The Great Lakes ADA Center Celebrates 31 years of promoting voluntary compliance of the Americans with Disabilities Act

July 26, 2021 marks the 31^st anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This historic law gives civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities similar to those provided to individuals on the basis of race, color, sex, national origin, age, and religion. It guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities to access businesses, employment, transportation, telecommunications, as well as State and local government programs and services.

The Great Lakes ADA Center is part of the National ADA network which provides information on the ADA that facilitates voluntary compliance via a broad and diverse network of partners across the Midwest. The states served by the Center are Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin.

The Great Lakes Center funds State Affiliates to help foster voluntary compliance of the ADA within the six states. The Center works with the State Affiliates and other organizations in order to provide technical assistance, trainings, and materials on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and on accessible information technology. The mission of the Affiliates is to enhance and utilize local resources, trainings, technical assistance, and conferences, in order to get voluntary compliance with the ADA. The Affiliates serve as a centralized and statewide vehicle that educates and promotes full implementation of the ADA throughout the state.

Each Affiliate provides the following services:

• Education, training, and topic specific presentations
• Connection to a network of local and national agencies
• Publications with information on employment, accessibility, reasonable accommodations, etc.

More information regarding our Affiliates can be found at:

• Illinois ADA Project - http://www.ada-il.org
• ADA Indiana - http://www.adaindiana.org
• Michigan ADA Steering Committee - http://www.adamich.org
• ADA Minnesota - http://www.adaminnesota.org
• Access Ohio - http://www.access-ohio.org/
• Wisconsin ADA Partnership - http://www.adawipartnership.org

The Great Lakes ADA Center is proud of our involvement promoting voluntary compliance with the ADA. However, the center recognizes the importance of continued efforts and looks forward to positive changes in the future. For more information about the Great Lakes ADA Center please call 1-800-949-4232 (V/TTY), 312-413-1856 (Fax) or visit our website at http://www.adagreatlakes.org.