Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) trainings
Title I, Title II, and Title III
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a comprehensive disability rights law covering employment, housing, architectural accessibility, telecommunications, and more. Government agencies, organizations and companies that serve the public, and others have legal obligations under the ADA.
Trainees leave ADA training with more knowledge about how the ADA may apply to them, what the ADA does and does not cover, and how to ensure compliance with the law.
MOD’s ADA trainings can cover any of its first three Titles (Employment, State and Local Governments, and Public Accommodations). Any of our three ADA trainings can be customized to your audience and needs. Please request an ADA training using our online form.
Title I: Employment
This training provides an overview of employers’ obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The intended audience is employers. This training covers the definition of disability, the ADA’s prohibition against discrimination, the role of the ADA Coordinator, and the reasonable accommodation request process for employees. The training can also cover how to make your workplace more attractive to employees with disabilities and how to create inclusive job postings.
This training can be customized to your audience and needs. Please request an ADA Title I training using our online form.
Title II: State and Local Governments
This training provides an overview of state and local governments’ obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The intended audience is agency senior staff, managers, and ADA Coordinators. This training covers the definition of disability, the ADA’s prohibition against discrimination, the role of the ADA Coordinator, basic obligations of public entities, the reasonable modification request process, and best practices for making public programs, services, and facilities accessible to people with disabilities.
This training can be customized to your audience and needs. Please request an ADA Title II training using our online form.
Title III: Public Accommodations
Places of public accommodation are businesses that hold themselves open to the public, such as retail stores, restaurants, theaters, doctor’s offices, and more. This training provides owners, managers, and employees of places of public accommodation with an overview of their obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), including how to respond to requests for reasonable accommodations or modifications, accessibility requirements, and the rules around service animals.
This training can be customized to your audience and needs. Please request an ADA Title III training using our online form.
ADA Coordinator trainings
For Executive Branch ADA Coordinators
Executive Branch ADA Coordinator Basics
Please note: This is a required training for all new Executive Branch ADA Coordinators. Approval is dependent on completion of training.
This training covers the information you need to succeed in your ADA Coordinator role, whether you are new to the role or experienced and looking for more guidance and answers:
- Overview of relevant disability laws and legal obligations
- How to handle reasonable accommodation and modification requests
- Accessibility tips and resources
- And more
If you are a current Executive Branch ADA Coordinator seeking training, please contact MOD General Counsel and ADA Coordinator Julia O’Leary, at Julia.E.OLeary@mass.gov or 617-727-7440 x27324.
Service and Emotional Support Animals in the Workplace
Watch a recording of our Service and Emotional Support Animals in the Workplace training.
When employees request to bring a service animal or emotional support animal with them to the workplace, there are important considerations and procedures to keep in mind. This webinar from MOD gives ADA Coordinators at executive branch agencies the information they need to properly handle requests.
This is not currently available as a live training. Sign up for our email list to stay up to date on our training offerings.
For Municipal ADA Coordinators
Municipal ADA Coordinator Basics
Watch a recording of our Municipal ADA Basics training.
The training covers the information you need to succeed in your Municipal ADA Coordinator role, whether you are new to the role or experienced and looking for more guidance and answers:
- Overview of relevant disability laws and legal obligations
- How to handle reasonable accommodation and modification requests
- Accessibility tips and resources
- And more
This is not currently available as a live training. Sign up for our email list to stay up to date on our training offerings.
Accessible Municipal Meetings
Watch a recording of our Accessible Municipal Meetings training.
This webinar reviews best practices for Municipal ADA Coordinators to ensure that public meetings and town meetings are accessible to people with disabilities. Presented by Ann Lynch, Assistant Attorney General, and Julia O'Leary, General Counsel at Massachusetts Office on Disability.
This is not currently available as a live training. Sign up for our email list to stay up to date on our training offerings.
Architectural access
Community Access Monitoring (CAM) Training
The Community Access Monitoring (CAM) Program trains you to survey buildings for accessibility and use your skills to advocate for compliance with various rules and regulations. It is designed for people who want to advocate for increased access in their community and those who want to understand their obligations to provide access to the disability community, such as building inspectors, architects, and Commissions on Disability.
The complete CAM program includes a two-day Beginner CAM Training and a one-day Advanced CAM Training. The program covers structural accessibility, equal policies and practices, accessible communication, and advocacy techniques for partnering with organizations and individuals to be successful in making communities more accessible to people with disabilities.
Beginner CAM Training: “Beyond Wheelchair Ramps” (2 day training)
This is a two-day training lasting 5 hours each day (10 hours total), with short breaks throughout.
In Beginner CAM Training, we cover:
- History of disability laws, regulations and rights
- Regulations of the Massachusetts Architectural Access Board (MAAB)
- Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards for accessible design
- New construction/alterations and existing facilities
- Effective communication
- How to survey a facility
- How to advocate for access
- Rights and responsibilities of a Community Access Monitor
Beginner CAM trainings are scheduled on a regular basis. Visit our Events page to view upcoming trainings and to register. If you do not see an upcoming Beginner CAM training on the events page, sign up for our email list to be notified when it next becomes available.
Advanced CAM Training: “In the Field”
You must complete the Beginner CAM Training to attend Advanced CAM Training. This is a one-day, 4-5 hour training with short breaks throughout.
In Advanced CAM Training, we dive into more detail on scoping requirements under various codes, discuss specific case examples together, and review the rights and responsibilities of a Community Access Monitor. Once this training is completed, you will know the steps to take before a site survey, which regulations may apply to different sites, requirements for facilities undergoing renovations, and how and when to submit a report letter.
Upon completion of Advanced CAM Training, participants will receive a Community Access Monitor certificate and a workbook with information on access legislation and a step-by-step process for conducting assessments and encouraging voluntary compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Architectural Access Board Rules and Regulations.
Advanced CAM Trainings are scheduled on a regular basis and are open by invitation only to those who have completed a Beginner CAM training. If you have completed a Beginner CAM Training and would like to inquire about the next Advanced CAM Training, please email Ashley Santana, Access Specialist, at Ashley.Santana@mass.gov
Disability emergency preparedness
Emergency preparedness program
This training brings together seniors, people with disabilities, local emergency planners, and first responders to get information and tools for preparing for different emergency situations.
These trainings ensure people with disabilities have the assistance and appropriate resources needed in times of emergency. Our experienced instructor can facilitate trainings both direct-to-consumers or in a “train-the-trainer” style to organization staff.
Each training includes discussion on:
- Emergency response resources and procedures locally and statewide
- Steps that can be taken to personally prepare for emergency situations
Members of the disability community learn about the personal steps they can take and are given planning guides to help in this process. We also hand out guides for first responders on how to best support people with disabilities in an emergency.
Participants receive a planning guide and an “emergency go pack” with a first aid kit, combination flashlight-radio, and other critical emergency items upon completion of the training.
This training is typically held for groups such as Councils on Aging, Commissions on Disability, non-profit organizations, and subsidized housing for seniors and disabled residents.
This training can be customized to your audience and needs. To request a Disability Emergency Preparedness training for your group, please contact Abigail Shneyder, Emergency Preparedness Program Coordinator at Abigail.Shneyder@mass.gov or 857-275-4655.
Employment and the workplace
Creating inclusive workplaces for employees with disabilities
This training gives an overview of obligations employers have under the ADA, including non-discrimination and how and when to provide reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities. The training also covers best practices for creating an inclusive workplace for employees with disabilities, including: writing inclusive job descriptions, using appropriate language, and basic disability etiquette.
This training can be customized to your audience and needs. Please request a Creating Inclusive Workplaces training using our online form.
Disability Disclosure in Employment Workshop Series
MOD's Client Assistance Program (CAP) offers a free, interactive workshop series, consisting of three separate workshops over Zoom. The series is aimed at employees and jobseekers with disabilities and their advocates.
The three workshops are:
- The Decision to Disclose focuses on things to consider when deciding to disclose a disability
- Reasonable Accommodations offers guidance on best practices for requesting a reasonable accommodation
- Disability Discrimination explores workplace interactions that could be discriminatory and discusses steps to deter or address them
Visit our Disability Disclosure in Employment workshop page to learn more about this workshop series.
Disability Disclosure in Employment workshops are scheduled on a regular basis. Visit our Events page to view upcoming trainings and to register. If you think one of these workshops could be a helpful resource for your group, we may be able to schedule a special session for your group.
To inquire about a Disability Disclosure in Employment workshop for your group, please contact CAP at ContactCAPMA@mass.gov or 617-727-7440.
You can also sign up for our email list to be notified when a workshop next becomes available.
Navigating vocational rehabilitation (VR)
Navigating Vocational Rehabilitation
These interactive workshops, led by MOD’s Client Assistance Program (CAP), cover the purpose of the vocational rehabilitation (VR) program and the role of each party (consumer and VR agency staff) in implementing services to reach an employment goal. There are two versions of the workshops, tailored to two different audiences:
Navigating VR: For Parents and Youth
Target Audience: Students and youth with disabilities ages 14 up to their 22nd birthday, their families, pre-employment transition services (ETS) stakeholders, and special education personnel
This workshop discusses how parents can support the VR process, the unwritten expectations of the consumer and the VR agency, how to recognize when something might be going wrong, and how to get back on track.
Learning objectives:
- Gain a basic understanding of VR and Pre-Employment Transition Services
- Learn about how VR services work from both the consumer and agency perspectives
- Learn how to spot when services might be off track
- Learn how the Client Assistance Program assists youth with disabilities and their families in the VR process
This workshop is scheduled on a regular basis. Visit our Events page to view upcoming trainings and to register. If you do not see this workshop on the events page, sign up for our email list to be notified when it next becomes available.
Navigating VR: For Applicants and Consumers
Target Audience: Individuals with disabilities applying for or currently receiving vocational rehabilitation services, their families, and VR stakeholders
This workshop covers the purpose of the VR program and the role of each party (consumer and VR agency staff) in implementing services to reach an employment goal, how to recognize when something might be going wrong, and how to get back on track. To help participants better understand the VR process, we will review a hypothetical Individualized Plan for Employment (IPE) and experience how services are selected to meet their goal employment.
Learning objectives:
- Gain a basic understanding of VR
- Recognize the importance of the employment goal and IPE and their role in determining VR services
- Learn basic strategies for navigating the VR process
- Learn how the Client Assistance Program assists individuals with disabilities in the VR process
This workshop is scheduled on a regular basis. Visit our Events page to view upcoming trainings and to register. If you do not see this workshop on the events page, sign up for our email list to be notified when it next becomes available.
Quarterly Tea with MOD: Hot topics in the disability community
Quarterly Tea with MOD: Hot topics in the disability community
MOD’s Quarterly Teas address your most frequently asked questions and concerns related to hot topics in the disability community. Quarterly teas are scheduled for one hour. The last 20 minutes are reserved for your questions.
Previous Quarterly Tea topics have included:
- Digital accessibility
- Navigating support options to resolve disability-related issues
- Training Municipal ADA Coordinators
- And more - view recordings of all our previous Quarterly Teas on our YouTube channel!
Quarterly Teas are held on a quarterly basis. Visit our Events page to view upcoming trainings and to register. If you do not see a Quarterly Tea on the events page, sign up for our email list to be notified for the next Tea.