Smaller Text  Normal Text  Larger Text

Iowa Disability Rights

Our Purpose
Iowa Protection and Advocacy Services, Inc., is a federally funded program that will protect and advocate for the human and legal rights that ensure individuals with disabilities and/or mental illness a free, appropriate, public education, employment opportunities, and residence or treatment in the least restrictive environment or method and for freedom from stigma.  Iowa Protection and Advocacy Services will support people with disabilities to secure their rights and full participation as citizens through a program of self-advocacy education, information and referral, non-legal advocacy, and legal and systems advocacy.

Our Mission Statement
To defend and promote the human and legal rights of Iowans who have disabilities.

Become a fan on Facebook.  
Click here to check out the Iowa Protection and Advocacy page on Facebook and be sure to become a fan.

 

The Americans with Disabilities Act:
19 Years of Progress
By Senator Tom Harkin
 
This month, we commemorate the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) – the landmark civil rights law securing the rights of people with disabilities.  As chief Senate sponsor of this legislation, I remember the day it was signed into law – June 26, 1990 – as one of the proudest in my entire legislative career.

Nineteen years later, we have made amazing progress.  Thanks to the ADA, streets, buildings and transportation are more accessible for people with physical impairments.  Information is offered in alternative formats, so that it is usable by individuals with visual or hearing impairments.  These changes are all around us, and are so integrated into our daily lives that it is sometimes hard to remember how the world was before.  Employers are required to provide reasonable accommodations so that people with disabilities can have equal opportunity in the workplace.    And we have advanced the four goals of the ADA – equality of opportunity, full participation, independent living and economic self-sufficiency.

Just as important, because of ADA, we have seen an enormous change in attitudes.  It used to be socially acceptable to treat people with disabilities as second-class citizens, to exclude and marginalize them. Today, by contrast, the expectation is that we will do what it takes to give people with disabilities not just physical access, but an equal opportunity in our schools, in our workplaces, in all areas of our economy and society. We recognize that people with disabilities – like all people – have unique abilities, talents and aptitudes.  And that America is better, fairer, and richer when we make full use of those gifts.

We have not yet arrived at the Promised Land – certainly not with a 60 percent unemployment rate among people with disabilities.  We have a long way to go. But, on this anniversary, we have much to celebrate. 

On July 26, 1990, when he signed ADA into law, President George Herbert Walker Bush spoke with great eloquence.  And I will never forget his final words before taking up his pen.  He said, “Let the shameful wall of exclusion finally come tumbling down.” 

Nearly two decades later, that wall is indeed falling.  The ADA has opened doors, created opportunity, and transformed lives.  Let us continue this progress!

To watch a video of the speech I gave on the Senate floor in honor of the 19th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, go to http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZAyN4FCG3I.
SlideshowSlideshow

Who We Are

Who We Are

Iowa Protection and Advocacy Services, Inc. (Iowa P&A) is an independent, non-profit agency. We are not affiliated with any governmental entity or service provider. We are federally funded, as part of the nationwide protection and advocacy system created by federal law, to serve people with developmental disabilities, mental illnesses, and other disabilities. Click Here for More Information.

What We Do

What We Do

Iowa Protection and Advocacy Services, Inc. (Iowa P&A) helps people with disabilities, including mental illness, deal with discrimination. Help is provided in several ways, depending on the priorities set by Iowa P&A's Board of Directors. Problems Iowa P&A deals with may include abuse, neglect, education, employment, housing, or denial of services. Click Here for More Information.

Resources

Resources

In an effort to provide current information to Iowans with disabilities, their families and those interested in disability rights, Iowa Protection and Advocacy Services, Inc. has a specialized team of advocates who are knowledgeable about a vast array of services for people who have disabilities within and outside of the state of Iowa. Click Here for More Information.