How to hire a disability specialist

Disability specialist hiring summary. Here are some key points about hiring disability specialists in the United States:

In the United States, the median cost per hire a disability specialist is $1,633.
It takes between 36 and 42 days to fill the average role in the US.
Human Resources use 15% of their expenses on recruitment on average.
On average, it takes around 12 weeks for a new disability specialist to become settled and show total productivity levels at work.

How to hire a disability specialist, step by step

To hire a disability specialist, you need to identify the specific skills and experience you want in a candidate, allocate a budget for the position, and advertise the job opening to attract potential candidates. To hire a disability specialist, you should follow these steps:

Here's a step-by-step disability specialist hiring guide:

Step 1: Identify your hiring needs
Step 2: Create an ideal candidate profile
Step 3: Make a budget
Step 4: Write a disability specialist job description
Step 5: Post your job
Step 6: Interview candidates
Step 7: Send a job offer and onboard your new disability specialist
Step 8: Go through the hiring process checklist

What does a disability specialist do?

A disability examiner is primarily in charge of conducting assessments and examinations to determine an applicant's eligibility for disability benefits and programs. Their duties usually include reviewing medical and health records, conducting interviews, and evaluating applications. There are also times when a disability examiner must directly coordinate with healthcare providers to obtain and assess records. Moreover, as a disability examiner, it is essential to assist clients by answering inquiries, providing instructions and advice, and helping them understand the extent of procedures.

Learn more about the specifics of what a disability specialist does

Post a disability specialist job for free, promote it for a fee

Identify your hiring needs

Before you post your disability specialist job, you should take the time to determine what type of worker your business needs. While certain jobs definitely require a full-time employee, it's sometimes better to find a disability specialist for hire on a part-time basis or as a contractor.

Determine employee vs contractor status

Is the person you're thinking of hiring a US citizen or green card holder?

Hiring the perfect disability specialist also involves considering the ideal background you'd like them to have. Depending on what industry or field they have experience in, they'll bring different skills to the job. It's also important to consider what levels of seniority and education the job requires and what kind of salary such a candidate would likely demand.

Here's a comparison of disability specialist salaries for various roles:

Type of Disability Specialist	Description	Hourly rate
Disability Specialist	Social and human service assistants provide client services, including support for families, in a wide variety of fields, such as psychology, rehabilitation, and social work. They assist other workers, such as social workers, and they help clients find benefits or community services.	$13-38
Addictions Counselor	An Addictions Counselor helps patients overcome personal addiction problems, such as dependence on drugs, alcohol, and other substances. They evaluate the condition of their client through examining, asking questions, and recommending the proper treatment options.	$15-32
Therapeutic Support Staff	A therapeutic support staff member specializes in providing guidance and counseling to individuals with emotional support needs, mainly children. They are primarily responsible for building rapport with clients while assessing their different conditions and needs... Show more	$12-20

Create an ideal candidate profile
Common skills:
- Social Work
- Rehabilitation
- Developmental Disabilities
- Social Security Administration
- Mental Health
- Workers Compensation
- FMLA
- Community Resources
- Claims Process
- Medicaid
- CPR
- Short-Term Disability
- Vocational Rehabilitation
- Ssdi
Check all skills
Responsibilities:
- Manage programs dealing with TSG, COPA and enrollment.3.
- Manage and maintain eight classrooms with twenty-one staff members and 102 EHS and HS children.2.
- Track and manage HR/Payroll leave records; liaise with payroll to ensure accurate leave usage and balance.
- Refer staff to disability case managers, vocational rehabilitation services or community resources.
- Provide clients assistance with daily (ADL's).
- Attend various funding meetings, rallies and trainings pertaining to EHS and HS.4.
More disability specialist duties

Make a budget

Including a salary range in the disability specialist job description is a good way to get more applicants. A disability specialist salary can be affected by several factors, such as the location of the job, the level of experience, education, certifications, and the employer's prestige.

For example, the average salary for a disability specialist in Montana may be lower than in Illinois, and an entry-level engineer typically earns less than a senior-level disability specialist. Additionally, a disability specialist with lots of experience in the field may command a higher salary as a result.

Average disability specialist salary

$48,662yearly

$23.40 hourly rate

Entry-level disability specialist salary

$29,000 yearly salary

Updated January 11, 2026

Average disability specialist salary by state

Rank	State	Avg. salary	Hourly rate
1	District of Columbia	$72,781	$35
2	Illinois	$71,111	$34
3	Nevada	$68,000	$33
4	California	$67,919	$33
5	Washington	$66,732	$32
6	New York	$62,879	$30
7	Connecticut	$62,861	$30
8	Massachusetts	$62,288	$30
9	New Jersey	$61,024	$29
10	Oregon	$59,493	$29
11	Arizona	$59,486	$29
12	Virginia	$56,555	$27
13	Florida	$54,584	$26
14	Wyoming	$52,022	$25
15	Texas	$51,889	$25
16	Minnesota	$49,705	$24
17	Louisiana	$48,505	$23
18	Alabama	$48,134	$23
19	Pennsylvania	$47,985	$23
20	Ohio	$47,318	$23

Average disability specialist salary by company

Rank	Company	Average salary	Hourly rate	Job openings
1	Stanford University	$77,523	$37.27	6
2	University of California-Berkeley	$76,920	$36.98
3	CDC Foundation	$71,787	$34.51
4	RemX	$71,009	$34.14
5	Rutgers University	$69,634	$33.48
6	Law School Admission Council	$65,517	$31.50
7	Ibero American Action League	$65,496	$31.49	1
8	Boeing	$63,737	$30.64	3
9	The University System of Maryland Foundation	$62,898	$30.24
10	One Vision	$62,298	$29.95
11	Broward County Public Schools	$62,214	$29.91
12	Peoples Health	$59,059	$28.39	6
13	Universal Health Services	$57,026	$27.42	19
14	The City University of New York	$56,961	$27.39	4
15	Washington College	$56,468	$27.15
16	Via of the Lehigh Valley	$55,040	$26.46
17	Deschutes County	$54,020	$25.97	1
18	The Mosaic Company	$53,816	$25.87
19	Avondale House	$52,315	$25.15
20	Lane County Engineer	$51,866	$24.94

Writing a disability specialist job description
A good disability specialist job description should include a few things:
- Summary of the role
- List of responsibilities
- Required skills and experience
Including a salary range and the first name of the hiring manager is also appreciated by candidates. Here's an example of a disability specialist job description:
Disability specialist job description example
+ Jobs

+ Login

+ Fort Dodge, IA, USA

+ Full Time

Health Ins, Life Ins, Dental Ins, FSA, HSA, paid holidays, sick leave and vacation time.

Email Me Similar Jobs Email Me This Job

One Vision is seeking to hire a Full-time Qualified Intellectual Disability Professional (QIDP) to support individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities in our Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF) in Fort Dodge, Iowa.

Our full-time QIDP earn a competitive compensation package including a sign-on bonus and referral bonus program after hire. We also offer excellent benefits including health, dental, life insurance, a 401k plan, paid holidays, paid sick time and vacation time. If this sounds like the opportunity that you've been looking for, apply today!

ABOUT ONE VISION One Vision is a nonprofit organization that provides services to individuals with intellectual and physical disabilities so they may achieve greater purpose and independence through personal choice and community involvement. Our vision is to inspire meaningful lives by connecting people with purpose, whether that purpose is obtaining a job, finding a home that meets an individual's needs and wants, or supporting personal interests.

We believe our employees are our most important asset which is why we offer a competitive salary, exceptional benefits, and excellent working conditions. At One Vision, our employees often find purpose through supporting others. Your co-workers and the people you support become like family, and through our shared goals, we forge meaningful connections with one another. Come join our team!

Our QIDP staff help coordinate the care of our individuals living in ICF homes. This includes identifying supported individual goals, monitoring progress and overseeing the care team of the individual. The QIDP also supervises the team leader who supervises the staff who work directly with individuals ensuring individuals are safe and their personal welfare and rights are supported.

QIDP is also responsible for ensuring that these facilities are following federal, state and national accreditation.

QUALIFICATIONS

+ Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science in a human service-related field.

OR

+ Registered Nurse (RN) with 1-year relatable experience supporting individuals.

AND

+ Professional verbal and written communication skills.

+ Proficient Computer skills for documentation. (Microsoft and THERAP)

+ Valid Drivers License, ability to pass drug screen and background check.

Do you possess these skills? Do you enjoy working with individuals with disabilities? Are you looking for a job with meaning? If so, we want to meet you!

ARE YOU READY TO JOIN OUR TEAM? If you feel that you would be right for this job, please fill out our initial 3-minute, mobile-friendly application so that we can review your information. We look forward to meeting you!
Post your job
To find the right disability specialist for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:
- Consider internal talent. One of the most important sources of talent for any company is its existing workforce.
- Ask for referrals. Reach out to friends, family members, and current employees and ask if they know or have worked with disability specialists they would recommend.
- Recruit at local colleges. Attend job fairs at local colleges to recruit disability specialists who meet your education requirements.
- Social media platforms. LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter now have more than 3.5 billion users, and you can use social media to reach potential job candidates.
Post your job online:
- Post your disability specialist job on Zippia to find and recruit disability specialist candidates who meet your exact specifications.
- Use field-specific websites.
- Post a job on free websites.
Interview candidates
To successfully recruit disability specialists, your first interview needs to engage with candidates to learn about their interest in the role and experience in the field. You can go into more detail about the company, the role, and the responsibilities during follow-up interviews.
It's also good to ask about candidates' unique skills and talents. You can move on to the technical interview if a candidate is good enough for the next step.
The right interview questions can help you assess a candidate's hard skills, behavioral intelligence, and soft skills.
Send a job offer and onboard your new disability specialist
Once you've selected the best disability specialist candidate for the job, it's time to write an offer letter. In addition to salary, this letter should include details about the benefits and perks you offer the candidate. Ensuring that your offer is competitive is essential, as qualified candidates may be considering other job opportunities. The candidate may wish to negotiate the terms of the offer, and you should be open to discussion. After you reach an agreement, the final step is formalizing the agreement with a contract.
It's equally important to follow up with applicants who don't get the job with an email letting them know that the position has been filled.
Once that's done, you can draft an onboarding schedule for the new disability specialist. Human Resources should complete Employee Action Forms and ensure that onboarding paperwork is completed, including I-9s, benefits enrollment, federal and state tax forms, etc. They should also ensure that new employee files are created for internal recordkeeping.
Go through the hiring process checklist
- Determine employee type (full-time, part-time, contractor, etc.)
- Submit a job requisition form to the HR department
- Define job responsibilities and requirements
- Establish budget and timeline
- Determine hiring decision makers for the role
- Write job description
- Post job on job boards, company website, etc.
- Promote the job internally
- Process applications through applicant tracking system
- Review resumes and cover letters
- Shortlist candidates for screening
- Hold phone/virtual interview screening with first round of candidates
- Conduct in-person interviews with top candidates from first round
- Score candidates based on weighted criteria (e.g., experience, education, background, cultural fit, skill set, etc.)
- Conduct background checks on top candidates
- Check references of top candidates
- Consult with HR and hiring decision makers on job offer specifics
- Extend offer to top candidate(s)
- Receive formal job offer acceptance and signed employment contract
- Inform other candidates that the position has been filled
- Set and communicate onboarding schedule to new hire(s)
- Complete new hire paperwork (i9, benefits enrollment, tax forms, etc.)
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How much does it cost to hire a disability specialist?

Before you start to hire disability specialists, it pays to consider both the one-off costs like recruitment, job promotion, and onboarding, as well as the ongoing costs of an employee's salary and benefits. While most companies that hire disability specialists pay close attention to the initial cost of hiring, ongoing costs are much more significant in the long run.

The median annual salary for disability specialists is $48,662 in the US. However, the cost of disability specialist hiring can vary a lot depending on location. Additionally, hiring a disability specialist for contract work or on a per-project basis typically costs between $13 and $38 an hour.

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Updated January 11, 2026

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How to hire a disability specialist