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

The Department of Justice's Enforcement Efforts

25. Q: What is the Department of Justice's enforcement philosophy regarding title III of the ADA?

A: Whenever the Department receives a complaint or is asked to join an on-going lawsuit, it first investigates the allegations and tries to resolve them through informal or formal settlements. The vast majority of complaints are resolved voluntarily through these efforts. If voluntary compliance is not forthcoming, the Department may have to litigate and seek injunctive relief, damages for aggrieved individuals, and civil penalties.

26. Q: Has the United States entered into any settlement agreements involving child care centers?

A: The Department has resolved three matters through formal settlement agreements with the Sunshine Child Center, KinderCare Learning Centers, and La Petite Academy.

• In the first agreement, Sunshine Child Center in Gillett, Wisconsin, agreed to: (1) provide diapering services to children who, because of their disabilities, require diapering more often or at a later age than nondisabled children; (2) put on and remove the complainant's leg braces as necessary; (3) ensure that the complainant is not unnecessarily segregated from her age-appropriate classroom; (4) engage in readily achievable barrier removal to its existing facility; and (5) design and construct its new facility (planned independently of the Department's investigation) in a manner that is accessible to persons with disabilities.

• In 1996, the Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with KinderCare Learning Centers -- the largest chain of child care centers in the country -- under which KinderCare agreed to provide appropriate care for children with diabetes, including providing finger-prick blood glucose tests. In 1997, La Petite Academy -- the second-largest chain -- agreed to follow the same procedures.

• In its 1997 settlement agreement with the Department of Justice, La Petite Academy also agreed to keep epinephrine on hand to administer to children who have severe and possibly life-threatening allergy attacks due to exposure to certain foods or bee stings and to make changes to some of its programs so that children with cerebral palsy can participate.

The settlement agreements and their attachments, including a waiver of liability form and parent and physician authorization form, can be obtained by calling the Department's ADA Information Line or through the Internet (see question 30). Child care centers and parents or guardians should consult a lawyer in their home state to determine whether any changes need to be made before the documents are used.

27. Q: Has the Department of Justice ever sued a child care center for ADA violations?

A: Yes. On June 30, 1997, the United States filed lawsuits against three child care providers for refusing to enroll a four-year-old child because he has HIV. See United States v. Happy Time Day Care Center, (W.D. Wisc.); United States v. Kiddie Ranch, (W.D. Wisc.); and United States v. ABC Nursery, Inc. (W.D. Wisc.).

28. Q: Does the United States ever participate in lawsuits brought by private citizens?

A: Yes. The Department sometimes participates in private suits either by intervention or as amicus curiae -- "friend of the court." One suit in which the United States participated was brought by a disability rights group against KinderCare Learning Centers. The United States supported the plaintiff's position that KinderCare had to make its program accessible to a boy with multiple disabilities including mental retardation. The litigation resulted in KinderCare's agreement to develop a model policy to allow the child to attend one of its centers with a state-funded personal assistant.