Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Rural Public Access And The Americans With Disabilities Act: Measuring Progress In Hamilton, Montana, Tom Seekins Ph.D., Catherine Ipsen, University Of Montana Rural Institute

Independent Living and Community Participation

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 is arguably the most significant single effort to enhance community participation of people with disabilities (Brown, 2001), in part by promoting physical access to public places and commercial facilities. Specifically, ADA Titles II and III provide disability advocates with legal tools for promoting access to public places. Despite the significance of the ADA legislation, Batavia (1992) points out that the ADA was “passed without documentation of need” and that “no baseline data exist to assess the implementation of the ADA.” Historically, advocates have monitored the implementation and outcomes of the ADA by …