The Accessibility Directorate of Ontario (ADO) helps to implement the AODA through advising the Minister. In addition, the ADO supports organizations within and outside government and teaches the public about the AODA’s purpose and goals.
The Accessibility Directorate of Ontario
Advising the Minister
The ADO advises the Minister about creating standards development committees, and about the process of developing AODA standards. In addition, the ADO reviews AODA standards and advises the Minister about how effective they are. Furthermore, the ADO advises on the format and the details of accessibility reports. Likewise, the ADO also recommends how to review these reports, as well as how to enforce current AODA standards. Moreover, the ADO reviews existing laws and policies and suggests changes to them which could help citizens with disabilities. Finally, the ADO must assist the minister with any other elements of the Act that the minister oversees.
Training and Consulting
Moreover, the ADO helps to create training resources for the members of standards development committees, such as:
- Guidelines
- Reference materials
Similarly, the ADO also supports the Accessibility Standards Advisory Council. Furthermore, the ADO helps people and organizations understand how to complete their accessibility reports. In addition, the ADO meets with many organizations to inform and train their workers about accessibility. For example, some of these organizations are:
- Schools
- School boards
- Colleges and universities
- Trade and occupational associations
- Self-governing professions
Likewise, members of the ADO also research how to increase public awareness about the AODA and its purpose. Then, based on that research, the ADO creates programs that teach organizations about what they must do to comply with the AODA. Finally, the ADO alerts organizations when new AODA standards will soon apply to them. The ADO informs these organizations about new policies and practices they can implement that will help them start complying with the new standard.
Employees
The Accessibility Directorate of Ontario helps make goods, services, buildings, employment, and information more accessible. To do so, it must work with many organizations and is responsible for many distinct tasks. However, according to a government website, the ADO currently has only four employees to do all this important work. More staff may help the ADO to give more valuable advice, reach more organizations, and improve more laws.