(Continued from page 17)

year. It prohibits discrimination against and requires equal opportunities for people with disabilities in several areas, including employment and public accommodations. Designated bathroom stalls and cut-out curbs at intersections are two of the more obvious results of the law.
• Governments can become preoccupied with fear of expensive accommodations, but there are work-arounds, Stafford said. For example, rather than renovating a historic building, officials could move events or meetings to a more accommodating location.
• Malsam-Rysdon agreed that while some of the ADA requires systemic changes, many accommodations can be made at the individual level.
• Daugaard called together a task force last year on employing people with disabilities and the recommendations came out in a report in January. The Department of Human Services is also looking to hire a business liaison to encourage and support the hiring of people with disabilities in state industries.
• "We're excited," Malsam-Rysdon said. "There's untapped potential when you look at folks with disabilities."
• While skeptical of the state's progress toward ADA compliance, Ken Laughlin, the state adjutant for Disabled American Veterans in Sioux Falls, said educating people about the ADA is always a good thing.
• Infrastructure that supports people with disabilities is still lacking in the state, including in Sioux Falls where some curb cut-outs are crumbling and there aren't always sidewalks, he said.
• "It sounds good. But the problem I always see is they put it on paper, but it never goes much further," Laughlin said about the state's efforts. "Access to a lot of things is still very limited."
• Stafford said aging baby boomers and the return of military veterans with physical and psychological ailments are bringing accessibility issues to the fore.
• "The disability group is the only minority group we could all join one minute from now," she said.
•