Boston Mayor Michelle Wu on July 16 announced new disability data standards to support the design and operation of city services, programs and policies for people with disabilities.
The City of Boston Disabilities Commission, in partnership with the Department of Innovation and Technology (DoIT), will add and standardize “meaningful” data by speaking with Boston residents, utilizing literature reviews, process tracking and research.
The new standards, the mayor’s office said, “are intended to provide more dignified experiences for all residents and expand opportunities for people with disabilities across Boston’s neighborhoods.”
The previous Disability Survey of Boston Residents asked participants general questions about how their disability affects them in addition to their gender, race, language and age.
The new standardized data will focus on preferred language around disability, the experience of voting in Boston and onboarding as a city employee with a disability. The goals of the standardized dataset include implementing recommendations on voter accessibility and incorporating more diverse language for city employees to describe their disabilities.
“Boston is home to over 78,000 residents with disabilities and we know historically this community has not been fully included in city services and underserved in data standardization efforts,” said Wu. “These new guidelines will create a common format for all city departments to collect data on disability – improving our services and creating a more welcoming experience for residents.”
Responses to questions such as “which of the following do you typically need to access services and events? (Select all that apply)” with 11 options and the ability to write a response will be included in the data collection.
A key guideline in the standardization initiative is to allow multiple ways for respondents to participate.
“Understanding how disability impacts residents’ participation in City of Boston programs and services is much more valuable than knowing residents’ medical diagnosis, in most cases,” said City of Boston Disability Commission and ADA Title II Coordinator Kristen McCosh. “We expect the new data standardization to be more effective when planning and implementing programs, events and services, because now we are asking people what people really need.”
