Many disabled people are not included in official U.S. data. This is because there is “No Box to Check” to indicate their particular disability on surveys from the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies. The questions used to identify people with disabilities are missing millions.
Two question sets are most often used to assess disability in U.S. federal surveys: the American Community Survey Six (ACS-6) or the Washington Group Short Set (WG-SS). Combined, they are used in at least 17 U.S. federal surveys, so these disability question sets have an enormous effect on people’s lives. For instance, they appear in the Census Bureau’s surveys, which provide information that “generates data that help inform how trillions of dollars in federal funds are distributed each year.” They are also used in surveys fielded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that help monitor health and health care in the U.S. population.