The 2021 Youth Transition Report - Outcomes for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Damian

The 2021 Youth Transition Report examines persistent gaps in education and employment outcomes between youth and young adults with disabilities and those without disabilities in the United States. It provides comparative national and state-level analysis for ages 14 to 24, focusing on education attainment, college enrollment, employment, opportunity youth, and poverty indicators. The report uses Public Use Microdata Sample (2015-2019 ACS 5-year estimates) and highlights statistically significant disparities, with a structure aligned to prior reports.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages49

Reading Time2 h 3 min

AccessFree to download

Acknowledgments

Contents

Introduction

About the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL)

Purpose of This Report

Methods

Suggested Citation

2021 Report Highlights

Disability Rates

Education and Disability

High School Attainment

College Enrollment and Attainment

Employment and Disability

Opportunity Youth with Disabilities

Opportunity Youth and Young Adults

Poverty and Disability

Discussion

Appendices

The 2021 Youth Transition Report: Outcomes for Youth and Young Adults with Disabilities [www.iel.org](www.iel.org | Fax: 202-872-4050)[ |](www.iel.org | Fax: 202-872-4050)[ Fax: 202-872-4050](www.iel.org | Fax: 202-872-4050) 4301 Connecticut Ave. N.W. | Suite 100 | Washington, DC 20008 Copyright © 2021 Institute for Educational Leadership Acknowledgments This report was produced by the Institute for Educational Leadership, Inc. (IEL) to examine the persistent gaps in educational and employment outcomes for youth and young adults with disabilities in the United States. The report focuses on comparative data for youth and young adults with and without disabilities between the ages of 14 and 24, including those opportunity youth that education and workforce systems have failed to adequately support, to highlight the needs of this transition age population. This information can support practitioners, policymakers, and researchers to better understand and serve this population. The authors wish to thank Helen Janc Malone for her quality reviews of the report drafts and support for this work. Contents Acknowledgments ................................ 2 Contents .......................................... 3 Introduction ....................................... 4 2021 Report Highlights ............................ 6 Disability Prevalence ............................... 8 Education and Disability ......................... 12 High School Attainment .......................... 12 College Enrollment and Attainment ............... 15 Employment and Disability ....................... 19 Opportunity Youth with Disabilities ............... 23 Opportunity Youth and Young Adults ............. 23 Poverty and Disability ............................ 26 Discussion ........................................ 29 Appendices ....................................... 33 Introduction About the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) The Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) is a national expert in community-driven leadership development in the intersecting areas of education, employment, and health. The common thread in our work is supporting community and institutional leaders as they build systems around racial, disability inclusion, and economic equity goals. Since 1964, our journey and experiences have resulted in approaches, tools, and practices that reflect the needs of leaders no matter where they sit in communities. The authentic relationships that we build in the process shape the way we engage community leaders, do our work, and provide the foundation for deeper impact as we continue to address systemic challenges in the 400 plus communities that trust us as partners. Purpose of This Report The 2021 Youth Transition Report underscores the persistent and pernicious gap between youth and young adults with disabilities and those without disabilities on measures of success in education, employment, opportunity, and poverty. While data and reports exist for the working-age adult population and children with disabilities, IEL recognized a lack of information specific to the youth and young adult population in the 14-24 age group. IEL’s Youth Transition Report addresses this need by presenting an annual snapshot of the outcome gaps between youth and young adults with disabilities and those without disabilities, including those opportunity youth whom the education and workforce systems have not adequately served and supported. This report consists of the status of the selected population, education, employment, opportunity youth, and poverty indicators. IEL has also produced a supplemental Change Analysis report that can be found on our website: [https://iel.org/iel-youth-transition-reports](https://iel.org/iel-youth-transition-reports)outcomes-for-youth-and-young-adults-with-disabilities/. Methods Key population, education, employment, and opportunity youth indicators are derived from

FAQs

What population does the 2021 Youth Transition Report analyze?

It compares youth and young adults with and without disabilities in the United States, covering ages 14 to 24. Youth are defined as ages 14 to 17, and young adults as ages 18 to 24.

What data sources and methods does the report use?

Key indicators come from the Public Use Microdata Sample (PUMS) population file using 2015–2019 ACS 5-year estimates. The report includes custom analysis at national and state levels and calculates statistically significant gaps.

Which outcome areas are included in the report highlights?

The highlights focus on disability prevalence and the outcomes tied to education and employment, including high school attainment, college enrollment and attainment, employment outcomes, opportunity youth, and poverty indicators.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Damian