JEFFERSON CITY – With this Sunday (July 26) marking the 25th anniversary of the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Gov. Jay Nixon today said the landmark 1990 legislation has created greater inclusiveness in the United States, to the benefit of all Americans.
“We have come a long way in the past 25 years, here in Missouri and across the country, to take down barriers, physical and otherwise, that hindered individuals with disabilities from having an equal opportunity to pursue the American Dream,” Gov. Nixon said. “There is still more work to be done, but the progress that has been made in the past quarter-century demonstrates that the ADA deservedly takes its place with other landmark laws, such as the Civil Rights Act of 1964, in helping America achieve our cherished ideals of liberty and freedom for all.”
President George H.W. Bush signed the Americans with Disabilities Act into law on July 26, 1990. In the words of the website ADAanniversary.org:
The President’s emphatic directive on that day — “Let the shameful walls of exclusion finally come tumbling down” — neatly encapsulated the simple yet long overdue message of the ADA: that millions of Americans with disabilities are full-fledged citizens and as such are entitled to legal protections that ensure them equal opportunity and access to the mainstream of American life.
Under Gov. Nixon, significant strides have been made toward greater inclusiveness and opportunities for Missourians with disabilities. A new national report by United Cerebral Palsy demonstrates the continued success of efforts to expand community-based services and improve quality of life for Missourians with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The annual ranking shows Missouri is third in the nation, and second most-improved since 2007, for providing quality services that improve the lives of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families.
In 2010, Gov. Nixon created the Partnership for Hope, which provides home- and community-based services to Missourians with developmental disabilities and their families. The Partnership for Hope, the first of its kind in the nation, is now helping more than 2,700 people with developmental disabilities in 99 counties and the City of St. Louis. These efforts have now brought the waiting list for in-home services for low-income Missourians with developmental disabilities down to zero for the first time in decades.
