Census: 30 percent on welfare disabled

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WASHINGTON, Feb. 26 (UPI) -- Almost one-third of the adults on public assistance in the United States are disabled, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

The bureau said that in 2011, 46 million people 18 and older were receiving some form of public assistance tied to income, with 30.4 percent having a physical or mental disability. The data for the report came from the American Community Survey.

"On average, people with disabilities have lower employment and earnings; therefore, understanding what assistance people with disabilities receive may help governments better coordinate and administer their programs," said Bernice Boursiquot, a statistician and co-author of the report.

Those receiving both cash and in-kind assistance like services, goods and vouchers had the highest rate of disability, 58.3 percent, the report said. About one-third, 33.2 percent, of those getting only cash assistance were disabled, as were 22.6 percent of those receiving only in-kind aid.

States along the Atlantic seaboard and those in the southwest had the lowest rates of disability among public assistance recipients. West Virginia, Kentucky and Arkansas were among the states with the highest levels of disability in their populations and among those getting public assistance.