Welcome to Ask About the ADA from the Northeast ADA Center. When you tune into this podcast, you will learn about the Americans with Disabilities Act, an important civil rights law that protects the rights of people with disabilities to have equal opportunity and equal access in the US. Our goal is to help you understand the law and what it might mean for you and the people you know. For a transcript of today's episode, please visit the Ask About the ADA podcast feed on BuzzSprout.
>> Hello listeners, and welcome to the Ask About the ADA podcast. I'm Joe Zesky, the program manager of the Northeast ADA Center. We are so excited to bring you Americans with Disabilities Act information and resources on this podcast with this new show.
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The ADA, of course, is a civil rights law that protects the rights of people with disabilities in many aspects of society. Our center, the Northeast ADA, serves New York, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. We are also a part of what is known as the ADA National Network. Our organization is funded by the national institute on disability, independent living, and rehabilitation research. The ADA National Network is made up of 10 regional centers throughout the U.S. that lead the way in providing information, guidance, and training on how to implement the ADA in order to support the mission of the law, which is to share a quality of opportunity, full participation, independent living, and economic self-sufficiency for individuals with disabilities. We, at the Northeast ADA, answer ADA related questions from the public and we try to tailor our information and answers to every individual circumstance. We offer referrals, research, and outreach to promote the inclusion of people with disabilities in every aspect of community living. Keep in mind though, we are not a part of the government and we have no enforcement role under the law. We are also not an advocate organization, but rather we're more of an educational body that try to support the public in implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act. So why are we podcasting? We want to adapt some of our resources to be more conversational and casual since understanding how exactly the ADA applies can be complicated and confusing. We're releasing one episode each week that covers a different commonly asked ADA question. We have adapted these topics from real questions that we've received at the center that people have asked us and our technical assistance team. Of course, we've made some changes. We've removed any and all identifying information, that way we can maintain confidentiality, but also so that we can make the questions more relevant to more people. Many of us are aware of the main goals of the ADA, but every situation is different and needs a case-by-case examination.
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Then once a month, we'll bring you a longer episode for a deeper dive into an ADA related topic. This longer form episode will feature interviews with experts in the field.
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I hope you'll join us for the Ask About the ADA podcast. We'll cover a wide variety of ADA related questions and situations, and we'll do our best to keep the information as straightforward as possible. Although the ADA was passed way back in 1990, there is still so much more to do to include people with disabilities in every aspect of community living. And if you're committed to inclusion like we are, join us weekly and bring your tough questions and conversations.
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If you want us to answer your question on the podcast or if you just need some technical assistance on how the ADA might apply in your circumstance, reach out and contact the Northeast ADA Center by telephone at 1-800-949-4232, by email at northeastADA@cornell.edu, or by visiting our website and submitting a question there. Our website is www.northeastADA.org. You can also follow the Northeast ADA Center on social media, just search for Northeast ADA on Twitter, Facebook, and on Instagram. Subscribe now on your favorite podcasting platform and tune in each week as we tackle another ADA related question. Thank you for listening. Let's continue the conversation.
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