In the United States, adults with disabilities account for roughly sixty-one million people. This means that around 26 percent of our population is in need of supplemental assistance, such as being driven to work, getting help with grocery shopping, or assistance with everyday tasks at home. Organizations that specialize in supporting individuals with disabilities are often working with limited budgets, receiving only 16 percent of total dollars donated to nonprofits — funding that is spread across the entire spectrum of human services providers.

Adopting dispatch software that makes managing clients, staff, and vehicles easier would better position those organizations to serve their clients more effectively and efficiently. Yet organizations serving adults with disabilities have been slow to adopt such technology and, for the most part, have relied on the manual way of operating with pen and paper.  Why? For most organizations working under budget constraints, the decision to upgrade existing processes to a digital system isn't made lightly.

Another barrier is the lack of accessible software and mobile apps that address the unique challenges adults with disabilities face. From vision and hearing impairments to cognitive disabilities, there is a wide spectrum of user interfaces that must be considered for a solution to be effective for this demographic. As a result, unfortunately, many software designers simply ignore this significant segment of the population.

When there is a software or mobile app available that serves clients with disabilities, the positive outcomes for service providers can be numerous. Technology can help organizations serve more individuals in an efficient manner, save money through improved resource management, and improve staff productivity.

Read the full article about disability-inclusive software by Nicole Leisle at PhilanTopic.