Director of the Westchester County Office for People with Disabilities
Evan Latainer has served as the Director of the Westchester County Office for People with Disabilities for more than 20 years. Evan’s commitment to helping others started at a young age, and has been a guiding force in his career and throughout his life. During his college years, Evan gained valuable experience through field work at Rockland Children's Psychiatric Hospital, and working with seniors in Oneonta, New York. However, it was the time Evan spent at Jawonio Day Camp, a program dedicated to serving adults and children with disabilities, that truly motivated him to pursue a career helping those in the disabled community.
What inspires Evan the most is the realization that there is much more to individuals with disabilities than meets the eye. Regardless of verbal or physical limitations, they possess the capacity to understand and overcome challenges. Over the years, Evan has formed deep-rooted connections with the people that he serves, considering them more as family than mere program participants.
Working with people with disabilities has had a profound impact on Evan’s life, cultivating within him a deep sense of compassion. Treating individuals with disabilities as equals is of paramount importance to him, and his colleagues and those he has worked with will attest to his consistent approach and fairness.
Evan graduated from SUNY Oneonta with a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology. From there he attended Long Island University, graduating with a Masters in Adaptive Physical Education and Therapeutic Recreation.
The Miracle League of Westchester is a non-profit organization created to give Westchester children and adults with disabilities the opportunity to play baseball as a team member in an organized league.
The Miracle League of Westchester’s mission is to establish and sustain baseball programs for people of all ages with disabilities. Our objective is to provide an opportunity for those individuals to experience the joy and benefits that come from playing our national pastime. Our aims are to help the league’s players develop social skills and increase self-esteem while promoting community support and sponsorship for the league. “We believe that everyone deserves a chance to play baseball”
It was founded in 2005 by J. Steven Madey who combined his two lifelong passions—baseball and working with people with disabilities— to make this miracle happen.
What makes this Miracle League unique is our Miracle Field, specially designed with a rubberized and cushioned surface at Ridge Road Park in Hartsdale, New York.
The Miracle Field was funded with a legacy grant from Westchester County through an initiative from the office of the County Executive Andy Spano and the County Board of Legislators.
In its inaugural fall 2007 season, the Miracle League had 120 players from 4 up to 18 and now provides programming for over 700 children and adults. For these individuals, the new field was truly a miracle. After opening day one young player exclaimed, “This was the greatest day of my life”
“This was the greatest day of my life”
Even the shyest or most reluctant individual, once out on the field gets into the spirit and ends up having the time of his or her life.
For general inquiries, questions or suggestions visit The Miracle League of Westchester: A Chance to Play Baseball for All (mlwny.org) or reach us using the following information below:
Westchester County does not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs or activities. Read the county's policy on Fixed Route Accessible Transit Services.
To file a grievance, contact Evan Latainer, Westchester County ADA Coordinator, at (914) 995-2958 or e-mail .
You may download and print the Notice and Grievance Procedure.
Visit the United States Department of Justice Web site for more information and technical assistance on the Americans with Disabilities Act.
One of the least understood provisions of The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is the requirement that government agencies, places of public accommodation, and in some instances private employers, furnish auxiliary aids, including qualified sign language interpreters, to people with sensory deficits. ADA seeks to insure accessibility for deaf people by guaranteeing the right to an interpreter at no cost to them in a variety of settings. For example, hospitals in New York must provide an interpreter within 20 minutes of a request, or 10 minutes in an emergency situation.
Interpreters must also be provided upon request by other health care providers, including HMO's and private practitioners. It is a violation of the ADA for a physician to refuse to treat someone who is deaf simply because he or she requires an interpreter. Individuals are entitled to interpreters in Social Security Administration proceedings and activities, and both public and private schools must provide interpreters to parents who are deaf even if their children are hearing for school activities and meetings directly related to their child's education.
In 1999 the U.S. Department of Justice, which monitors compliance with ADA, reaffirmed its support of the "auxiliary aids" requirement by joining with the Connecticut Association for the Deaf (CAD) in a law suit against a group of hospitals in that state which, CAD alleged, had failed to provide sign language interpreters, assistive listening devices, and telecommunications devices for the deaf (TDD's) to patients who were deaf and/or their families.
The case was settled in CAD's favor, and a consent decree was developed by the Department of Justice (D.O.J.) outlining the steps the hospitals would have to take to properly accommodate people with hearing impairments. The remedies included provision of qualified sign language interpreters upon request, and the availability of assistive technology including TDD's, and closed captioned (cc) television for patients who need it.
While the consent decree applies only to the Connecticut hospitals named in the suit, the clear reaffirmation of the rights of hearing impaired people under ADA is national policy, applicable in all 50 states. Hospitals and other health care providers in New York are obligated to provide auxiliary aids, including sign language interpreters, to people whose disability prevents them from communicating effectively in any other way. Only by proving to the D.O.J. that provision of interpreters would constitute an undue hardship can a health care provider avoid that obligation.
Westchester County is committed to ensuring equal access to all persons with disabilities. All Westchester County offices will provide sign language interpreters to individuals who need and request them. The Westchester County Office for the Disabled currently contracts with over 25 sign language interpreters who serve as independent contractors and provide interpreting services to the deaf and hard of hearing populations.
For more information about scheduling sign language interpreters for a given event, please call (914) 995-2956. To read a copy of the Connecticut Consent Decree, go to the U.S. Department of Justice and navigate to "publications and documents" from their menu.
The Office for People with Disabilities coordinates for all county departments requests for sign language interpreters.
Sign language interpreters
If you are a sign language interpreter and would be interested in working with the Office for People with Disabilities through a county contract contact:
Evan Latainer, Director
Phone: (914) 995-2958
E-mail: