The ADA National Network has launched a new, user-friendly national website at adata.org. The ADA National Network provides information, guidance and training on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), tailored to meet the needs of business, government and individuals at local, regional and national levels.

The new website allows visitors to explore resources about the ADA by audience and topic, to learn about the services offered by the ADA National Network, and to locate their regional ADA Center.

Visit the new website at adata.org!

The City is currently seeking applications from people with disabilities that reflect the diverse needs of Boston's neighborhoods and communities. Members will be appointed by the Mayor and serve in a volunteer capacity for a term of three years. Applicants must be residents of the City of Boston. 

Letters of interest are due by Apri 1, 2014, and should be sent to the attention of: Commissioner Kristen McCosh, Mayor's Commission for Persons with Disabilities. Any questions can be directed to Kristen McCosh at kristen.mccosh@boston.gov or by phone at 617-635-3682. 

For more information, visit: www.cityofboston.gov/disability/commission.asp.

On January 15 Kathy Gips, Director of Training for the New England ADA Center, presented at a workshop on the ADA and historic preservation. The workshop covered how the ADA intersects with historic preservation (there is no grandfathering), what's new in the current ADA Standards and issues specific to the Vermont Access Code. The afternoon focused on six real life complex design plans for integrating accessibility into existing facilities. The event was sponsored by Build Safe Vermont.

 Photo: Kathy Gips.

The Carroll Center for the Blind, a Newton, Massachusetts rehabilitation training facility that in 1984 offered the country's first computer classes for individuals who are blind, is now helping businesses, government agencies and educational institutions improve the accessibility of their websites and products for persons with disabilities.

Samsung contracted with The Carroll Center to perform important usability testing for a new product still in development. The Carroll Center thoroughly tested the products and provided feedback about the accessibility features Samsung plans to incorporate into some television and remote models for 2014 and 2015.

Read the full story.

Rob Lachenauer, CEO and a co-founder of Banyan Family Business Advisors, writes about why he hired a job candidate who disclosed a mental illness.

"Businesses don't have a great track record with the mentally ill. Today, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, some 60% to 80% of people with mental illness are unemployed. In part, this is the crippling nature of the disease. But a large part of the problem that we have in hiring people who have some mental disorder is that we lack the sophisticated vocabulary to talk and act regarding these illnesses."

Read the full story.

Rhode Island is one of only a handful of states to extend employment protections to medical marijuana users. But the impact of workplace policies on medical marijuana remains murky for many. Are patients really protected?

Read the full story.

The Advocates in Disability Award (ADA) program awards a young adult with a disability between the ages of 14 and 26 who is committed to positively affecting the lives of people with disabilities and their families. The recipient will be awarded $3,000 in recognition of his or her disability advocacy and up to an additional $7,000 in support for a project to benefit the disability community. Application deadline is April 11, 2014.

Learn more about the application process.

Alongside the famed Caldecott and Newbery awards for children's literature, three books are being honored for focusing on the disability experience.
The books - which include stories of a wounded soldier, a princess with a deformed foot and a look at medical experimentation by Nazi doctors - were named winners of the Schneider Family Book Awards.

Read the full story.

Nine Broadway theaters will eliminate more than 500 accessibility barriers in their restrooms, concession counters, waiting areas and box offices under an agreement to address violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act.

The theaters will also provide a total of 70 wheelchair-accessible seating locations and offer 134 aisle seats for individuals who can transfer to a traditional seat. Under the settlement, priority will be given to people with disabilities for tickets in both seating areas.

Read the full story.

Dozens of current or recent students with mental health disabilities at colleges and universities across the country - large and small, private and public - told Newsweek they were punished for seeking help: kicked out of campus housing with nowhere else to go, abruptly forced to withdraw from school and even involuntarily committed to psychiatric wards.

Read the full story.

After announcing that the federal government will pay for tracking devices for kids with autism, officials are offering more details about how families can access the technology. Police departments nationwide will be able to make the tracking devices available to children in their communities who are at risk of wandering using money available through the Justice Department's Byrne grant program, officials at the federal agency said.

Read the full story.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) researchers will enroll approximately 500 African-American individuals who have asthma to assess how they react to therapies and find out how genetics may affect the response to various asthma treatments. The study will help determine the best approach to asthma management for African-Americans.

Learn more about the study.

The White House announced the details of the executive order that will raise the minimum wage for federal contractors to $10.10/hour. Notably, the order will cover individuals with disabilities that currently work in contracts under 14(c) certificates. 

The announcement reads: "Under current law, workers whose productivity is affected because of their disabilities may be paid less than the wage paid to others doing the same job under certain specialized certificate programs. Under this Executive Order, all individuals working under service or concessions contracts with the federal government will be covered by the same $10.10 per hour minimum wage protections."

Read the White House announcement.