Training and Information Services

MTC's Training and Information Services division is home to our disability law content experts. This functional area provides technical assistance in the form of training, materials dissemination, and direct assistance in response to the requests of individual clients or organizations.

MTC maintains expertise in many disability laws including:

• Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)

• Fair Housing Act (FHA)

• Rehabilitation Act of 1973

• Help America Vote Act (HAVA)

• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)

• Air Carrier Access Act

Current Projects

Rocky Mountain ADA Information Center

In enacting the Americans with Disabilities Act, Congress specified that the executive agencies put in place a program of technical assistance to ensure that people with disabilities and covered entities were able to get information necessary to comply with the law.  To accomplish this, the Department of Education established ten regional information centers known as Disability and Business Technical Assistance Centers (DBTACs) or ADA Information Centers.

In 1991, Meeting the Challenge, Inc. was awarded one of ten regional technical assistance centers charged with providing technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). MTC's original five year grant has been renewed three times. The current grant period extends through September 2011. MTC's ADA Information Center provides technical assistance throughout the six state Rocky Mountain region (Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, South Dakota, and North Dakota).

The grant requires Meeting the Challenge to support four primary areas of assistance:

• Information/Materials Dissemination
• Training
• Resource Referral
• Direct Technical Assistance

Meeting the Challenge has established itself as a leader among the ten centers.  Over 750,000 individual requests for information and assistance have been handled.  Over 500,000 pieces of printed materials have been distributed.  Nearly 100,000 individuals, from across the region, have received training in over 4,000 individual seminars.

In addition to email and print newsletters, the DBTAC maintains a comprehensive web site, ADAinformation.org.

Federal Transit Administration - Transportation Training

MTC is working with the Federal Transit Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation to develop materials for individuals and organizations that help them better understand and implement the regulations for public transit systems under the ADA. As part of the effort, MTC has developed and field tested a series of training workshops for transit providers and riders with disabilities.