The Disability Connection
1-877-755-5222
dconnection@alleghenycounty.us
The Disability Connection
441 Smithfield Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
In order to elevate the issues of quality of life, equal opportunity and effective participation in the community for all people with disabilities in Allegheny County, the Department of Human Services (DHS), through the Office of Community Relations, has created The Disability Connection to help coordinate efforts to improve services to people with disabilities.
For purposes of nondiscrimination laws (e.g. the Americans with Disabilities Act, Section 503 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and Section 188 of the Workforce Investment Act), a person with a disability is generally defined as someone who (1) has a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more "major life activities," (2) has a record of such an impairment, or (3) is regarded as having such an impairment. (from the US Department of Labor www.dol.gov/odep/faqs/federal.htm)
The Disability Connection embraces the concept that a person should not be defined by his or her disability. If the physical environment were universally accessible and the community’s attitudes open and accepting, disability would cease to be a barrier to full inclusion in the community.
Pennsylvania Property Tax /Rent Rebate Program
Revised regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) took effect on March 15, 2011. The revised rules are the Department of Justice’s first major revision of its guidance on accessibility in 20 years. The regulations apply to the activities of more than 80,000 units of state and local government and more than seven million places of public accommodation, including stores, restaurants, shopping malls, libraries, museums, sporting arenas, movie theaters, doctors’ and dentists’ offices, hotels, jails and prisons, polling places, and emergency preparedness shelters. (Revised ADA Regulations Implementing Title II and Title III)
Overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act
The ADA consists of the following five titles:
Title I - Employment (all Title II employers and private employers with 15 or more employees) prohibits discrimination in employment against people with disabilities. It requires employers to make reasonable accommodations to the known physical or mental limitations of a qualified applicant or employee, unless such accommodation would impose an undue hardship on the employer. Reasonable accommodations include such actions as making worksites accessible, modifying existing equipment, providing new devices, modifying work schedules, restructuring jobs, and providing readers or interpreters.
Title II - Public Services (state and local government including public school districts and public transportation) requires that the services and programs of local and State governments, as well as other non-Federal government agencies, shall operate their programs so that when viewed in their entirety are readily accessible to and usable by individuals with disabilities.
Title III - Public Accommodations and Services Operated by Private Entities. In providing goods and services, a public accommodation may not use eligibility requirements that exclude or segregate individuals with disabilities, unless the requirements are "necessary" for the operation of the public accommodation.
Title IV - Telecommunications requires that telephone companies provide telecommunications relay services that allow individuals with hearing impairments to communicate using a TTY or other non-voice device.
Title V - Miscellaneous Provisions includes information regarding the ADA's relationship with other federal and state laws, including the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, requirements relating to the provision of insurance, construction and design regulations by the U.S. Access Board, prohibition of state immunity, inclusion of Congress as a covered entity under the law, promotion of alternative means of dispute resolution, and establishment of technical assistance resources.
Voices of Our Region
The Disability Connection is celebrating and preserving the life stories of people with disabilities in the Western Pa. region by recording them and making them available through the public library system.