A one-day Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST training program will take place December 5, 2006 at the DC Housing Finance Authority, 815 Florida Avenue, NW, from 8 am – 5 pm. This training is one of several being offered across the country to educate housing industry members about the Fair Housing Act (FHA) accessibility requirements.   The Washington, DC training program will focus on three modules: (1) Disability Rights Laws and Standards, (2) Design and Construction Requirements of the Fair Housing Act:  Technical Overview, and (3) Common Design and Construction Violations & Solutions.

The free training program consists of modular curriculum that can be presented individually or in any combination.  The modules include overviews of the fair housing act accessibility requirements, disability rights laws, fair housing act enforcement, strategies for compliant kitchens, strategies for compliant bathrooms, common design and construction violations and solutions, accessible routes, design and construction requirements of the Fair Housing Act: technical overview, making housing accessible through accommodations and modifications, and accessible public and common-use areas.

Fair Housing Accessibility FIRST is an initiative of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development that provides training and technical guidance to homebuilders, developers, architects, and designers on compliance with the accessible design and construction requirements of the FHA.  The campaign includes training for the housing industry, a website, a hotline telephone number, 1(888) FH1RST1 or TTY/V 1(888)341-7781), and a technical guidance resource center.

For more information and to register for the training, visit www.fairhousingfirst.org.