M.S. Applied Data Science - Capstone Chronicles 2025

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economic return on educational attainment for this group. Even with college degrees, many disabled individuals encounter employment discrimination, insufficient workplace accommodations, and restricted career mobility. As a result, education does not yield the same poverty-reducing effect observed among non-disabled individuals (Kim et al., 2022). This issue matters deeply for both societal equity and policy effectiveness. Persistent poverty among educated disabled adults indicates inefficiencies in workforce programs and potential gaps in ADA compliance. Understanding where education fails to provide economic security allows stakeholders — government agencies, nonprofits, and employers — to intervene strategically. For this research team, the motivation is twofold: to contribute to social-impact analytics through robust data science and to provide actionable insights that can help close these systemic gaps in Illinois communities. Definition of Objectives This project aims to quantify and visualize how disability status moderates the relationship between education and poverty at the community level. The core objectives are: 1. Identify correlations among education level, disability status, and poverty outcomes across Illinois census tracts. The analysis will be conducted at the census-tract level rather than on individual-level data, ensuring privacy and enabling spatial comparisons across regions. Aggregate-level control variables, such as median income and labor-force participation rate, will be included to contextualize poverty outcomes. 2. Use demographic and spatial variables to highlight areas where disabled individuals experience disproportionate disadvantage. 3. Apply geospatial mapping and statistical modeling to examine whether higher education offers equal protection against poverty for disabled and non disabled populations. 2.3

2 Background 2.1 General Information on the Topic

Socioeconomic disparities in the United States are closely linked to both education and disability status. The U.S. Census Bureau’s (2024) American Community Survey shows that individuals with disabilities have a median household income nearly 40 percent lower than those without disabilities, even when controlling for education level. In Illinois, approximately 12 percent of adults report at least one disability, and poverty affects this group at disproportionately high rates, especially in rural and post-industrial regions. These conditions are compounded by unequal access to quality schooling, employment opportunities, and workplace accommodations. The American Community Survey (ACS) is an annual, nationally representative dataset collected by the U.S. Census Bureau. It provides detailed demographic, economic, and social information at granular geographic levels, including census tracts. Because of its large sample size, consistent methodology, and inclusion of variables related to education, employment, and disability, it is the most appropriate and reliable data source for this project’s community-level analysis. (U.S. Census Bureau, 2024) Technological progress and remote learning have expanded accessibility, yet barriers remain in the transition from education to employment. Studies emphasize that structural discrimination, limited assistive resources, and regional labor-market constraints perpetuate these gaps (She & Carter, 2023). Consequently, a comprehensive, data-driven view of how disability, education, and geography intersect is essential to inform equitable policy and targeted resource distribution. Problem Identification and Motivation Despite national attention to disability rights and inclusion, economic outcomes for people with disabilities continue to lag. The problem lies not only in access to education but also in the limited 2.2

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