 50% 43% 52% 50% 48% 56% 57% 59% 53% 54% 37% 47% 49% 51% 58% 62% 56% 40% 56% 50% 53% 52% 40% 60% 54% 49% 47% 53% 45% 48% 55% 58% 52% 60% 49% 52% 51%
17% 16% 14% 13% 15% 20% 12% 18% 14% 31% 15% 17% 13% 13% 18% 15% 14% 12% 19% 18% 19% 15% 20% 18% 17% 17% 16% 12% 13% 13% 11% 15% 15% 22% 15% 11% 19% 16% 13% 19% 24% 14% 13% 15% 16% 14% 17% 15% 17% 19% 19% 11%
20,777,392 415,876 34,245 446,074 288,004 2,203,884 298,177 193,006 54,968 49,432 1,506,796 745,324 71,290 110,020 629,632 407,723 158,972 184,575 422,925 426,424 118,497 329,966 436,768 654,982 263,560 280,024 467,480 58,287 97,905 175,314 82,756 418,963 169,474 1,250,913 702,910 34,229 765,493 299,423 327,224 887,097 71,588 380,383 41,761 580,080 1,670,058 111,977 46,446 495,935 402,857 187,546 289,880 30,269
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NEXT STEPS Capturing the true extent of disabilities in Louisiana and across the U.S., and the role of financial hardship for people with disabilities, is critical for the appropriate allocation of funds for programs in areas such as education, health care, food access, housing, and employment. There is a lot more to be done to change the trajectory for people with disabilities who are struggling to make ends meet. Visit UnitedForALICE.org to learn more, then share this data with stakeholders in your community. Learn more with: • • • •
The ALICE Disability Data Dashboard, to dig deeper into demographics and local geographies Resources related to people with disabilities and financial hardship, including the references linked in this Research Brief, as well as additional resources that offer important context and even deeper analysis The Pandemic Divide: An ALICE Analysis of National COVID Surveys (2021) and other resources on the COVID-19 and ALICE webpage, to see the impacts of the pandemic on ALICE The ALICE Wage Tool, to explore wage levels by geography and occupation
Connect with stakeholders: • • •
Contact your local United Way for support and volunteer opportunities. Connect with members of the committees that support this work, including the ALICE in Focus National Research Advisory Committee for People with Disabilities, and the ALICE in Focus National Leadership Committee for People With Disabilities. Find your state and federal representatives and see ALICE household data by legislative district with our ALICE Legislative District Tool.
Be an ally and advocate for better data: •
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Advocate for more accurate data collection by the U.S. Census Bureau for people with disabilities who have been historically undercounted, including (but not limited to) people with varying types of disabilities, people experiencing homelessness, people of color, individuals who identify as LGBTQ+, and people in low-income and hard-to-count geographic areas. Be an ally for people with disabilities: Work to combat stigma, amplify the voices of people with disabilities, and be a champion for accessible workplaces and community spaces. Explore data from various sources to better understand the prevalence of disability in your community and across the U.S. For example, in 2019, 7.3 million children across the U.S. had an IEP (a document outlining the educational services public school children with a condition covered by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act receive) — more than twice as many children as those identified as having a disability by the ACS. Support collection of data on long or long-haul COVID-19, a condition that could leave as many as 25 million COVID-19 survivors in the U.S. with a lasting disability.
United For ALICE is a driver of innovative research and action around financial hardship, with a commitment to racial and economic justice for ALICE. The ALICE data and analysis are shared with United Ways, corporations, foundations, government, and nonprofits, to inform policy and promote positive change. The ALICE in Focus Series utilizes ALICE measures — the Household Survival Budget and the ALICE Threshold — to analyze the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS) Public Use Microdata Samples (PUMS). Each “Focus” in the series highlights a different demographic group. For more details about the methodology for the ALICE in Focus Series, go to UnitedForALICE.org/Methodology.
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PARTNERS AND SPONSORS United For ALICE partners with Louisiana Association of United Ways to bring the ALICE research to Louisiana, and this work is sponsored by Entergy.
ALICE IN FOCUS: PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES
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