Systems Advocacy
Office of Civil Rights
www.ed.gov/about/offices/list/ocr/index.html
Overview of the Agency
The mission of the Office for Civil Rights is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the nation through vigorous enforcement of civil rights.
We serve student populations facing discrimination and the advocates and institutions promoting systemic solutions to civil rights problems. An important responsibility is resolving complaints of discrimination. Agency-initiated cases, typically called compliance reviews, permit OCR to target resources on compliance problems that appear particularly acute. OCR also provides technical assistance to help institutions achieve voluntary compliance with the civil rights laws that OCR enforces. An important part of OCR's technical assistance are partnerships designed to develop creative approaches to preventing and addressing discrimination.
Your Rights Under The Americans With Disabilities Act
www.hhs.gov/ocr/ada.html
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 provides comprehensive civil rights protections to individuals with disabilities in the areas of employment, state and local government services, public accommodations, transportation, and telecommunications.
Your Rights Under Section 504 Of The Rehabilitation Act
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 is a national law that protects qualified individuals from discrimination based on their disability. The nondiscrimination requirements of the law apply to employers and organizations that receive financial assistance from any Federal department or agency, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). These organizations and employers include many hospitals, nursing homes, mental health centers and human service programs.
Section 504 forbids organizations and employers from excluding or denying individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to receive program benefits and services. It defines the rights of individuals with disabilities to participate in, and have access to, program benefits and services.
U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
www.eeoc.gov/types/ada.html
Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 prohibits private employers, state and local governments, employment agencies and labor unions from discriminating against qualified individuals with disabilities in job application procedures, hiring, firing, advancement, compensation, job training, and other terms, conditions, and privileges of employment. The ADA covers employers with 15 or more employees, including state and local governments. It also applies to employment agencies and to labor organizations.
United States Department of Justice
www.usdoj.gov/civilliberties.htm
The Department's Civil Rights Division is the primary institution within the federal government responsible for enforcing federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, sex, handicap, religion, and national origin
Minnesota
Minnesota Department of Human Rights
www.humanrights.state.mn.us/index.html
Mission: To stop illegal discrimination and promote equal opportunity for all people in Minnesota
Human Services
www.dhs.state.mn.us/agencywd/eeo/civil.htm
The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) works with county agencies and other providers. Together, we help eligible individuals and families’ meet basic human needs. To make services possible, DHS receives funding from federal agencies.
DHS is committed to providing equal access to all programs for eligible Minnesotans. Also, as a recipient of federal funding, we must treat applicants and clients fairly. To prevent discrimination, DHS has a civil rights plan. The plan includes an equal opportunity policy and a procedure for handling complaints. The plan also identifies a contact person who you can call to speak to about civil rights matters.
Congressional Delegation
State legislators
A list of state legislators in the districts Freedom Resource Center serves
North Dakota
North Dakota Human Rights Division
The Human Rights Division of the Department of Labor is responsible for enforcing the North Dakota Human Rights Act (N.D.C.C. chapter 14-02.4) and the North Dakota Housing Discrimination Act (N.D.C.C. chapter 14-02.5). This responsibility includes investigating complaints alleging discriminatory practices, educating the public about human rights laws, and studying the nature and extent of discrimination in North Dakota
Congressional Delegation
State legislators
A list of state legislators in the districts Freedom Resource Center serves
OTHER ADVOCACY RESOURCES
ADAPT
www.adapt.org
ADAPT focuses on promoting services in the community instead of warehousing people with disabilities in institutions and nursing homes.
Justice for All (American Association of People with Disabilities)
www.jfanow.org
AAPD is the largest national nonprofit cross-disability member organization in the United States, dedicated to ensuring economic self-sufficiency and political empowerment for the more than 56 million Americans with disabilities. AAPD works in coalition with other disability organizations for the full implementation and enforcement of disability nondiscrimination laws, particularly the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973.
National Organization on Disabilities
www.nod.org
The mission of the National Organization on Disability (N.O.D.) is to expand the participation and contribution of America’s 54 million men, women and children with disabilities in all aspects of life. By raising disability awareness through programs and information, together we can work toward closing the participation gaps .
North Dakota Disability Advocacy Consortium
www.nddac.org
The Consortium is an independent group of North Dakota organizations who are interested in advocating for public policy that will benefit North Dakotans with disabilities and their families.
Information and Referral
FirstLINK
www.irissoft.com/cri1
Community resource on-line directory
NDinfo.org
www.ndinfo.org/default.taf
Community Service Directory which enables parents, youth, and professionals to access information about agency services across the state of North Dakota.
MinnesotaHelp.info
www.minnesotahelp.info
An online directory of services designed to help people in Minnesota identify resources such as human services, information and referral, financial assistance, and other forms of aid and assistance within Minnesota.
Volunteer Center
www.volunteersolutions.org/firstlink/volunteer
Connect individuals to volunteer opportunities in their community. Volunteer Solutions helps volunteers, nonprofit agencies, corporations, event organizers, and Volunteer Centers get connected
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Community Education and Training
National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research
The National Institute on Disability and Rehabilitation Research (NIDRR) has established ten regional centers to provide information, training, and technical assistance to employers, people with disabilities, and other entities with responsibilities under the ADA. The centers act as a "one-stop" central, comprehensive resource on ADA issues in employment, public services, public accommodations, and communications. Each center works closely with local business, disability, governmental, rehabilitation, and other professional networks to provide ADA information and assistance.
North Dakota
www.ada-infonet.org
Minnesota
www.adagreatlakes.org
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