In 2020, Lurie Institute research associate Robyn Powell held four workshops about the application of the Americans with Disabilities Act to the rights of parents with disabilities. The workshops included an overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act and its applicability to disabled parents; information about disability, family law, and child welfare; the rights of parents with disabilities when working with adoption or foster-care agencies; and the rights of people with disabilities receiving reproductive healthcare.
Passing legislation protecting the rights of parents with disabilities can be a complicated, time-consuming process. Our toolkits outline strategies that advocates and legislators can use to pass legislation that protects disabled parents.
Workshop 1: Introduction to Disability Law for Parents and Prospective Parents with Disabilities
Video Recording | PowerPoint Presentation
Readings
- Disability Rights and Parenting with a Disability
- Disability Rights and Parenting with a Disability (Plain-Language Version)
Workshop 2: Child Welfare and Family Law
Video recording | PowerPoint Presentation
Readings
- Best Practices for Attorneys and Researchers on How to Safeguard the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Families
- The Legal Obligations of Child-Welfare Agencies and Courts When Working with Parents and Prospective Parents with Disabilities
- Parents with Disabilities: Know Your Rights Toolkit (courtesy of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation)
- Parents with Mental Illness and the Adoption and Safe Families Act
- Protecting the Rights of Parents and Prospective Parents with Disabilities: Technical Assistance for State and Local Child Welfare Agencies and Courts under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act
- Representing Parents with Disabilities: 10 Tips for Attorneys
- Representing Parents with Disabilities in Custody and Visitation Disputes: 10 Tips for Attorneys
- The Rights of Parents with Disabilities in Child Welfare and Family Law
- The Rights of Parents with Disabilities in Child Welfare and Family Law (plain-language version)
Workshop 3: Adoption and Foster Care
Video Recording | PowerPoint Presentation
Readings
- Parents with Disabilities: Know Your Rights Toolkit (courtesy of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation)
- The Legal Obligations of Foster-Care and Adoption Agencies When Working with Prospective Parents with Disabilities
- The Rights of Prospective Parents with Disabilities in Adoption and Foster Care
- The Rights of People with Disabilities Who Want to Adopt or Be Foster Parents (plain-language version of The Rights of Prospective Parents with Disabilities in Adoption and Foster Care)
- Settlement Agreement between the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Office for Civil Rights and the State of Georgia Department of Human Services
Workshop 4: Reproductive Health
Video Recording | PowerPoint Presentation
Readings
- Access to Reproductive Health Care for Parents and Prospective Parents with Disabilities
- Access to Reproductive Health Care for Parents with Disabilities (plain-language version)
- Parents with Disabilities: Know Your Rights Toolkit (courtesy of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation)