FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CRT

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 2006 (202) 514-2007

WWW.USDOJ.GOV TDD (202) 514-1888

Department of Justice Issues Five-year

Report Highlighting Successes in
Enforcing the Americans with
Disabilities Act
MINNEAPOLIS – The Justice Department today released “Access for All: Five
Years of Progress,” a status report highlighting the Administration’s successes over
the last five years in enforcing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The
report discusses the achievements of the Civil Rights Division during this
Administration that are enhancing opportunities and improving access for millions
of Americans with disabilities throughout the nation. The report also cites specific
cases illustrating access and compliance successes in areas ranging from health care
to employment to emergency services.

“At the Department of Justice, we are working to change negative attitudes about
people with disabilities based on old and outdated stereotypes. We aim to establish
conditions in this country in which the hopes and dreams of these individuals can
be realized,” said Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales. “Through a comprehensive
program of law enforcement and technical assistance, we have helped provide
people with disabilities greater access to health care, public facilities, education,
employment and other settings in communities across America.”

The report features the progress of Project Civic Access (PCA), a comprehensive
program focused on ensuring that towns and cities across America comply with the
ADA. Under the leadership of the President through his New Freedom Initiative,
PCA has significantly expanded efforts to assist communities all across America as
they take steps to make their programs and services accessible. As part of PCA,
Department investigators, attorneys, and architects survey state and local
government facilities and programs across the country for the purpose of working
with communities to identify modifications necessary to achieve ADA compliance.

On Sept. 20, 2006, the Civil Rights Division reached its milestone 150th agreement
under Project Civic Access with Kanawha County, W.V. The county has agreed to
take steps under the terms of the agreement, including making numerous
modifications to its parking facilities and building entrances, and ensuring the
accessibility of polling places. These agreements are helping to improve the lives of
and broaden opportunities for more than 3 million Americans with disabilities in the
communities involved since 2001.

The Attorney General also identified a slate of 11 new PCA locations to be

evaluated over the next two years. These include:

• Montgomery County, Md.

• Fayette County, Pa.

• Gregg County, Texas

• Port Saint Lucie, Fla.

• Atlanta, Ga.

• Fairfax County, Va.

• Chautauqua County, N.Y.

• Wyandotte County, Kan. • Seattle, Wash.

• Fargo, N.D.

• Des Moines, Iowa

At the direction of Attorney General Gonzales, the Civil Rights Division is

compiling a PCA Best Practices Toolkit to build upon this success and broaden the
impact the program. The toolkit will help the 80,000 units of local government that
are covered by Title II of the ADA conduct their own evaluations of their facilities
and programs and take the necessary steps to achieve ADA compliance.

A copy of the “Access for All” report will be available next week on the
Department’s ADA Web site at http://www.ada.gov. More information about the
work of the Civil Rights Division can be found at http://www.ada.gov and at
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/drs/drshome.htm.

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