Failing the disabled

How Minnesota is failing the disabled and stranding thousands on the margins

By Staff

September 15, 2016 at 11:48PM
Scott Rhude picked up trash near a landfill in Willmar, Minn. He makes $2 an hour and dreams of a better job.
Scott Rhude, 33, sits spread-eagled in a field of garbage, reaching for a piece of trash while on a work assignment with a sheltered workshop "enclave" Tuesday, April 28, 2015, near the landfill in Wilmar, MN. Like many of his coworkers on the cleanup crew, Rhude dreams of landing a ìreal jobî in the community. But for that, he would need specialized training, transportation to and from work and access to a job coach.ìHe is stuck, stuck stuck,î said Mary Rhude, Scottís mother.](DAVID JOLES/STARTRIBUNE)djoles@startribune.com Across Minnesota, thousands of disabled adults toil in sheltered workshops, performing mind-numbing tasks for meager wages in settings that segregate them from better jobs and the larger community. Their plight is one among many signs that Minnesota has fallen behind other states on the legal and civil rights imperative to integrate the disabled into mainstream community life. Minnesota's failings have drawn the wrath of a federal judge and left thousands of disabled adults in crippling isolation. **Scott Rhude,cq (Dave Braunger — Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Staff