Commonly Asked Questions About Child Care Centers and the Americans with Disabilities Act

10. Q: One of the children in my center has parents who are deaf. I need to have a long discussion with them about their child's behavior and development. Do I have to provide a sign language interpreter for the meeting?

A: It depends. Child care centers must provide effective communication to the customers they serve, including parents and guardians with disabilities, unless doing so poses an undue burden. The person with a disability should be consulted about what types of auxiliary aids and services will be necessary in a particular context, given the complexity, duration, and nature of the communication, as well as the person's communication skills and history. Different types of auxiliary aids and services may be required for lengthy parent-teacher conferences than will normally be required for the types of incidental day-to-day communication that take place when children are dropped off or picked up from child care. As with other actions required by the ADA, providers cannot impose the cost of a qualified sign language interpreter or other auxiliary aid or service on the parent or guardian.

A particular auxiliary aid or service is not required by title III if it would pose an undue burden, that is, a significant difficulty or expense, relative to the center or parent company's resources.