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Upcoming Events

February 3: Paratransit Operations Series - Origin to Destination
February 4, : AccessibilityOnline - Federal Facilities and the ABA Standards
February 10: Paratransit Operations Series - PCAs, Companions and Visitors
February 17: Paratransit Operations Series - Scheduling
February 24: Paratransit Operations Series - The Appeals Process
March 4: AccessibilityOnline - Accessible Toilet and Bathing Facilities
April 1: AccessibilityOnline - Section 508 Standards Refresh
May 6: AccessibilityOnline - Vehicle Guideline Update
TBA: The ADA and Transportation presented by Marilyn Golden

In the News

Updated January 27, 2010

Free Webinar on the Accessibility Federal Buildings

The ADA National Network announces the 3rd session in the AccessibilityOnline Webinar series to be held February 4, 2010 from 2:30-4:00pm Eastern.

Federal Facilities and the ABA Standards

Whether you are responsible for a large project funded by the Recovery Act or the alteration of a Federal building, you need to know and follow the Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) Accessibility Standards. This session will help familiarize you with the ABA standards and other applicable requirements with emphasis on those governing federally funded alteration and renovation projects.

Speakers: Paul Beatty , Accessibility Specialist, Office of Technical and Information Services. US Access Board and Thomas N. Williams, AIA, General Services Administration (GSA)

Date: February 4, 2010, 2:30-4:00pm Eastern

Registration: www.accessibilityonline.org

Questions: 877-232-1990 (V/TTY) or adaconferences@adagreatlakes.org

Note: Questions submitted in advance will be given priority during the Q&A session. Individuals who are registered for the session may submit questions via the AccessibilityOnline website.

Free Online Conference Series on Paratransit Operations

Project ACTION, in Partnership with the ADA National Network, will present a free online conference series for four weeks in February. Promising Practices and Solutions in Accessible Transportation: Paratransit Operations Series will begin Feb. 3 and continue Feb. 10, 17 and 24. The deadline to register is Jan. 29. The one-hour sessions will feature nationally renowned experts addressing the topics of Origin to Destination; Personal Care Attendants, Companions and Visitors; Scheduling; and the Appeals Process. Each session will be presented via Webinar and teleconference. Connection information will be provided to registered participants.

Registration information for the Paratransit Operations Series .

Updated January 21, 2010

American Indians with Disabilities Public Awareness Campaign

January 13, 2010 – The Disability Law Lowdown podcast just posted a podcast called American Indians with Disabilities Public Awareness Campaign --a technology adoption model for individuals with disabilities from minority populations, with our guest, Andy Winnegar. This podcast features a discussion of assistive technology awareness and outreach “best practice” utilizing Andy Winnegar’s work with Everett Rogers and his diffusion model. Although his model is well documented, the application for people with disabilities, including those from minority populations, has not been.

Mr. Winnegar has been Deputy Director for Program Development and Support, New Mexico Division of Vocational Rehabilitation since 1991. He is the Director of the New Mexico Technology Assistance Program. He has authored successful federal proposals including working directly with Dr. Everett Rogers (Diffusion of Innovations Model) on the American Indian Public Awareness Campaign on Assistive Technology. Andy was co-principal investigator for the Consumer Funded Technology Transfer Network that developed interactions between consumers and NIDRR funded rehabilitation engineer centers, fifty state assistive technology programs and seven hundred federal laboratories. This project was acknowledged as a best practice by the National Center for Dissemination and Disability Research and also received the non-government recognition award from the Federal Laboratory Consortium for Technology Transfer.

The Disability Law Lowdown podcast is available at www.DisabilityLawLowdown.com, as well as on iTunes. People can listen to the podcast directing from a computer or can download it to an MP3 player, like an iPod.

The Disability Law Lowdown provides the latest information about disability rights and obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act, and other disability-related topics. Subscription is free.

The Disability Law Lowdown is provided by the National network of ten ADA Centers across the country, offering technical assistance and training in the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability-related laws. The Disability Law Lowdown is available in English, Spanish, and American Sign Language.

Updated December 3, 2009

Briefs Filed in Three States to Enforce Supreme Court’s Olmstead Decision

Posted by Tracy Russo on the U.S. Department of Justice's blog

Last week proved to be a landmark for federal enforcement of the Supreme Court decision in Olmstead v. L.C., a ruling requiring States to eliminate unnecessary segregation of persons with disabilities and to move persons who can function in the community out of segregated facilities.

The Olmstead decision has often been called the Brown v. Board of Education of the disability rights movement. Earlier this year, President Obama issued a proclamation launching the “Year of Community Living,” and has directed the Administration to redouble enforcement efforts.

Last week, the Justice Department filed amicus, or “friend of the court,” briefs in three separate cases in Connecticut, Virginia and New York. Thomas E. Perez, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the department’s Civil Rights Division stated:

“As the Supreme Court determined in the landmark Olmstead v. L.C. case, unjustified institutionalization stigmatizes individuals with disabilities as unworthy of participation in community life. New York, Virginia and Connecticut can successfully provide community-based housing, such as scattered site apartments with supportive services, and the law requires them to do so to prevent unnecessary institutionalization.”

On November 25th, the department filed a “friend of the court” brief in support of plaintiffs in Connecticut Protection and Advocacy v. State of Connecticut, and opposing a pending motion to dismiss the lawsuit in federal court in Connecticut. That case challenges the State’s lack of community placements for persons with disabilities who are housed in large, private nursing homes.

The United States filed a “friend of the court” brief in ARC of Virginia v. Timothy Kaine in Richmond, Virginia, federal district court on November 24th. That brief opposed Virginia’s motion to dismiss a case that challenges the State’s decision to spend millions of dollars to construct a new, large, segregated facility for persons with intellectual disabilities in Chesapeake, Virginia, who could be better served in the community in supported housing.

On November 24, 2009, the department also filed a brief in support of plaintiff’s proposed remedy in Disability Advocates Inc. v. David A. Paterson, et al. in federal district court in Brooklyn, where the court has already ruled that placement of persons with mental disabilities in “large adult homes” violates the Supreme Court decision in Olmstead.

In the New York lawsuit, Disability Advocates, Inc., the Justice Department has been permitted by the court to intervene in the ongoing case. The case was filed by a protection and advocacy agency, part of a national system of such organizations established to serve persons with disabilities by providing legal services that are partially federally-funded.

The court granted the United States’ motion to intervene on November 23rd, and earlier ordered briefs be submitted on proposed remedies in that case. The Department filed a memorandum on November 24th arguing in support of plaintiff’s proposed remedy to require 6,000 new community-based placements and against the State’s proposal to provide approximately 1,000 new community spaces in the state-run system.

The full and fair enforcement of the ADA and its mandate to integrate individuals with disabilities is a major priority of the Civil Rights Division. The ADA protects individuals with disabilities from discrimination by public entities. People interested in finding out more about the ADA can call the Justice Department’s toll-free ADA Information Line at 1-800-514-0301 or 1-800-514-0383 (TTY), or access its ADA Web site at http://www.ada.gov, where all relevant case filings can be found.

Updated November 25, 2009

Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008

Title II of the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008 (GINA) prohibits the use of genetic information in making employment decisions, restricts acquisition of genetic information by employers and other entities covered by Title II of GINA, and strictly limits the disclosure of genetic information.

Complaints should be filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).

GINA went into effect on November 21, 2009.

Updated April 21, 2009

Texas Healthcare Workers Wanted for Study Participation

April 21, 2009
Austin, Texas

Do you work in health care in Texas and have a colleague or supervise someone who has a disability? Or, are you a person with a disability who works in health care in Texas?

(By 'disability' we mean any kind of physical or mental impairment you currently have or had that lasted more than 6 months that limits or limited a major life activity for you — it could be arthritis, diabetes, a back injury, depression or a history of cancer or addiction to drugs or alcohol.— any health condition or impairment that currently does or in the past made it a lot harder for you than for the average person to walk, lift, sit, stand, read, concentrate, learn, see, hear, speak, bathe or engage in other major life activities.)

If so, researchers from SEDL would like to interview you about your work experiences.

We will give you a gift card of $25 as a thank you.

Focusing on those who work in hospital, medical and dental clinics and similar settings, the goal is to conduct one-on-one interviews, either face-to-face or by telephone, with individuals with disabilities, and with people who manage or supervise people with disabilities.

Please e-mail dbtac@sedl.org or call 1-800-476-6861 and ask for Kathleen Murphy to make arrangements. The research protocol has been reviewed by the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects of the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (HSC-MH-08-0373).

Updated April 6, 2009

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and the ADA: What You Need To Know

A reminder from the Department of Justice that the programs funded by the economic stimulus package must be accessible to people with disabilities and comply with ADA.

Updated April 8, 2009

Disability Law Handbook

The DBTAC Southwest ADA Center, a program of ILRU at TIRR Memorial Hermann, announces the publication of The Disability Law Handbook, a 50-page guide to the basics of the Americans with Disabilities Act and other disability related laws.

Written in an FAQ format, The Disability Law Handbook answers questions about the Americans with Disabilities Act, the ADA Amendments Act, the Rehabilitation Act, Social Security, the Air Carrier Access Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, the Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act, and the Fair Housing Act Amendments.

Currently, all printed copies have been given away and the handbook is now only available in electronic format.