The Americans with Disabilities Act: implications for social services

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, and telecommunications. The act prohibits denying individuals with disabilities the opportunity to participate in a program or service or providing a service that is not equal to or that is different or separate from that given others. This article provides examples of possible barriers to full participation that might exist in social services and gives illustrations of reasonable modifications to increase access. Employers, private and government, profit and nonprofit, must make reasonable physical accommodations for disabled employees, unless such accommodation would cause undue hardship. This article gives examples of reasonable accommodations and undue hardship and discusses the ADA as a resource to clients with mental and physical disabilities and as a framework of protection for agencies serving them.