Protecting the Rights of Parents and Prospective Parents with Disabilities: Technical Assistance for State and Local Child Welfare Agencies and Courts
4. What types of child welfare programs and activities are covered by these laws?
All activities of child welfare agencies are covered by Title II and Section 504, including removal proceedings and agencies’ programs and activities must not discriminate on the basis of disability.
Answer: Title II covers all of the programs, services, and activities of state and local governments, their agencies, and departments.54 Similarly, Section 504 applies to all of the activities of agencies that receive Federal financial assistance.55 Therefore, all child welfare-related activities and programs of child welfare agencies and courts are covered, including, but not limited to, investigations, witness interviews, assessments, removal of children from their homes, case planning and service planning, visitation, guardianship, adoption, foster care, reunification services, and family court proceedings. Title II and Section 504 also make child welfare agencies responsible for the programs and activities of private and non-profit agencies that provide services to children and families on behalf of the state or municipality.56
54 See Pa. Dep’t. of Corrs. v. Yeskey, 524 U.S. 206, 209-12 (1998) (discussing the breadth of Title II’s coverage).
55 See 29 U.S.C. § 794(b)(1)(A), (B).
56 See 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.130(b)(1), (3), 42.503(b)(1), (3); 45 C.F.R. § 84.4(b)(1), (4).
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