34 Years of Promoting Voluntary Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act

The Great Lakes ADA Center Celebrates 34 Years of Promoting Voluntary Compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act

July 26, 2024 marks the 34th Anniversary of the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This historic law bestowed 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. The ADA guarantees equal opportunity for individuals with disabilities to access businesses, employment, transportation, telecommunications, as well as state and local government programs and services.

Since last year’s ADA Anniversary, the law has experienced a number of exciting milestones, such as:

• The U.S. Access Board’s Final Rule on Public Right-of-Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG)
• The Department of Justice’s Final Rule on Web and Mobile Applications under Title II of the ADA
• The Department of Justice’s Statement of Interest on Gender Dysphoria as a Disability under the ADA

The Great Lakes ADA Center joins the disability community in celebrating these important updates which have provided much-needed clarity and modernization to the ADA as it nears its 34th year.

The Great Lakes ADA Center is one of 10 regional centers that make up the ADA National Network and serves six states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, and Wisconsin. The goal of the Center is to increase awareness and knowledge of the ADA with the ultimate goal of achieving voluntary compliance. This is accomplished through customized training, technical assistance, and resources developed by various experts, including the federal agencies responsible for enforcement of the ADA. While not an enforcement or regulatory agency themselves, the Great Lakes ADA Center serves a key role in promoting voluntary compliance with the ADA amongst various businesses, architecture firms, employers, state and local governments as well as a broad range of disability partners and advocates throughout the Midwest.

As part of their mission, the Great Lakes ADA Center funds a network of State Affiliates within each of the six states in their region. The mission of the Affiliates is to enhance and utilize local resources, training opportunities, technical assistance, and conferences to promote voluntary compliance with the ADA on the state and local level.

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:

The Great Lakes ADA Center is proud of their successes in promoting voluntary compliance with the ADA but also recognizes the importance of continued advocacy efforts and change to create a more accessible 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. You can also reach us via Text/SMS at 872-298-1019.