U.S. Department of Justice
Civil Rights Division
Disability Rights Section

Enforcing the ADA:
Looking Back on a Decade of Progress

A Special Tenth Anniversary Status Report
from the Department of Justice

July 2000

This is a special edition commemorating the tenth anniversary of the enactment of the ADA. This report, previous status reports, and a wide range of other ADA information are available through the Department’s ADA Home Page on the World Wide Web.

A MESSAGE FROM JANET RENO

 

A Message from the Attorney General

On July 26, 2000, the Americans with Disabilities Act celebrates its 10th anniversary. And there is so much to celebrate!

Look around. Over the past decade so much has changed. It is no longer unusual to see people with disabilities dining out at restaurants, working in the office, participating in town hall meetings, shopping at the malls, watching a movie or cheering at a stadium. That’s because the ADA is making the dream of access a reality.

As Attorney General, I have made enforcement of the ADA one of my top priorities.At the Justice Department we have engaged in extensive educational outreach, and entered into hundreds of agreements ensuring greater access to thousands of businesses and governments. We have also increased the number of attorneys who enforce the law, and stepped up funding for ADA-related programs across the country. And under the leadership of Acting Assistant Attorney General for Civil rights Bill Lann Lee, and our United States Attorneys across the country, we will continue to build on this past decade of access.

As this Report illustrates, the ADA has made a difference in the lives of so many. But there are many others who still face barriers -- barriers that man-made structures create and barriers stemming from people’s attitudes. Those barriers took generations to create. It will take ontinued vigilance and dedication to remove them. But if the past 10 years is any indication, Americans with disabilities are well on their way to xperiencing
all society has to offer.

 

ENFORCING THE ADA -- JULY 26, 2000 • SPECIAL TENTH ANNIVERSARY EDITION 2

 

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