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amtrak-staples-mill-bevelThe Amtrak station in Richmond Virginia violates the Americans With Disabilities Act, according to the US Department of Transportation.  In response to a complaint filed by the disAbility Law Center of Virginia, Amtrak is required to make changes to improve communications access for people who are deaf or have hearing loss. Read on.

 

Watch this video – Geraldo Rivera P & A Video  

The Protection and Advocacy concept was triggered by a series of local television news broadcasts, which Geraldo Rivera did for the ABC News affiliate in New York City. Rivera’s investigative reporting exposed abuse, neglect and lack of programming at Willowbrook, a state institution for people with developmental disabilities on Staten Island.

These broadcasts galvanized the state’s senior senator, Jacob Javits, to action, incorporating a P&A System in the renewal of federal developmental disabilities legislation enacted in 1975. While their mandate was drawn more broadly in the statute, P&A Systems were originally intended to protect people housed in facilities for individuals with developmental disabilities from abuse and neglect.