News

New Publication by Southeast ADA team – The Americans with Disabilities Act and Medication Assisted Treatment in Correctional Settings.

Studies estimate that least 65% of people incarcerated in the United States have Substance Use Disorder (SUD). Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) is a proven effective treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD). MAT reduces the number of people who die each year from OUD by fifty percent and ninety percent of individuals in recovery maintain sobriety after two years. Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) covers the programs and services provided by state and local governments including correctional facilities. Under the ADA, correctional facilities must make reasonable modification to policies and practice to allow inmates in recovery to have access to MAT. In this article, we discuss how the ADA applies to correctional facilities and the impact that MAT has for people who have OUD.

Authors: Pamela Williamson and Barry Whaley

Keywords: Americans with Disabilities Act; ADA; Addiction; Substance use; Opioid use; Recovery;
Medication-Assisted Treatment; Medications for Opioid Use Disorder; Jails; Prisons; Correctional facilities

Read Full article: The Americans with Disabilities Act and Medication Assisted Treatment in Correctional Settings.

New Episode ADA Live! Episode 126: Synergies Work: Growing Disability-Owned Small Businesses

Description

Synergies Work is the largest non-profit in the United States that enables entrepreneurs with disabilities to build sustainable micro-enterprises. They provide end-to-end business solutions and bridge the opportunity gaps between the disability and the business communities. Synergies Work believes that empowering entrepreneurs with disabilities can create a more inclusive society and a better world for all. Continue Reading

New Publication – The Americans with Disabilities Act and Equal Access to Public Spaces by Burton Blatt Institute Leeds Team

Since the passage of the landmark Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the United States federal government, states, and localities have passed laws and created policies intended to ensure that people with disabilities had full and equal access to public spaces. Nevertheless, more than three decades after the ADA, people with disabilities continue to face architectural and other barriers to community inclusion and participation. Continue Reading

ADA Live! Episode 125: Applying the ADA’s Integration Mandate and Olmstead v. L.C. to Sheltered Employment and Day Services for People with Disabilities

According to the Department of Justice (DOJ), a significant number of individuals with disabilities spend their day receiving public services in sheltered workshops and facility-based day programs. In a report titled, Beyond Segregated and Exploited, the National Disability Rights Network (NDRN) estimates that over 400,000 people are sent to sheltered workshops where they earn less than the federal minimum wage. This environment results in stigmatization and a lack of economic independence. These settings segregate individuals from the community and provide little or no opportunity to interact with people without disabilities, other than paid staff. Continue Reading

ADA Live! Episode 124: Global Disability Rights and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities

Each year the United Nations recognizes December 3 as International Day of Persons with Disabilities. This year’s theme is “United in action to rescue and achieve the sustainable development goals for with and by people with disabilities.” In this episode we discuss the work and mission of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and highlight some of the important issues facing people with disabilities around the world. Continue Reading

Episode 123: Understanding the Effects of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)

On this episode of ADA Live! we discuss how people with disabilities can be affected by traumatic events or experiences, including post-traumatic stress disorder. The symptoms of PTSD vary from person to person and the effects can be delayed. People who have PTSD may meet the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) definition of a disability by having an impairment or condition that impacts one or more major life activities. Continue Reading

Episode 121: Suicide Awareness and Prevention

September is Suicide Awareness and Prevention Month, and September 10th is World Suicide Prevention Day. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC: “Suicide rates increased about 36% from 2000 to 2021. Suicide resulted in 48,183 deaths in 2021, which is about one death every 11 minutes. The number of people who think about or attempt suicide is even higher. In 2021 about 12.3 million American adults seriously thought about suicide, 3.5 million planned a suicide and 1.7 million attempted suicide. “ (Source: cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html) Continue Reading

Peter Blanck’s New Book – Advanced Introduction to U.S. Disability Law

Paperback Advanced Introduction to U.S. Disability Law Elgar Advanced Introductions series Peter Blanck, University Professor of Law, Syracuse University; Chairman, Burton Blatt Institute, US Publication Date: August 2023 ISBN: 978 1 80220 834 4 Extent: 196 pp Advanced Introduction to U.S. Disability LawAdvanced Introduction to U.S. Disability Law provides a timely and accessible overview of disability law in the United States, focusing primarily on the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (the ‘ADA’). Peter Blanck addresses the social and legislative history leading up to the development of the ADA; coverage and remedies under the ADA’s three main titles; some of the fundamental and recent cases informing the ADA’s interpretation; and current issues facing U.S. courts, law makers, and policy makers.

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Episode 119: Celebrate the ADA! Learn about ADA National Network and NIDILRR

Join our celebration of the 33rd anniversary of the ADA with our guest, Shelley Reeves, the ADA National Network Program Coordinator and Section 21 Program Coordinator for NIDILRR. On this episode we will learn more about NIDILLR’s mission, projects and programs that help each regional ADA Center in the ADA National Network serve and support diverse communities of people with disabilities and other ADA stakeholders throughout the United States.
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