Services We List
Contents
Definitions
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) defines a person with a disability as:
– A person who has a physical or mental issue that largely limits one or more major life activity, or
– A person who has a record of such an issue, even if they do not have a disability now.
– A person who does not have a disability, but is regarded as having a disability.
Inclusion: taken in or being part of a whole group of things. The opposite, exclusion, is being kept out of the group.
Accommodation: a change or assistance to make something easier to use or to access for people with disabilities.
What Iowa Compass Includes
Iowa Compass includes information on its website and in its database to connect people with disabilities and complex health-related needs to services and supports in their communities throughout Iowa. The rules listed below help Compass achieve this mission and offer consistent content. Compass excludes information that does not meet the rules.
- Services must be clearly designed for people with disabilities (per the ADA definition).
- Or services must serve people with disabilities through specialized training, accommodation, or benefit.
- Services must be available to Iowans:
- Thirty (30) miles outside of Iowa is a reasonable distance to travel for services.
- Compass may include services based outside of Iowa when these services, or a limited number of these, do not exist within the state.
Categories:
- Assistive Technology Services: help people find and use technology to solve problems.
- Educational Supports: help people find and do well in the right school or training.
- Employment Services: help people find, keep and move ahead in a job.
- Facility-based Services: give people supports and care at a location outside the home, such as a clinic or nursing home.
- Financial Assistance: help people find funding, such as grants, loans, and public insurance, to pay for supports and care.
- Individual Supports: help people get services that meet their specific needs.
- Information/Helplines: help people find services by phone or online.
- In-home Services: give people supports and care at home, not at an outside location, such as a clinic or nursing home.
- Living Settings: help people find options for places to live.
- Networking: give people the chance to connect with other people.
- Recreation: give people the chance to take part in leisure activities, such as sports and hobbies.
- Transportation: help people get from place to place, such as home to work.
What Iowa Compass Does Not Include
- Programs, centers, or websites that offer information only, not direct services.
- Businesses that make adapted devices but do not sell directly to consumers.
- Organizations whose sole inclusion would be that they offer accommodations that are legally required through the ADA.
- Secondary services: services for people who already receive another service from an organization. For example, a transportation service for a day program that is only available to day program clients.
- Any organization that Iowa Compass has adequate reason to believe may spread hatred or have a philosophy that could be hurtful to the well-being of people, groups, or the community as a whole.
- Organizations Iowa Compass is not able to get in touch with for updates.
- Organizations that have provided services for less than one year. (Exceptions may apply).
How To Get Listed
Contact us for more information about adding your organization to our resources, or if there are questions about the services we list. Iowa Compass does not endorse the services and organizations we include. We do not disapprove of services we do not include.
Last update: August 6th, 2018