Celebrating the 30th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and ADA Awareness Month
Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich and Montgomery County Council President Sidney Katz, recognizes the month of July to celebrate the accomplishments that Americans with disabilities have made to enrich our community and this monumental occasion on July 26th that marks the 30th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Today, we celebrate the improvements that have been made for people with disabilities and pledge to continue our efforts towards enhancing a fully inclusive community where people with disabilities have an equal shot at achieving the American dream.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the comprehensive, wide-ranging civil rights law enacted in 1990, protects people with disabilities from discrimination in employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications. The regulations implementing the law are organized into five titles or sections. Title II applies to public entities, including state and local governments, and prohibits discrimination based on disability in all aspects of government programs and services. Title II also requires that state and local governments communicate effectively with people with disabilities and make reasonable modifications to policies, procedures and practices upon request in order to provide qualified individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in all programs and services.
Recreation and Library
Montgomery County has a long commitment to the goals of the ADA. In 1977, thirteen years before the ADA was signed, Montgomery County expanded its Human Rights law to include protection against discrimination based on disability. In Montgomery County the Department of General Services has overall responsibility for ensuring that the County’s programs, services and activities are accessible for people with disabilities. The Department’s ADA Compliance Team provides training and technical assistance to County departments, ensures that buildings and facilities are built and maintained in accordance with the ADA, provides information and assistance to the public on the accessibility of County programs and services and administers the County’s Title II grievance procedure. The Office of Human Resources has responsibility for ensuring that the County’s employment policies, procedures and practices are implemented in compliance with the ADA.
All Montgomery County government departments and agencies work to ensure accessibility and welcome participation by people with disabilities in all of their programs and services. Click any of the links on the right to find out what the County is doing to ensure that is programs and services are accessible.