Question: My nephew fell off a ladder and was hurt badly. He became addicted to his pain medication and then heroin. He got him in trouble with the law. He is in recovery for his addiction and takes medication that helps him with his addiction. His parole officer says, he cannot continue to take his medication. They only allow Vivitrol. He has tried Vivitrol. It didn’t work for him. Is this a violation of the ADA?

The answer is at the end of the newsletter.

Thursday, January 5

2:30 p.m. - 4:00 p.m. EST

Zoom Webinar

Unique security features can pose challenges to designing accessible detention and correctional facilities. This webinar session will provide an overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Architectural Barriers Act (ABA) accessibility requirements for detention and correctional facilities. The presenters will review both scoping and technical provisions addressing holding cells and housing cells with mobility and communication features, visiting areas, and medical care facilities. Registration deadline is Wednesday, January 4, 2023.

Register for Accessible Detention and Correctional Facilities.

Image source: file photo.

Wednesday, January 11th

2:00 p.m. - 3:00 p.m. EST

Zoom Webinar

During this session individuals will have the opportunity to ask ADA professionals questions about accessible parking. To ensure your question is answered during the session, individuals are highly encouraged to submit their questions ahead of time via the registration website (option to submit questions is available after you have registered for the session). Registration deadline is Tuesday, January 10, 2023.

Register for Ask an ADA Professional: Parking and the ADA.

Image source: file photo.

January 10th and 11th, 2023

3:00 p.m.- 4:30 p.m. EST (each day)

Zoom Webinar

The Rehabilitation Research and Training Center for Place-Based Solutions for Rural Community Participation, Health, and Employment will host a virtual Rural Disability Research and Practice Summit. The summit will explore timely issues affecting rural people with disabilities. Each session will feature presentations and panel discussions on personal assistance services and rural digital access.

Register for Virtual Rural Disability Research and Practice Summit.

Image source: image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

January 10-11, 2023

Live Event – San Diego, California

The Great Plains ADA Center and the ADA Coordinator Training Certification Program (ACTCP) are please to invite you to this 2-day training which offers multiple sessions covering different aspects and Titles of the Americans with Disabilities Act. An ACTCP Law Enforcement Certificate will be available during this training event. The in-person conference will be held in San Diego, California. Hotel reservations within the discounted room block at the Wyndham San Diego Bayside must be made by December 23rd directly with the hotel. Conference registration closes on December 30th.

Register for the ADA Coordinator Training Winter Conference 2023.

Oce Harrison, Project Director receives award for extensive outreach to promote protections under the ADA to people with opioid use disorder, their family members, and addiction professionals; which vastly extending the scales of the work the Massachusetts Department of Justice does. The New England ADA Center continues to hold regular webinars to increase the impact of civil rights for people with addiction and in recovery. A ceremony took place October 2022 at the Federal Courthouse in Boston. Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory Dorchak (at left) presented Oce Harrison Project Director, with the award. She is joined by Gabriela Bonome-Sims (at right) Deputy Director, Institute for Human Centered Design.

Massachusetts United States Attorney's Office Honored the New England ADA Center for Exceptional Service in Community Outreach for Opioid Civil Rights Work.

Photo source: image courtesy o the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office.

For Ren Vanwagner, who lost both her legs to sepsis, the search for a home can be an uphill battle — the already small pool of housing options is further reduced by accessibility needs. Vanwagner was stuck living at a nursing home as she searched for housing. She waited 30 days there before she could finally move into a place of her own after an 11-month search. “Housing for people with disabilities is a huge crisis,” said Peter Johnke, deputy director of Vermont Center for Independent Living. “It’s gotten worse because of the housing crisis in general. But there was not enough accessible housing to begin with.”

For Vermonters with Disabilities, the Search for Housing is Hard.

Image source: image courtesy of VT Digger by Glenn Russell.

Recently, the Center for Public Representation (CPR) filed an ADA class action lawsuit on behalf of six people with disabilities in nursing facilities in Massachusetts. The lawsuit – one of the first cross-disability nursing facility cases in the nation – seeks to end the unnecessary institutionalization of people with disabilities in Massachusetts, by requiring the Commonwealth to provide integrated residential services and supports necessary to allow people to live full and productive lives.

The Center for Public Representation Files ADA Class Action to Stop Unnecessary Institutionalization of People with Disabilities.

Avalonia Land Conservancy, Inc. held a grand opening and dedication ceremony at the new Cedar Wood Preserve in Norwich, Connecticut. The preserve is to become one of the first accessible trails in the conservancy’s holdings. The flat terrain will accommodate about 1.5 miles of trails “amenable to accessibility modifications,” as board member Elanah Sherman put it. Carissa Decelles (on left) and Sherman begin their tour through the grass trails portion of the new preserve.

Cedar Wood Preserve in Norwich, Conn. Offers Access to Nature

Image source: image courtesy of The Day by Claire Bessette.

New England Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Center, a project of the Institute for Human Centered Design (IHCD), seeks an expert individual in all federal accessibility standards and regulations at their Boston, Massachusetts location. Successful candidates will provide advanced trainings on the ADA’s Title II, III, the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, and related New England state and federal disability rights laws (Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Fair Housing Act). The position will also direct the ADA Center’s technical assistance (TA) on the ADA. Candidates will supervise and train, as needed, the two ADA Center staff with primary daily responsibilities for TA and training. Additionally, the position will also provide seasoned expertise as needed to IHCD’s design and consulting team and contribute to occasional development of IHCD’s tailored guidance products on accessibility and Inclusive Design.

IHCD and the New England ADA Center Seeks a Director of ADA Training and Technical Assistance.

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), announced a proposed consent decree with the State of Iowa for allegations that conditions at Glenwood Resource Center, an institution for individuals with intellectual/developmental disabilities, violated the U.S. Constitution. The decree would resolve the DOJ's claims that the State exposed residents to unreasonable harm and serious risk of harm by subjecting them to uncontrolled and unsupervised experimentation, inadequate physical and behavioral health care and inadequate protection from harm, including deficient safety and oversight mechanisms.

Justice Department Secures Settlement with State of Iowa Addressing Unconstitutional Conditions at Glenwood Resource Center.

The focus on the opioid crisis has overshadowed the rise in stimulant overdose deaths. In 2019 there were more deaths involving stimulants than either prescription opioids or heroin. Greater understanding of the clinical characteristics and patterns of health-care utilization can help inform overdose prevention strategies targeting at-risk populations. The study investigates stimulant-involved overdoses in US veterans between 2012 and 2018.

“Not Just Opioids” - Trends and Patient Characteristics of Veterans Involved in Fatal Stimulant-Related Overdoses.

Image source: image courtesy of Recovery Research Institute.

The European Space Agency (ESA) revealed its "class of 2022", including five full-time astronauts. British Paralympic sprinter John McFall has been chosen as the first disabled astronaut by the ESA. He says he hopes to inspire others and show that "science is for everyone." More than 22,000 people applied to join the program - two-and-a-half times the interest level when it last ran a competitive process in 2008.

ESA Para-Astronaut Claims 'Potentially, space is for everyone'

Image source: image courtesy of the BBC.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to many employees working remotely. With the reopening of many businesses into a new normal there are some employees that would like to continue working remotely. According to Shaw-Rosenthal LLP, employers need not agree to continued remote work unless it is required as a reasonable accommodation under the ADA or similar state laws.

Remote Work May Be a Reasonable Accommodation Where the Employee Has Been, Well, Working Remotely.

Image source: image courtesy of rawpixel.

The first, “What Are the ADA Coordinator’s Responsibilities?” outlines how an ADA Coordinator must make sure that the public entity they work for meets its Title II responsibilities. They are the lead resource for accessibility and disability nondiscrimination regulations and should work with their public entity to comply with all Title II requirements The second fact sheet, “Telehealth and Federal Disability Laws,” discusses the three federal civil rights laws that prohibit discrimination against people with Disabilities, which applies to health care providers and cover both the in-person and telehealth services they provide.

Lois Curtis was the lead plaintiff in a landmark Supreme Court Olmstead decision that gave people with disabilities the right to seek care services in their own homes and communities, not just in institutions Her fight to return home led her to Sue Jamieson, an Atlanta Legal Aid lawyer who filed a lawsuit on behalf of Ms. Curtis and one of Ms. Curtis’s friends, Elaine Wilson. The case made its way to the Supreme Court, where in 1999 the justices delivered the landmark ruling.

The New England ADA Center Remembers Lois Curtis, Artist and Advocate for Disability Rights.

Image source: image courtesy of the Washington Post by Bob Child,

With deep sorrow, the U.S. Access Board announced the passing of Bobby Silverstein. His advocacy work on disability rights spanned over four decades, including his pivotal role in drafting and advancing the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. He passed away peacefully and was surrounded by family on November 17, 2022 at Reston Hospital Center in Virginia. “Bobby was a true pillar of disability rights and policy,” stated Access Board Executive Director Sachin Pavithran.

U.S. Access Board Mourns Passing of Disability Advocate Bobby Silverstein.

Image source: image courtesy of the U.S. Access Board.

Some autistic adults have difficulties in finding employment that matches their interests and talents – many are unemployed or underemployed. Autistic adults and youth may face barriers to finding the right training, work, or educational programs, accessing healthcare, and enjoying a fully inclusive life in their communities. This discussion will focus on resources and supports available for people with autism. 

Listen to A Successful Path to Employment: Innovative Supports for Autistic Workers (ISAW) Project.

 The Great Lakes ATTC is now conducting a follow-up research study on the use of virtual behavioral health services for its benefits and challenges. Complete the brief 10-minute survey. Your perspectives will help us gain a better understanding of: how behavioral health providers are using telehealth; the benefits of offering telehealth services for behavioral  healthcare; and the projected future use of telehealth services and technology.

Take the survey.

Image source: file photo.

The National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (NIDILRR) is seeking expert peer reviewers for several upcoming disability and rehabilitation research grant competitions. We are seeking expertise in all areas of disability and rehabilitation research. NIDILRR conducts all review meetings virtually, so reviewers do not have to travel to participate. Interested individuals who would like to be considered for NIDILRR’s peer review panels may submit their CV to [email protected].