Q&A with pioneering Iowa State Rep. Josh Turek
Tapping into Iowa's talented disability community to fill careers, jobs, boost the state's economy
“I know that there is a real stigma out there that is prevalent in society. That is the individual with disabilities when they're employed, it's viewed as exclusively tokenistic — that the average disabled worker is going to be less efficient, less productive, and and that stigma needs to go. We are talented and making a difference and the doors to more businesses and opportunities should be open to more people with disabilities. It's just good for the state, a win all around.”
— State Rep. Josh Turek of Council Bluffs
Facing a severe labor shortage, Iowa employers, from small businesses to large industry, are searching for more employees.
Iowa's disabled community is one vastly untapped resource.
But that can change, Iowa's first permanently and visibly disabled state legislator, Josh Turek, D-Council Bluffs, says.
The Iowa Mercury recently interviewed Turek, an influential legislator respected on both sides of the aisle on disability issues.
The following is the question-and-answer session:
The Iowa Mercury: Representative Turek, tell us more about your background.
Josh Turek: I was born and raised in Council Bluffs, Iowa. I was born with a condition called Spina Bifida. I had 21 surgeries by the age of 12 years old.
I grew up in a large family and grew up poor and disabled, and struggled throughout my childhood. Actually, there was a lot of bullying and I ended up leaving public school when I was in sixth grade. I was exposed to adaptive sports and wheelchair basketball when I was in seventh grade. And honestly, that's what saved my life. It gave me a purpose. It gave me a social network, it gave me self esteem and I was able to excel in that arena.
The majority of my adult life I spent playing professional wheelchair basketball around the world — every continent on Earth, besides Antarctica. I played in four Paralympics Games, won two gold medals and one bronze for the United States of America. I have been involved in non-profit work for individuals with disabilities, particularly for children in adaptive sports.
It was there that I got motivated to run for office just noticing the lack of representation and voice for an entire population. 15% of our population is permanently disabled, and also just seeing the inability to procure health care, and mobility devices in the state of Iowa since we shifted over to the managed care organizations,
The Iowa Mercury: How rewarding was it to represent your country in the Paralympics?
Josh Turek: I always say that the proudest I've ever been in my life was being able to represent my country, but not only that, my state, my community and my family, at the Paralympic Games, and also to win a gold medal, which was which was my ultimate goal. And we had gone 28 years without winning a gold medal. And so to be a part of that team, it was the honor of my life, to be able to represent Council Bluffs, the State of Iowa, and the nation at large in an athletic competition.
The Iowa Mercury: Now, as we discussed, you are the first permanently, visibly disabled legislator in Iowa — in our history. That's a big responsibility when you consider how large the disabled population is.
Josh Turek: Depending on which metric you use, the population of permanently disabled individuals in the state of Iowa is somewhere between 15% and 23% of the population. You're talking about a significant portion there. And for that much of the population to have absolutely no voice and no representation in government, I think that's one of the main reasons why we've arrived in the situation we are in with our health care and employment numbers.
But it also is, to me, a travesty that we've gone in the State of Iowa, 160 years, with no representation of the disabled population. It's a huge responsibility. Whether it's a kid on a trip, a disabled veteran, anyone with a disability, for them to see me there in the Capitol building, and to know that there is someone up there fighting in a similar condition, that's an extraordinary privilege and opportunity.
The Iowa Mercury: Talking about the disabled community, what are the percentages of employment? My understanding is that levels of employment are shockingly low for the disability community, meaning there is potential there.
Josh Turek: It varies dramatically from state to state. Here in the State of Iowa we're running by some metrics, depending on your definition of disability, somewhere between 7% and 15% of the disabled population is gainfully and full-time employed. But again, it varies largely from state to state. For example, in Colorado, between 41 percent and 43 percent of the disabled are currently employed. We can strive to hit those higher numbers and keep improving.
The Iowa Mercury: There would seem to be lots of opportunities. What are the barriers preventing these opportunities, not only for the people who are disabled in our state, but the businesses that are really in need of workers, and even suffering right now, with a low unemployment rate that makes it difficult to find employees and is really threatening the survival, or at least or survival in Iowa, of many businesses?
Josh Turek: In terms of the opportunity, you're absolutely right, there's an enormous amount of opportunity.
We are talking about 15% of the population that we're only employing at 7%. That's a huge, huge portion that we are not employing. And also we have this unique opportunity that historically we have never had, which is one with this huge emphasis on diversity and inclusion in our workplace.
But secondarily, and probably more importantly, in terms of actual functionality, is we finally have this opportunity post COVID to actually be able to work remotely where transportation issues, which have been one of the largest hindrances for individuals with disabilities, are no longer in place.
Now, in terms of the barriers, those are extensive as well. I think the primary barrier on this, as I talked about the variance from state to state, is exclusively just policy.
The majority of these individuals are on Medicaid, and they have to keep their health care. That is the most meaningful portion, almost to the point of exclusivity of everything else that is almost irrelevant.
They cannot work unless they keep their health care. In the State of Iowa we have a situation where the asset limits and the income limits that are allowable prevent these individuals that oftentimes have masters' degrees and doctorates from being able to work even though they want to work.
We are impoverishing and we're de-incentivizing these individuals from being able to work because of what fear they have of losing their health care. And where you're seeing the states that are doing quite well, like Colorado, for example, is with what they've done in putting in place intelligent policies to be able to change those income and asset limits with Medicaid by programs.
The Iowa Mercury: What more can employers do, recognizing variance and job descriptions, building spaces, other factors, to attract and retain talented and and capable people with disabilities?
Josh Turek: The individuals with disabilities are distinct — every one is going to have a completely different skill set and completely different barriers. And so it's important to have what can sometimes be uncomfortable, tricky conversations, but effective conversations, with these individuals, saying, 'Okay, if you are a member of the blind community, what do you need? What barriers do you possess? What do we need technology wise, transportation wise?' The deaf are going to need something different. People with intellectual disabilities are going to need something different. Those of us with physical disabilities are going to have mobility devices. These are the type of things that employers need to focus on.
But more than anything, they just need to recognize the enormous benefits that it is having these competitive integrated employment models. This is not only the right thing to do from a business point of view, it's the right move morally, the right thing to do. This is also good for the bottom line, which is ultimately what corporations should be caring about, it's also going to improve their workplace, it's going to improve their culture. It's a net benefit in every single way.
The Iowa Mercury: Are there some things that people do or say, around people with disabilities, around somebody who is disabled visibly, as you are, that really bother or offend you? And how would you like to see people correct those mistakes, offenses, oversights, however we describe them?
Josh Turek: I think a majority of the time, it's not said directly to me, or it's not a look, but I know that there is a real stigma out there that is prevalent in society. That is the individual with disabilities when they're employed, it's viewed as exclusively tokenistic — that the average disabled worker is going to be less efficient, less productive, and and that stigma needs to go. We are talented and making a difference and the doors to more businesses and opportunities should be open to more people with disabilities. It's just good for the state, a win all around.
(Douglas Burns, a fourth-generation Iowa journalist from Carroll, is a member of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative. Please follow other writers on the roster below.)
If Colorado has policies that diminish the healthcare disincentives let's obtain and study them for action here in Iowa. This is the state of Tom Harkin, he of ADA fame and a hero to disabled everywhere, and a state that could use a good bipartisan issue.
Great column!