Disability Rights

The clinic's advocacy extends to the statehouse as well as to the streets of our communities. The clinic, through work supported in part by the Iowa Program for Assistive Technology (IPAT), has represented individuals with disabilities in their efforts to secure equipment needed for school, employment, or the home. In addition to these individual cases, the clinic collaborates with and represents community groups to remove barriers and improve the lives and opportunities of persons with disabilities. The clinic has coordinated successful campaigns to enact assistive technology consumer protection laws and small business tax credits, to make Iowa City's Hickory Hill Park trails and facilities accessible, and to have Iowa City fund, build and sell a single family home that showcases universal design features. The clinic partners with the public and private sectors to raise awareness and improve access and disability services, research the law, conduct access surveys, review blueprints and work with architects, owners and builders (at the Coral Ridge Mall, New Pioneer Co-op, the University of Iowa, Cedar Rapids Kernels New Veterans Memorial Stadium, for example). An ongoing IPAT-sponsored project is examining the state program that helps people with disabilities pay for special equipment needed to connect to the phone system.

For information on the IPAT, please see its Web Site.

For information on the Law, Health, Policy & Disability Center, please see its Web Site.