ENJOY Click here to begin Good Day! This is your 30-Second Training: ACCESS SERIES

What does “Universal Accessibility” mean for people with disabilities in America’s Job Centers? Having access to the PHYSICAL facilities and equipment available at the Job Center. ALL OF THE ABOVE Having equal access to all services and PROGRAMS available at the Job Center. Having access to different means of COMMUNICATION (e.g. American Sign Language Interpreters, Braille, Large Print) for trainings, meetings, and materials offered at the Job Center.

When considering how best to serve people with disabilities, a great deal of emphasis is often placed on physical access. While this is clearly important for people who use wheelchairs, or people with sensory disabilities (such as those who are blind, visually impaired, or deaf), there are people with other types of disabilities for whom physical access is not an issue. There is a better answer to the question. Please try again… True, but there is more…

For people with learning disabilities, mental retardation, mental health issues, head injuries, and many other conditions, the issue is not so much access to facilities as access to programs and services. In considering the needs of people with disabilities, the focus should be as much on access to programs and services as physical access. There is a better answer though… Please Try Again! Almost…

Under Title II of the ADA and WIA Section 188, Job Centers must ensure that communications with individuals with hearing or speech disabilities are as effective as communications with others. Auxiliary aids can include qualified interpreters, assistive listening systems, open/closed captioning, telecommunications devices (TTY/TDD), Communication Access Real-time Translation (CART) services, videotext displays, and note-takers. There is a better answer though… Please Try Again! True, but there is more…

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA), the legislation that governs Job Center services states that Job Centers must be universally accessible, meaning that any individual can access the core, intensive and training services of the American Job Center Network. The Nondiscrimination and Equal Opportunity Regulations for WIA are also very clear: People with disabilities have a right to use the services of the Job Center system. Job Centers must be readily accessible to people with disabilities. People with disabilities are entitled to reasonable accommodations and modifications when using Job Center services. People with disabilities should not be automatically referred to the public Vocational Rehabilitation system for services. To learn more, check out: WIA Section 188 Disability ChecklistWIA Section 188 Disability Checklist. CORRECT! Click here to end show This 30-Second Training has been developed using Federal funds from the Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration under Contract No.: DOLJ131A The contents of this publication do not necessarily reflect the views or policies of the Department of Labor, nor does mention of trade names, commercial products, or organizations