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FAMILIES AND COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS * 3 HOURS * LEVEL 2

Supporting Families with Special Needs

Page 5
Provisions of the ADA
The Americans with Disabilities Act has three main points that child care centers must be aware of and adhere to. Basic requirements of the ADA ​from the Washington Department of Health Child Care and the Americans with Disabilities Act ADA Opportunities and Resources for Child Care Providers and Families First Edition 2001 Revised 2012 are as follows:
Child care homes and centers must make reasonable modifications to their policies and
practices to integrate children with disabilities into their program unless doing so
would constitute a fundamental alteration of the program.
Centers must provide appropriate auxiliary aids and services needed for effective
communication with children with disabilities, when doing so would not constitute an
undue burden.
Centers cannot exclude children with disabilities from their programs unless their
presence would pose a direct threat to the health or safety of others or require a
fundamental alteration of the program.

Terms and Explanations

Direct Threat – This is defined as a child’s health condition posing a significant threat to the safety and wellbeing of the other children in care. Caregivers must determine this based on factual evidence and not assumptions or stereotypes. Some examples may be: a history of violence, or a communicable disease.
​Undue Burden – Changes or alterations to the program that would incur significant cost or difficulty.
​Auxiliary Aids and Services – These are communication assistance programs, services, or devices and include a wide range of things from an interpreter to assistive technology.
​Reasonable Modifications – This refers to changes that can be made to a program without too much expense or difficulty. These are unique to each program and can include simple things such as lowering hooks for jackets and backpacks.
​Each program has its own set of unique features and components that alter each of these potential categories and how they may or may not be interpreted. The biggest take-away from these terms is to examine your program to see what a reasonable modification looks like and to avoid any undue burdens or direct threats. Typically there are multiple options without spending much money or extended effort to be ADA compliant in a reasonable manner.