A national advocacy group ranks South Dakota high in efforts to ensure quality of life for individuals with disabilities.
The organization United Cerebral Palsy released its 2016 Case for Inclusion Report showing how well government programs service disabled persons and their families.
This year the state made the Top 10.
The group United Cerebral Palsy now ranks South Dakota 9th overall in the effort to support people with disabilities. Last year the state ranked 38th.
The report includes data tracking the health, safety and quality of life of disabled persons. It details how each state promotes independence, productivity, family support and outreach.
Officials say South Dakota’s ranking improved because of high scores on the National Core Indicators. Among others, NCI outcomes measure a disabled person’s community inclusion and family support.
Dan Lusk is a director with the Division of Developmental Disabilities. He says South Dakota does well at providing employment to disabled persons.
“South Dakota was also ranked as the number one state in the nation for employment outcomes for people with disabilities at just over 50 percent of people with disabilities being competitively employed,” says Lusk.
Lusk says the state plans to continue to evolve its services to keep assisting the disabled community.
“Some of those areas that we’re working on now are areas such as the size and locations of residential support so we are working on promoting independence and ensuring that our systems of support allow people to live as independently and as integrated in the community as possible,” says Lusk.
Bakeworks! in Rapid City is one example of this effort in the state. Black Hills Works runs the bakery that employs people with disabilities. Officials say Bakeworks! lets its employees prepare food and interact with customers in a café setting.
Brie Wangsness is assistant baker at the store. She says baking at work is different than baking at home.
“I knew some things but I never knew there was kilograms and pounds and stuff before here I thought it was just ounces and teaspoons I never knew about all this other stuff, it’s a little different but it’s fun and I’m baking for the public to eat so it’s kind of cool,” says Brie.
Wangsness adds that working at Bakeworks! gives her experience she’ll need later on. She says someday she hopes to own her own business.