(Radio Iowa) – The group Disability Rights Iowa is celebrating 40 years of advocating for — and protecting the civil rights of — Iowans with disabilities. Catherine Johnson, the organization’s executive director, says job accommodations, access to medical care, and a lack of long term support for people to live in their communities continue to be major concerns. “There is no one specific issue that I think faces Iowans with disabilities,” Johnson says. “It’s many of the same issues we have been addressing for years in and years out.”

The organization has worked to ensure access to public accommodations and voting. More recently, D-R-I filed lawsuits to improve children’s mental health care and to stop the use of certain punishments at the Boys State Training School in Eldora. Johnson says within the next 40 years, she wants the nonprofit to have strong relationships in each of the state’s 99 counties.  “We take it very seriously that we are here for all Iowans with disabilities, which is essentially almost 400,000 Iowans identify as having a disability,” Johnson says. “We want to be known to every single Iowan with a disability so that they know we are the place that they can come to for help and support.”

The group is celebrating its legacy with the 40-34 Equal Access Festival tomorrow (Saturday) in Des Moines, that’ll also recognize the 34th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Then-Iowa U-S Senator Tom Harkin was a key architect of the A-D-A. Johnson made her comments this week on the Iowa Public Radio program “Talk of Iowa.”