SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND
ADA COUNTY, IDAHO
UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
DJ 204-22-62
BACKGROUND
SCOPE
OF THE INVESTIGATION
The United
States Department of Justice (Department) initiated this matter as a compliance
review of Ada County, Idaho, under title II of the Americans with Disabilities
Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134, and the Department’s implementing
regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 35. Because
the County receives financial assistance from the Department of Justice, the
review was also conducted under the authority of section 504 of the
Rehabilitation Act of 1973, 29 U.S.C. § 794, and the Department’s implementing
regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 42, Subpart G.
The review
was conducted by the Disability Rights Section of the Department’s Civil Rights
Division and focused on the County’s compliance with the following title II
requirements:
C to
conduct a self-evaluation of its services, policies, and practices by July 26,
1992, and make modifications necessary to comply with the Department’s title II
regulation, 28 C.F.R. § 35.105;
C to
notify applicants, participants, beneficiaries, and other interested persons of
their rights and the County’s obligations under title II and the Department’s
regulation, 28 C.F.R. § 35.106;
C to
designate a responsible employee to coordinate its efforts to comply with and
carry out the County’s ADA responsibilities, 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(a);
C to
establish a grievance procedure for resolving complaints of violations of title
II, 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(b);
C to
operate each program, service, or activity so that, when viewed in its
entirety, it is readily accessible to and usable by individuals with
disabilities, 28 C.F.R. § 35.150, by:
C delivery of services, programs, or activities in alternate ways, including, for example, redesign of equipment, reassignment of services, assignment of aides, home visits, or other methods of compliance or, if these methods are not effective in making the programs accessible,
C physical changes to buildings (required to have been made by January 26, 1995), in accordance with the Department’s title II regulation, 28 C.F.R. § 35.151, and the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (Standards), 28 C.F.R. pt. 36, App. A, or the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS), 41 C.F.R. § 101-19.6, App. A.
C to
ensure that facilities for which construction or alteration was begun after
January 26, 1992, are readily accessible to and usable by people with disabilities,
in accordance with 1) the Department’s title II regulation and 2) the Standards
or UFAS, 28 C.F.R. § 35.151;
C to
ensure that communications with applicants, participants, and members of the
public with disabilities are as effective as communications with others,
including furnishing auxiliary aids and services when necessary, 28 C.F.R. §
35.160;
C to
provide direct access via TTY (text telephone) or computer-to-telephone
emergency services, including 9-1-1 services, for persons who use TTY’s and
computer modems, 28 C.F.R. § 35.162;
C to
provide information for interested persons with disabilities concerning the
existence and location of the County’s accessible services, activities, and
facilities, 28 C.F.R. § 35.163(a); and
C to
provide signage at all inaccessible entrances to each of its facilities,
directing users to an accessible entrance or to information about accessible
facilities, 28 C.F.R. § 35.163(b).
As part of
its compliance review, the Department reviewed the following facilities, which – because construction or alterations
commenced after January 26, 1992 – must comply with the ADA’s new construction
or alterations requirements: Ada County Courthouse, Western Idaho Fairgrounds,
Juvenile Detention Center, Juvenile Services, and Juvenile Court Services.
The
Department’s program access review covered those of the County’s programs,
services, and activities that operate in the following facilities: Coroner’s
Office, Emergency Medical Services Main Office and adjacent response station,
Extension Office, Western Idaho Fairgrounds, Juvenile Detention Center,
Juvenile Court Services West, the Landfill, Department of Motor Vehicles -
Chinden, Noxious Weed and Pest Control, Public Safety Complex, Women’s
Detention Unit, and the Work Release Center.
Finally,
the Department reviewed the County’s Sheriff’s Department’s policies and
procedures regarding providing effective communication to persons who are deaf
or hard-of-hearing.
JURISDICTION
1. The ADA applies to the County because it is a “public entity” as defined by title II. 42 U.S.C. § 12131(1).
2. The Department is authorized under 28
C.F.R. Part 35, Subpart F, to determine the compliance of the County with title
II of the ADA and the Department's title II implementing regulation, to issue
findings, and, where appropriate, to negotiate and secure voluntary compliance
agreements. Furthermore, the Attorney
General is authorized, under 42 U.S.C. § 12133, to bring a civil action
enforcing title II of the ADA should the Department fail to secure voluntary
compliance pursuant to Subpart F.
3. The Department is authorized under 28
C.F.R. Part 42, Subpart G, to determine the County’s compliance with section
504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, to issue findings, and, where
appropriate, to negotiate and secure voluntary compliance agreements. Furthermore, the Attorney General is
authorized, under 29 U.S.C. § 794 and 28 C.F.R. §§ 42.530 and 42.108-110, to
suspend or terminate financial assistance to the County provided by the
Department of Justice should the Department fail to secure voluntary compliance
pursuant to Subpart G or to bring a civil suit to enforce the rights of the
United States under applicable federal, state, or local law.
4. The parties to this Agreement are the
United States of America and Ada County, Idaho.
5. Although Ada County admits no violation
of any applicable provision of the ADA, and because it is in full support of
the goals of the ADA to make county governmental services accessible to all
individuals to the fullest extent possible and to avoid the burdens and
expenses of any further investigation and possible litigation might bring to
taxpayers of Ada County, the parties enter into this Agreement.
6. In consideration of, and consistent
with, the terms of this Agreement, the Attorney General agrees to refrain from
filing a civil suit in this matter regarding all matters contained within this
Agreement, except as provided in the section entitled “Implementation and
Enforcement.”
ACTIONS TAKEN BY COUNTY
7. In April, 1992, an ADA Steering
Committee was established.
8. In April, 1992, the position of ADA
Coordinator was established. At
present, the County has two employees serving as ADA Coordinator.
9. In 1992, an individual with a
disability was appointed as an independent consultant for ADA issues.
10. In 1993, Ada County Resolution #735 was
passed for ADA Reasonable Accommodations and Grievance Procedures. The Grievance Procedure serves to handle
disability-related complaints from the public.
11. In 1993, the County began structural
barrier removal according to their Transition Plan.
12. The County has required and continues to
require new County owned facilities to be ADA compliant.
13. Personnel policies and procedures have
been revised and created to be ADA compliant.
14. In 2004, the County provided ADA
awareness training for its employees by the Executive Director of the Idaho
Task Force on the ADA.
15. The County ADA Coordinators attended the
National Symposium and Expo in 2004.
16. The County has an Effective
Communications Policy that provides for sign language interpreters and
assistive listening devices for court proceedings, County Commissioners
meetings, and in-person interactions.
The County also has a TTY available for public use and signs posted to
alert the public as to the availability of these services.
17. The County is proactive in keeping
current with the ADA Standards. Before
the Department initiated its review, the County was in the process of updating
its Transition Plan and had conducted its own review of its facilities.
18. The County has consulted persons with
disabilities and groups representing them n determining how to provide services
in a manner that meets the needs of persons with disabilities.
19. The County Elections Board has met with
persons with disabilities and groups representing them to improve access to
voting for persons with disabilities.
20. The County provides curb-side voting at
all polling places as a means of giving access to disabled citizens to cast
their ballots.
REMEDIAL ACTION
NOTIFICATION
21. Within two months of the effective date
of this Agreement, the County will adopt the attached Notice (Attachment A);
distribute it to all agency heads; publish the Notice in a local newspaper of
general circulation serving the County; post the Notice on its Internet Home
Page; and post copies in conspicuous locations in its public buildings. It will refresh the posted copies, and
update the contact information contained on the Notice, as necessary, for the
life of this Agreement. Copies will
also be provided to any person upon request.
22. Within three months of the effective date
of this Agreement, and on yearly anniversaries of this Agreement until it
expires, the County will implement and report to the Department its written
procedures for providing information for interested persons with disabilities
concerning the existence and location of the County’s accessible programs,
services, and activities.
GENERAL
EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS PROVISIONS
23. Within three months of the effective date
of this Agreement, the County will identify sources of qualified oral
interpreters, real-time transcription services, and vendors that can put
documents in Braille, and will implement and report to the Department its
written procedures, with time frames, for fulfilling requests from the public
for sign language or oral interpreters, real-time transcription services, and
documents in alternate formats (Braille, large print, cassette tapes, etc.).
24. The County will take steps to ensure that
all appropriate employees are trained and practiced in using the Idaho Relay
Service to make and receive calls.
LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONS
25. Within three months of the effective date
of this Agreement, the County will adapt for its own use and implement the Ada
County Sheriff’s Office Policy Statement on Effective Communication with People
Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing [Attachment C] and distribute to all sheriff
department officers the Guide for Law
Enforcement Officers When in Contact with People Who are Deaf or Hard of
Hearing [Attachment D].
26. Within three months of the effective date
of this Agreement, the County will contract with one or more local qualified
oral/sign language interpreter agencies to ensure that the interpreting
services will be available on a priority basis, twenty-four hours per day,
seven days a week, to its sheriff department or make other appropriate
arrangements (such as contracting directly with or hiring qualified
interpreters).
27. Within three months of the effective date
of this Agreement, the County will ensure that each sheriff station and each
jail/detention facility is equipped with a working TTY to enable persons who
are deaf, hard of hearing, or who have speech impairments to make outgoing
telephone calls. Where inmate telephone
calls are time-limited, the County will adopt policies permitting inmates who
use TTY’s a longer period of time to make those calls, due to the slower nature
of TTY communications compared with voice communications.
EMERGENCY
MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES AND POLICIES
28. If the County contracts with another
entity, such as the American Red Cross or another local government, to provide
its emergency preparedness plans and emergency response services, the County
will ensure that the other entity complies with the following provisions on its
behalf.
29. Within three months of the effective date
of this Agreement, the County will implement and report to the Department its
written procedures that ensure that it regularly solicits and incorporates
input from persons with a variety of disabilities and those who serve them
regarding all phases of its emergency management plan (preparation,
notification, response, and clean up).
30. Within three months of the effective date
of this Agreement, the County will implement and report to the Department its
written procedures that ensure that its community evacuation plans enable those
who have mobility impairments, vision impairments, hearing impairments,
cognitive disabilities, mental illness, or other disabilities to safely
self-evacuate or be evacuated by others.
Some communities are instituting voluntary, confidential registries of
persons with disabilities who may need individualized evacuation assistance or
notification. If the County adopts or
maintains such a registry, its report to the Department will discuss its
procedures for ensuring voluntariness, appropriate confidentiality controls,
and how the registry will be kept updated, as well as its outreach plan to
inform persons with disabilities of its availability. Whether or not a registry is used, the County plan should address
accessible transportation needs for persons with disabilities.
31. Within three months of the effective date
of this Agreement, the County will implement and report to the Department its
written procedures that ensure that if its emergency warning systems use sirens
or other audible alerts, it will also provide ways to inform persons with
hearing impairments of an impending disaster.
The use of auto-dialed TTY messages to pre-registered individuals who
are deaf or hard of hearing, text messaging, e-mails, open-captioning on local
TV stations and other innovative uses of technology may be incorporated into
such procedures, as well as lower-tech options such as dispatching qualified
sign language interpreters to assist with emergency TV broadcasts.
WEB-BASED
SERVICES AND PROGRAMS
32. Within 1 month of the effective date of
this Agreement, and on subsequent anniversaries of the effective date of this
Agreement, the County will distribute to all persons – employees and
contractors – who design, develop, maintain, or otherwise have responsibility
for content and format of its website(s) or third party websites used by the
County (Internet Personnel) the technical assistance document, “Accessibility
of State and Local Government Websites to People with Disabilities,” which is
Attachment H to this Agreement (it is also available at
www.ada.gov/websites2.htm).
33. Within three months of the effective date
of this Agreement, and throughout the life of the Agreement, the County will do
the following:
A. Establish, implement, and post online a
policy that its web pages will be accessible and create a process for
implementation;
B. Ensure that all new and modified web
pages and content are accessible;
C. Develop and implement a plan for making
existing web content more accessible;
D. Provide a way for online visitors to
request accessible information or services by posting a telephone number or
e-mail address on its home page; and
E. Periodically (at least annually) enlist
persons with disabilities to test its pages for ease of use.
PHYSICAL
CHANGES TO FACILITIES
34. The elements or features of the County’s
facilities that do not comply with the Standards, including those listed in
Attachments I, J, and K, prevent persons with disabilities from fully and
equally enjoying the County’s services, programs, or activities and constitute
discrimination on the basis of disability within the meaning of 42 U.S.C. §
12132 and 28 C.F.R. §§ 35.149 and 35.150.
35. The County will comply with the cited
provisions of the Standards when taking the actions required by this Agreement.
36. Within three months of the effective date
of this Agreement, the County will install signage as necessary to comply with
28 C.F.R. § 35.163(b), after having surveyed all facilities that are the
subject of this Agreement for the purpose of identifying those that have
multiple entrances not all of which are accessible.
37. Newly Constructed Facilities: In order to ensure that the spaces and
elements in County facilities for which construction was commenced after
January 26, 1992, are readily accessible to and usable by persons with
disabilities, the County will take the actions listed in Attachment I.
38. Altered Facilities: In order to ensure that the spaces and
elements in County facilities for which alterations commenced after January 26,
1992, are readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities, the
County will take the actions listed in Attachment J.
39. Program Access in Existing Facilities: In order to ensure that each of the County’s
programs, services, and activities operating at a facility that is the subject
of this Agreement, when viewed in its entirety, is readily accessible to and
usable by persons with mobility impairments, the County will take the actions
listed in Attachment K.
MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
40. Except as otherwise specified in this
Agreement, at yearly anniversaries of the effective date of this Agreement
until it expires, the County will submit written reports to the Department
summarizing the actions the County has taken pursuant to this Agreement. Reports will include detailed photographs
showing measurements, architectural plans, work orders, notices published in
the newspaper, copies of adopted policies, and proof of efforts to secure funding/assistance
for structural renovations or equipment.
41. Throughout the life of this Agreement,
consistent with 28 C.F.R. § 35.133(a), the County will maintain the
accessibility of its programs, activities, services, facilities, and equipment,
and will take whatever actions are necessary (such as routine testing of
accessibility equipment and routine accessibility audits of its programs and
facilities) to do so. This provision
does not prohibit isolated or temporary interruptions in service or access due
to maintenance or repairs. 28 C.F.R. §
35.133(b).
42. Within six months of the effective date
of this Agreement, the County will develop or procure a two-hour training
program on the requirements of the ADA and appropriate ways of serving persons
with disabilities. The County will use
the ADA technical assistance materials developed by the Department and will
consult with interested persons, including individuals with disabilities, in
developing or procuring the ADA training program.
43. Within one year of the effective date of
this Agreement, the County will deliver its training program to all County
employees who have direct contact with members of the public. At the end of that period, the County will
submit a copy of its training curriculum and materials to the Department, along
with a list of employees trained and the name, title, and address of the
trainer.
IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT
44. If at any time the County desires to
modify any portion of this Agreement because of changed conditions making performance
impossible or impractical or for any other reason, it will promptly notify the
Department in writing, setting forth the facts and circumstances thought to
justify modification and the substance of the proposed modification. Until there is written Agreement by the
Department to the proposed modification, the proposed modification will not
take effect. These actions must receive
the prior written approval of the Department, which approval will not be unreasonably
withheld or delayed.
45. The Department may review compliance with
this Agreement at any time. If the
Department believes that the County has failed to comply in a timely manner
with any requirement of this Agreement without obtaining sufficient advance
written agreement with the Department for a modification of the relevant terms,
the Department will so notify the County in writing and it will attempt to
resolve the issue or issues in good faith.
If the Department is unable to reach a satisfactory resolution of the
issue or issues raised within 30 days of the date it provides notice to the
County, it may institute a civil action in federal district court to enforce
the terms of this Agreement, or it may initiate appropriate steps to enforce
title II and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
46. For purposes of the immediately preceding
paragraph, it is a violation of this Agreement for the County to fail to comply
in a timely manner with any of its requirements without obtaining sufficient
advance written agreement with the Department for an extension of the relevant
time frame imposed by the Agreement.
47. Failure by the Department to enforce this
entire Agreement or any provision thereof with regard to any deadline or any
other provision herein will not be construed as a waiver of the Department's
right to enforce other deadlines and provisions of this Agreement.
48. This Agreement is a public document. A copy of this document or any information
contained in it will be made available to any person by the County or the
Department on request.
49. This Agreement constitutes the entire
agreement between the parties on the matters raised herein, and no other
statement, promise, or agreement, either written or oral, made by either party
or agents of either party, that is not contained in this written Agreement
(including its Attachments, which are hereby incorporated by reference), will
be enforceable. This Agreement does not
purport to remedy any other potential violations of the ADA or any other
federal law. This Agreement does not
affect the County’s continuing responsibility to comply with all aspects of the
ADA and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act.
50. This Agreement does not address the
accessibility of voting equipment or voting systems, including polling place
accessibility, or any modifications to polling-related policies and procedures
that may be necessary to ensure access for persons with disabilities.
51. While recognizing that Settlement
Agreements such as this are generally effective for three years, the parties
also recognize that Ada County is subject to Art. 8, Sec. 3 of the Idaho
Constitution, which prohibits multi-year agreements. Therefore, this Agreement shall be effective upon execution by
the parties and shall be effective through September 30, 2005, and shall be
renewed for two additional one-year terms subject to the continued
applicability of the ADA, appropriation of funds by the Board of Ada County
Commissioners, and the mutual consent of the parties. The County recognizes its
obligation to be in compliance with the relevant portions of the ADA and will
take such obligation into consideration in appropriating funds necessary for
the continued compliance by the County with this Agreement.
52. The person signing for the County
represents that he or she is authorized to bind the County to this Agreement.
53. The effective date of this Agreement is
the date of the last signature below.
For the County: Board
of Ada County Commissioners By:
____________________________ Rick Yzaguirre, Commissioner By:
____________________________ Judy M. Peavey-Derr, Commissioner By:
____________________________ Fred Tilman, Commissioner Date: ___________________________ |
For the United States: Bradley J. Schlozman, Acting Assistant Attorney General
Civil Rights Division By:_____________________________ JOHN L. WODATCH, Chief JEANINE WORDEN, Deputy Chief MARY LOU MOBLEY, Senior Counsel NAOMI H. MILTON, Supervisory Attorney AMELIA M. EDUARDO, Investigator MARK J. MAZZ, Architect U.S. Department of Justice Civil Rights Division 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. Disability Rights Section - NYA Washington, DC 20530 Date: ______________________________ |
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