4-Year College Degree: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers people to have a 4-year college degree if they have finished a bachelor’s degree and don’t have any other professional degrees. This is reported for people who are 25 years old or older.
Activities of Daily Living (ADL): The American Community Survey (ACS) considers people to have an activities of daily living disability (also referred to as a self-care disability) if they respond “yes” when asked if they have “difficulty dressing or bathing.” This measure comes from the Katz Index of Independence of Activities of Daily Living (ADL), a tool that is used to check how people handle daily tasks like bathing and dressing. This question is only asked of people ages five years or older in the ACS. See Self-Care Disability in the Glossary.
Ambulatory Disability: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers people to have ambulatory (or walking) disability if they respond “yes" when asked if they have “serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs.” This question is only asked of people ages five years and older.
American Community Survey (ACS): The American Community Survey (ACS) is a big survey done by the U.S. Census Bureau every year. It gathers information about communities in the U.S. through questionnaires that are sent to randomly selected addresses in specific geographies. The ACS takes place all year to collect information on various aspects of communities and households. The survey’s data are used to create yearly and multiyear estimates of population and housing data for small areas, including specific neighborhoods and groups of people. The ACS started in 2005, and six disability-related questions were added in 2008. You can find more details on the U.S. Census Bureau website (https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs).
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS): The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) is a health survey done in each state. It gathers information each month about people’s health habits and how people get healthcare to prevent health problems or to treat long-term diseases and injuries. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) started BRFSS in 1984. More than 400,000 adults from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and Guam are interviewed each year, making it the largest health survey done over the phone in the world. State leaders use data from the BRFSS to learn about new health issues in their states, set health goals, and develop and review public health rules and programs. You can find more details on BRFSS on the CDC website (https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.html).
Beneficiary/Beneficiaries: The Social Security Administration (SSA) defines a beneficiary as a person who receives benefits, or monthly payments, from the Social Security Administration for Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) or Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs.
Binge Drinking: The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) considers people to have engaged in binge drinking if they answered, “at least once” to the question, “[c]onsidering all types of alcoholic beverages, how many times during the past 30 days did you have [5, if male respondent] [4, if female respondent] or more drinks on an occasion?”
Building Type: The American Community Survey (ACS) asks about the types of buildings people live in, like houses (homes not attached to other buildings), apartments, and other types (such as mobile homes, trailers, boats, RVs, vans, etc.).
Civilian/Civilians: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers a person to be a civilian if they are not in active-duty military. This includes people who are civilians, veterans (those who have completed their active-duty military status), and reservists or National Guard members who are not currently activated for active duty.
Complete Kitchen: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers a kitchen complete if it has a stove, a refrigerator, and a sink with a faucet. If one or more of these things are missing, the household is considered to not have a complete kitchen.
Complete Plumbing: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers plumbing facilities complete if the household has hot and cold running water and a bathtub or shower. If one or more of these things are missing, the household is considered to not have complete plumbing.
Cognitive Disability: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers people to have cognitive disability if they said “yes” when asked, if “due to a physical, mental, or emotional issue”, they had “trouble remembering, concentrating, or making decisions.” This question is only asked of people ages five years and older.
Disabled Adult Child(ren): The Social Security Administration (SSA) considers a Disabled Adult Child to be a person receiving a “child’s” benefit paid on a parent’s Social Security earnings record. The adult child must be unmarried and age 18 or older. They must also have a qualifying disability that started before age 22 and meet SSA’s definition of disability for adults. Additionally, at least one of their parents must be receiving Social Security retirement or disability benefits, or have died and had earned enough while working to be eligible for Social Security Disability Insurance benefits (SSDI). You can find more details at the Social Security Administration (https://www.ssa.gov).
Disability Status: The American Community Survey (ACS) and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) both use the same six questions to find out if someone has a disability. Each question (listed below) has a “yes” or “no” answer. If someone says “yes” to at least one of these questions, they are considered to have a disability. The disability question categories are vision, hearing, thinking, moving, self-care, and living independently. Questions about thinking, moving, and self-care are not asked about people under five years old. The question about living independently is not asked about people under 15 years old.
The six disability categories and related questions are:
Hearing Disability: “Is this person deaf or does he/she have serious difficulty hearing?”
Vision Disability: “Is this person blind or does he/she have serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses?”
Cognitive Disability: [If person is 5 years old or older] “Because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition, does this person have serious difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions?”
Ambulatory Disability: [If person is 5 years old or older] “Does this person have serious difficulty walking or climbing stairs?”
Self-Care Disability: [If person is 5 years old or older] “Does this person have difficulty dressing or bathing?”
Independent Living Disability: [If person is 15 years old or older] “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?”
Disability Type: A term also used for disability status. See Disability Status and specific disability terms (Vision Disability, Hearing Disability, Ambulatory Disability, Cognitive Disability, Independent Living Disability, and Self-Care Disability) in the Glossary.
Disabled Worker(s): The Social Security Administration (SSA) considers a disabled worker to be a worker with a disability who is not yet old enough to receive their full Social Security Retirement benefit, so they get a Social Security Disability Insurance benefit instead.
Disparity: A difference in how people are treated, especially when it seems unfair.
Earned/Earnings: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers “earnings” to be the income you get from jobs like wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, or tips before any deductions are made. Deductions can include taxes, bonds, dues, or other items. Earnings are reported every year for the last 12 months.
Earnings Gap: The difference in the percentage of earnings between two groups, for example, between people with disabilities and those without disabilities.
Educational Attainment: The American Community Survey (ACS) categorizes all people who are 18 years or older into educational attainment categories based on the highest level of education they have completed. The categories include:
Finished 12th grade without getting a high school diploma.
Graduated from high school with a diploma or a General Educational Diploma (GED) and didn’t go to college.
Completed some college credits, but less than a year’s worth.
Spent one or more years in college but didn’t get a degree.
Has an associate degree, which means finishing a two-year program in a specific job field or academic area. The course work may or may not count toward a bachelor’s degree.
Has a bachelor’s degree or more, including those who got a bachelor’s degree and took extra courses but didn’t get a master’s or PhD.
Master’s degrees, like traditional MA and MS degrees, and degrees in specific fields like MSW and MBA.
Professional degrees include MD, DDS, DVM, LLB, and JD.
Doctorate degrees, including PhD.
If someone finished school in a foreign or ungraded system, it is reported as the equivalent level in the regular American school system. Certificates or diplomas from trade, technical, or business schools are not counted. Also, honorary degrees given for a person’s achievements are not counted.
Employed: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers people as employed if they said they worked in the past week. In this Compendium “Employed” includes people age 18-64 if, during the week being looked at, they:
Are civilians who are noninstitutionalized (see Civilian and Noninstitutionalized Population in the Glossary); AND
They did at least one hour of paid work, ran their own business, worked on their farm, or worked for a family member for 15 hours or more without pay; OR
They had jobs or businesses but were on leave for reasons like vacation, sickness, bad weather, childcare, maternity or paternity leave, disputes at work, training, or other family or personal reasons, whether they got paid or not or were looking for other jobs.
Each person with a job is counted only once, even if they have more than one job. People who work at their own home (like painting or fixing things) or volunteer for religious, charitable, and other groups are not included. See Employment/Employment Status in the Glossary.
Employment/Employment Status: The American Community Survey (ACS) asks people many questions designed to categorize their employment status. Based on their answers, people are classified into one of the following five groups:
Those who worked at any time during the past week.
Those who were temporarily not working but were ready to work if needed.
Those who did not work during the past week but who had jobs or businesses they were temporarily away from (not including layoffs).
Those who did not work last week, but who were actively trying to find a job in the last four weeks and were ready for work if needed.
Those who did not have any job and were not looking for a job. See Not in the Labor Force in the Glossary.
Employment-to-Population Ratio: A calculation (number) using American Community Survey (ACS) employment information. It is the percentage of people who are employed compared to the total number of people who are civilians and are noninstitutionalized. See Civilian and Noninstitutionalized Population in the Glossary.
Federal Fiscal Year: A fiscal year is a 12-month period an organization uses for financial planning and reporting. The fiscal year for the U.S. federal government (the Federal Fiscal Year) goes from October 1 through September 30.
Full-Time, Full-Year: In the American Community Survey (ACS), a person is considered to be a full-time, full-year worker if they worked 35 hours or more per week for 50 to 52 weeks in the last 12 months.
Health Outcomes: Tables summarizing health outcomes for people with and without disabilities have been included. While people can acquire a disability status because of one or more of the health outcomes/conditions in this section, people with disabilities may also have higher rates of these health outcomes/conditions because of other factors contributing to their overall health. For example, someone with diabetes may acquire an ambulatory disability, resulting in a disability status. Alternatively, someone with a cognitive disability may get diabetes for reasons unrelated to the preexisting cognitive disability and have a disability status along with diabetes. It is very difficult to separate whether the disability or the health outcome occurred first, and if one causes the other. This is something to keep in mind when reviewing the tables.
Health Insurance Coverage: The American Community Survey (ACS) asks about both private health insurance plans and public coverage. People are asked to mark “yes” or “no” for the following eight types of insurance:
Insurance from current or former employer or union (either for themselves or another family member);
Insurance bought directly from an insurance company (either by themselves or another family member);
Medicare, for people 65 and older, or people with certain disabilities;
Medicaid, Medical Assistance, or any government-assistance plan for those with low incomes or a disability;
TRICARE or other military health care;
Veterans Affairs (VA) (including those who have ever used or enrolled for VA health care);
Indian Health Service; and/or
Any other type of health insurance or health coverage plan.
In the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), people are considered to have health insurance if they say “yes” to having any kind of health care coverage. This includes health insurance, prepaid plans like HMOs, or government plans such as Medicare or Indian Health Service.
Health Insurance Coverage Gap: A health insurance coverage gap is the difference in the percentage of people with health insurance between two groups, often comparing people with disabilities and those without disabilities.
Hearing Disability: In the American Community Survey (ACS), people are considered to have hearing disability if they said “yes” when asked, if they are “deaf or … have serious difficulty hearing”. This question is asked of people of all ages.
Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin: The American Community Survey (ACS) does not consider Hispanic origins as races. In a separate question, people are asked to select from the following to indicate Hispanic origin:
No, not of Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin.
Yes, Mexican, Mexican American, Chicano.
Yes, Puerto Rican.
Yes, Cuban.
Yes, another Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish origin - Print, for example, Salvadoran Dominican, Colombian, Guatemalan, Spaniard, Ecuadorian, etc.
People who identify as Hispanic, Latino, or of Spanish origin can be of any race. See Race in the Glossary.
Housing Cost Burden: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers people to have a housing cost burden if they spend more than 30 percent of their household income on housing costs.
Income: The American Community Survey (ACS) asks about income in eight different ways:
Money from all jobs like wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, or tips from all jobs (before deductions for taxes, bonds, dues, or other items);
Money earned from running your own business (after taking out business expenses);
Money from things like interest, dividends, rental income, royalties, or income from estates and trusts;
Money from Social Security or Railroad Retirement income;
Money from Supplemental Security Income (SSI);
Money from public assistance or welfare payments from the state or local welfare office;
Money from retirement, survivor, or disability pensions (not including Social Security);
Money from other sources like Veterans Affairs (VA) payments, unemployment compensation, child support or alimony.
Adding up all these types of income for everyone in the household helps determine if the family is in poverty. See Poverty in the Glossary.
Independent Living Disability: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers people to have an independent living disability if they said “yes” when asked if, “because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition”, they have difficulty “doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping”. This is also sometimes referred to as a limitation to instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). See Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) in the Glossary. This question is only asked of people ages 15 years or older.
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA): The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) is a law that makes sure kids with disabilities all over the country get the educational help they need. IDEA tells states and public agencies how to offer early intervention, special education, and other services to more than 6.5 million eligible infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities. Babies and toddlers with disabilities (from birth to two years) and their families get early intervention services under IDEA Part C. Children and youth (ages three to 21) get special education and related services under IDEA Part B.
Industry: Industry is the kind of business a person’s workplace does. Examples of industries include automotive, health, mining, and transportation. The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), created by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is the standard used by North America and the United States’ Federal statistical agencies to organize businesses when studying the economy.
Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) Disability: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers people to have an instrumental activities of daily living disability if they said “yes” when asked if, “because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition”, they have difficulty “doing errands alone such as visiting a doctor’s office or shopping.” This is also sometimes referred to as an independent living disability. The American Community Survey picked specific tasks from the Lawton Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL) scales including trouble doing errands like going to the doctor or shopping to include in their question about independent living disability. See Independent Living Disability in the Glossary.
Labor Force: Everyone who is considered either employed or unemployed. Those who are not in the labor force do not have a job and are not looking for a job.
Less Than a High School Education: A person is considered to have “less than a high school education” if they have not finished high school and haven’t gotten a high school diploma, General Equivalency Degree (GED), or alternative secondary school credential.
Living in the Community: A person lives in the community if they are not living in places like prisons, nursing homes, or hospitals. If a person lives in a college dormitory they are living in the community.
ME/Margin of Error: The Margin of Error (ME) is a calculation (number) that tells us how accurate an estimate is. The larger the margin of error is in relation to the size of the estimate, the less reliable the estimate. Because only a certain number of people from the whole population are randomly chosen to participate in the American Community Survey (ACS) and the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) surveys, the people in the surveys might not be exactly like everyone in the whole group. So, survey results do not represent reality exactly. The margin of error helps us understand a range of possible values for the actual population, without needing to ask every single person in the whole population.
Median Earnings: The median is the middle value in a group of numbers. It splits the higher values from the lower ones. Median earnings are the amount that separates the income distribution into two equal parts. Half of the people earn more than this amount, and half earn less.
Medicaid: Medicaid is a program that each state is federally required to run. It provides health insurance to specific groups of people. States set the rules for who can get it, but it’s usually for individuals, families, kids, and pregnant women with low income. In some states, other groups, like people with disabilities, can also get Medicaid.
Medicare: Medicare is a government program that gives health care services to people who are 65 or older, people under 65 with disabilities, and people of any age with end-stage renal failure. There are three parts to Medicare: Part A (hospital insurance), Part B (medical insurance), and Prescription Drug Coverage (added since January 1, 2006). People pay into Part A while they work, and then it helps cover hospital care when they need it. Those eligible for Medicare can choose to buy Part B, which covers more than just hospital care.
Metropolitan (Urban) Counties: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) considers counties to be metropolitan (or urban) if they have a central city with at least 50,000 people or if a big part of the population travels into a nearby central city for work.
Micropolitan Counties: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) considers counties to be micropolitan if they are nonmetropolitan counties that have a small city or town at the center with a population ranging from 10,000 to 50,000 people. See Nonmetropolitan (Rural) Counties in the Glossary.
More Than a 4-Year College Degree: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers people to have more than a 4-year college degree if they have completed a master’s, professional, or doctoral degree. This is reported for people who are 25 years and older.
Multidimensional Deprivation Index: The multidimensional deprivation index, as defined by Brian Glassman, is a mix of factors like not having enough income (based on the official U.S. Census poverty measure), education, health, economic security, the quality of housing, and the quality of the neighborhood. Brian Glassman created a report called “Multidimensional Deprivation in the United States: 2017,” which you can find in the American Community Survey Reports, ACS-40, by the U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 2019. (https://www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/publications/2019/demo/acs-40.pdf)
Noncore Counties: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) considers counties to be noncore if they are in rural areas that don’t have a big city or town at the center, and the population in that central area is less than 10,000 people.
Nonmetropolitan (Rural) Counties: The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) considers counties to be nonmetropolitan if they are rural areas and can be split into two types: micropolitan and noncore counties. See Micropolitan Counties and Noncore Counties in the Glossary.
Obese/Obesity: The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) considers a person to be obese when their body mass index (BMI) is greater than 30.
Occupation: The job a person does is called their occupation. Examples of occupations include animal scientists, computer programmers, medical assistants, and telemarketers. The Standard Occupational (SOC) Manual, created by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), is the standard used by North America and the United States’ Federal statistical agencies to organize work when studying the economy.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB): The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) is part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. OMB helps to create the President’s budget plan, decides where money should go, and checks how well programs, policies, and procedures are working. OMB creates county classifications.
Office of Special Education Programs: The Office of Special Education Programs is part of the United States Department of Education. Their mission is to make education better for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with disabilities from birth to 21 years old.
Only a High School Education: People in this group have completed high school or earned a General Equivalency Degree (GED), but don’t have any additional education. In Section 13: Education, this is reported only for people who are 25 years and older.
Overcrowded: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers a place to live as overcrowded if there are more than two people for each bedroom.
Participation in the Labor Force: Group of people considered to be in the labor force. See Labor Force in the Glossary.
Prevalence: The part of the population with a specific status or condition. Prevalence is often shown as a percentage or the number of people for each unit of the population.
Projected Population: Population projections are predictions of how many people there will be in the future. According to the CDC Wonder Population Projections, these projections are usually based on an estimated population that matches the most recent census and are made using the cohort-component method. The Projected Population is found in Section 1: Population of the CDC Wonder Population Projections (https://wonder.cdc.gov/wonder/help/populationprojections-2060.html)
Population: Population is the complete count of people living in a specific geographic area, including individuals of all races, classes, and groups.
Poor Housing Quality: The American Community Survey (ACS) considers a household to have poor housing quality if it meets at least two out of four conditions: not having a complete kitchen, lacking complete plumbing, being overcrowded, or facing a cost burden. Each of these conditions has a definition in the Glossary.
Poverty: In Statistical Policy, Directive 14, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) makes income thresholds, called poverty lines, based on the prices of a standard set of goods and services that families need. Different income thresholds are created based on family size and age of people (like the number of people under age 18 or the number of people age 65 and older). In the American Community Survey (ACS), details about income, family size, and age are used to figure out if someone’s family income is below the poverty line. See Income in the Glossary.
Poverty Rate: The percentage of people who meet the government’s definition of poverty. This definition is based on how much income a household makes and how many people are in it. See Poverty in the Glossary.
Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) Files: The American Community Survey (ACS) PUMS files have information about households and individuals. The files include responses to the ACS questionnaire as well as other variables (such as sample weights). Data in these files are edited to keep sensitive information private to protect people’s identities.
Race: In the American Community Survey (ACS), people can choose from numerous categories to identify their race. This question asks people about their race and national origin, and, in some cases, sociocultural group(s). People can choose to report more than one race, national origin, and/or sociocultural group. Additionally, people who identify as Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish can be of any race. See Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish Origin in the Glossary.
Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA): The Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) is part of the United States Department of Education. Their job is to help individuals with disabilities get jobs and live more independently. You can find information provided by the Rehabilitation Services Administration. (http://rsa.ed.gov.)
RR/Relative Ratio: A relative ratio (RR) is a calculation (number) that is used to show how much more likely something is between two different groups. Relative ratio helps us understand if something may be helpful or harmful. Relative ratios are calculated as the ratio of two percentages. The further the RR is from 1, the more likely a group of people is to have an event happen than people in another group. This is a helpful calculation for comparing events or circumstances between people with disabilities and people without disabilities.
Resident Population: The resident population is the total number of people who live in the United States, including civilians and members of the Armed Forces, in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. See Civilian for more information.
Sample Size: The number of people (participants) or units in a survey.
Sampling Variability: Because a survey only looks at a sample of the population, the results may be different than what you would get if you surveyed everyone in the population. Sampling variability tells us that there is a difference between the sample and the population. For example, imagine you have ten people and want to know the average height of the group, but you can only ask three people at a time their height. So, the sample size is three. If you keep asking three different people their height, you will eventually get an average that is close to the real average height of the entire group. Sampling variability is the measure of how much the samples vary.
Self-Care Disability (ACS): In the American Community Survey (ACS), people are considered to have a self-care disability if they answered “yes” when asked if they “have difficulty dressing or bathing”. This is also sometimes referred to as a limitation to activities of daily living (ADL). This question is only asked of people ages five years or older. See Activities of Daily Living (ADL) in the Glossary.
Service-Connected Disability Rating: At the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability ratings are assigned based on the severity of the veteran’s disability. The VA expresses this rating as a percentage (on a scale from zero to 100 percent, in increments of 10 percent), representing how much the disability decreases the veteran’s overall health and ability to function. The disability rating determine disability compensation rates and eligibility for other benefits, like VA health care. Visit https://www.va.gov/disability/about-disability-ratings/ for more information. The American Community Survey (ACS) asks veterans with service-connected disabilities about their service-connected disability rating.
Sex: In 2023, the American Community Survey (ACS) data sources we used only have two categories: male or female. As federal data sources with disability measures include new measures related to gender identity, we will include them in future editions of the Compendium.
Smoking: The Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) considers people to be smoking if they say “yes” to the question, “Have you smoked at least 100 cigarettes in your entire life?” or if they say that they smoke cigarettes “every day” or “some days” in response to the question, “Do you now smoke cigarettes every day, some days, or not at all?”
Social Security Administration (SSA): The Social Security Administration (SSA) is an independent agency in the U.S. government that oversees services for people who qualify for social security programs including benefits related to employment, retirement, survivorship, and disability. Individuals earn these benefits by paying Social Security taxes on their earnings.
Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI): A benefit that is money paid every month to workers with disabilities and certain family members if the worker meets specific criteria, including proof of disability and a sufficient work history.
Special Education: Specially designed instruction, provided for free to parents, that is tailored to meet the unique needs of a child with a disability. This instruction can take place in various settings, including classrooms, homes, hospitals, and institutions, and covers physical education. It can also include services like speech-language pathology, travel training, and vocational education, depending on state standards.
Successfully Rehabilitated: The Vocational Rehabilitation Services (VRS) considers someone successfully rehabilitated if they’ve reached goals in a Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program. Goals include training in job skills, getting a job (going back to work), technical assistance, and help with transportation. See Vocational Rehabilitation in the Glossary.
Supplemental Security Income (SSI): The Social Security Administration (SSA) pays SSI benefits to disabled adults and children with limited income and resources. SSI benefits are also paid to people who are age 65 and older and don’t have disabilities, but they must meet certain financial limits.
Unemployment Rate: The percentage of people in the labor force who do not have jobs and are actively looking for work. See Labor Force in the Glossary.
U.S. Census Bureau: An agency within the United States Federal Statistical System that is responsible for gathering information about the American people and the economy. Their main job is to conduct the United States Census every ten years.
Validity: Validity tells you how accurately a method measures something. A method can be considered valid if it measures what it claims to measure and the results closely correspond to the real world.
Veteran(s): A person who used to be in the military or armed forces.
Vision Disability: In the American Community Survey (ACS), people are considered to have vision disability if they said “yes” when asked if they were “blind or … have serious difficulty seeing even with glasses.” This question is asked about people of all ages.
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR): Employment services that help people with mental or physical disabilities find and keep jobs. These services help people with disabilities learn the skills, resources, and attitudes they need for interviews, getting a job, and staying employed. The services can also assist someone in retraining for work if they had to stop working due to an injury or mental disorder.
Work Experience: The American Community Survey (ACS) counts work done in the past year. If someone 16 years old or older worked 35 hours or more each week, they are considered as “Usually worked full time.” If they usually worked one to 34 hours each week, they are considered as “Usually worked part time.” If they didn’t report any regular hours in the past 12 months, they are considered as “did not work.”