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

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.