SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT
BETWEEN
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
AND
LOUDOUN COUNTY,
VIRGINIA
UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES
ACT
DJ 204-79-246
BACKGROUND
SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION
The United States Department of Justice (Department) initiated this
matter as a compliance review of Loudoun County, Virginia (County)
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 County was selected for this
compliance review because it is the fastest growing county in the United States,
there are a significant number of people with disabilities who reside in the
County, and the County has constructed many new facilities since the ADA became
effective. The County was not
selected because of any evidence that it discriminates against people with
disabilities.
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: Government Center,
Juvenile Detention Center, Central Kitchen, Respite Center, Parks and Recreation
Center/Senior Center, Roller Blade Rink, Mental Health Building, Loudoun County
Government Building, Loudoun County Senior Center, SportsPlex Maintenance
Building and Shelter #1, SportsPlex Concessions Building, Claude Moore
Park, Claude Moore Heritage Farm
Museum, Claude Moore Park Education Center, Vestals Gap Visitors Center, Ashburn
Library, Trailside Park, Ashburn Park, Greg Crittenden Memorial Park, Judicial
Center, Shenandoah Office Building (altered sections only), and the Animal
Shelter.
The Department’s program access review covered those of the
County’s programs, services, and activities that operate in the
following facilities: Shenandoah
Office Building, Friendship House, Little League Lower Fields, Lanesville House,
FrogShackle Cottage, Eastern Loudoun Library, Sterling Community Center,
Sterling Library, Sterling Community Annex, Sterling Sheriff Substation, Health
and Welfare Office/Loudoun Mental Health, Ashburn Sheriff Substation, Arcola
Community Center, Mt Zion Church, Mickey Gordon Memorial Park, Middleburg
Library, Lucketts Community Center, Lovettsville Library, Dominion High School,
Potowmack Elementary School, Sterling Middle School, Algonkian Middle School,
Guilford Elementary School, Ashburn Fire/Rescue Station #6, Arcola Elementary
School, Aldie Elementary School, Middleburg Community Center, Harmony
Intermediate School, and the Lovettsville Volunteer Fire/Rescue Station.
The Department reviewed the County’s policies and procedures regarding
voting, emergency management and disaster prevention, and sidewalk maintenance
to evaluate whether persons with disabilities have an equal opportunity to
utilize these programs.
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
Loudoun County, Virginia.
5.
In order to avoid the burdens and expenses of an investigation and
possible litigation, 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 LOUDOUN
COUNTY
7.
The County has a designated ADA Coordinator and an ADA Committee
comprised of interested citizens that meet regularly to discuss issues and
concerns.
8.
The County posts an ADA notice for its citizens.
9.
The County conducted a self-evaluation and developed a transitional plan
on September 17, 1991. The plan was
updated again in September 1993 and November 1994. The plan increased funding to ensure
that the programs offered in County facilities are readily accessible to and
usable by individuals with disabilities.
Through the end of FY03 the County, in addition to all new construction
costs that included ADA compliance expenditures, spent $471,373 for reasonable
public and employee accommodations and facility modifications.
10. The County
installed an access ramp to transitional housing facilities.
11. The County offers curb side voting on election day.
12. The County began contracting for the captioning of all the Board of Supervisors business meetings in March 1997; this is an ongoing action. In 2000, the Board’s public hearings were added to the captioning contract. The County provided captioning upon citizen request prior to the captioning contract for Board meetings and hearings.
13. Sign
language interpreters are provided for all Board of Supervisor meetings,
including public hearings, upon request.
14. The County
has proactively worked with the disability community to provide accessibility of
its website and all on-line registrations/payments information components. This includes the use of Alternative
Text tags to represent visual information as text for screen
readers.
15. The County
has proactively, since May 1992, included in its procurement documents the
requirement for disability compliance.
On July 1, 2000, the documents were revised to add new State Code
language prohibiting discrimination.
16. The County
has proactively ensured communication accessibility through: the purchases of
portable FM assistive listening systems and TTYs, the provision of sign language
interpreters and CART (computer assisted real time) reporters, and the
development of the Communication Aids Facility at the Eastern Loudoun Regional
Library.
17. The
information in Attachments D, E, F, and G to this Agreement was obtained by
Department staff during a site visit of the County in February 2004. Since that time and prior to the
execution of this Agreement, the County has proactively made modifications to
many County facilities in an effort to improve accessibility.
REMEDIAL
ACTION
LAW ENFORCEMENT AND EFFECTIVE
COMMUNICATION
18. Within six
months of the effective date of this Agreement, the County will require the
Sheriff to adapt for his own use and implement the Loudoun County Sheriff’s
Office’s Policy Statement on Effective Communication with People Who are Deaf or
Hard of Hearing [Attachment A] and distribute to all deputy sheriffs the Guide for Law Enforcement Officers When in
Contact with People Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing [Attachment
B].
19. Within six
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).
20. Within six
months of the effective date of this Agreement, the County will ensure that each
sheriff station or substation and each jail/prison/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 if inmates or
members of the public are allowed to make outgoing telephone calls. Where inmate telephone calls are
time-limited, the County will require the Sheriff to 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.
VOTING
21. Some of the
County polling places may be owned or operated by other public entities subject
to title II or by public accommodations subject to title III and, as such, would
be subject to the obligation to provide program access or to remove barriers to
accessibility under the ADA. This
Agreement does not limit such future enforcement action against the owners or
operators of these polling places by any person or entity, including the
Department.
22. Within two
years of the effective date of this Agreement, the County will develop and
implement a way for persons who are blind or have low vision to vote
independently and privately, whether through ballots and instructions in
alternate formats (in-person and absentee), Braille templates and audio
instructions, the provision of accessible voting machines, or some other
method.
23. Within six
months of the effective date of this Agreement, the County will request that the
Commonwealth of Virginia make all voter registration materials available in
alternate formats, including Braille, large print, audio tape, and computer
disk.
24. Starting
six months from the effective date of this Agreement, when the County purchases
or otherwise acquires new voting machines, one such newly-acquired machine per
polling location will be the most accessible model for persons with disabilities
(including those with mobility and visual impairments) that has been approved
for County use by the applicable governing authority (e.g., State Secretary of
Elections or other such official).
EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT PROCEDURES AND
POLICIES
25. 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.
26. Within six
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).
27. Within six
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. If the County adopts or maintains a
voluntary, confidential registry of persons with disabilities who may need
individualized evacuation assistance or notification, 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.
28. Within six
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.
29. Within six
months of the effective date of this Agreement, the County will implement and
report to the Department its written procedures that ensure that at least one
emergency shelter has a back-up generator and a way to keep medications
refrigerated (such as a refrigerator or a cooler with ice). Such shelter(s) will be made available
to persons whose disabilities require access to electricity and refrigeration,
for example, for using life-sustaining medical devices, providing power to
motorized wheelchairs, and preserving certain medications, such as insulin, that
require refrigeration. The written
procedures will include a plan for notifying persons of the location of such
shelter(s).
30. Within six
months of the effective date of this Agreement, the County will implement and
report to the Department its written procedures that ensure that persons who use
service animals are not separated from their service animals when sheltering
during an emergency, even if pets are normally prohibited in shelters. The procedures will not unnecessarily
segregate persons who use service animals from others but may take into account
the potential presence of persons who, for safety or health reasons, should not
be in contact with certain types of animals.
31. Some of the
County’s emergency shelters may be owned or operated by other public entities
subject to title II or by public accommodations subject to title III and, as
such, are subject to the obligation to provide program access or remove barriers
to accessibility under the ADA.
This Agreement does not limit such future enforcement action against the
owners or operators of these facilities by any person or entity, including the
Department.
32. For
emergency shelters owned and operated by the County, within nine months of the
effective date of this Agreement, the County will either remove barriers to
access identified in the County’s survey, or identify an appropriate number of
alternate shelters where the parking, exterior routes, entrances, interior
routes to the shelter area, and toilet rooms to the shelter area comply with the
Standards.
33. For
emergency shelters owned or operated by other entities, within six months of the
effective date of this Agreement, the County will request in writing that each
of the owners and operators of these shelter facilities remove the noted
barriers to access for persons with disabilities. The request will specify that the
remediation be completed within one year of the effective date of this
Agreement. The County will
simultaneously send a courtesy copy of the request to the Department.
34. Within six
months of the effective date of this Agreement, the County will implement and
report to the Department its written procedures that ensure that it has
identified temporary accessible housing (such as accessible hotel rooms within
the community or in nearby communities) that could be used if people with
disabilities cannot immediately return home after a disaster if, for instance,
necessary accessible features such as ramps or electrical systems have been
compromised.
WEB-BASED SERVICES AND
PROGRAMS
35. 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 the technical assistance document,
“Accessibility of State and Local Government Websites to People with
Disabilities,” which is Attachment C to this Agreement (it is also available at
www.ada.gov/websites2.htm).
36. 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 disability groups to test its
pages for ease of use.
PHYSICAL CHANGES TO
FACILITIES
37. The
elements or features of the County’s facilities that do not comply with the
Standards, including those listed in Attachments D, E, F and G prevent some
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. This Agreement shall not be construed as
an admission of liability by the County.
38. The County
will comply with the cited provisions of the Standards when taking the actions
required by this Agreement.
39. Within six
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.
40. 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 D1, D2,
D3.
41. 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
E1, E2.
42. Program
Access in County 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
F1, F2,
F3.
PROGRAM MODIFICATIONS
43. Access
to County Programs Housed in Others’ Facilities: In order to ensure that the County’s
programs, services, and activities that are the subject of this Agreement and
that are operated by the County at facilities owned or controlled by other
entities, when viewed in their entirety, are readily accessible to and usable by
persons with mobility impairments, the County will take the actions listed in
Attachment G.
MISCELLANEOUS
PROVISIONS
44. 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.
45. 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).
IMPLEMENTATION AND
ENFORCEMENT
46. 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.
47. 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
48. 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.
49. 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.
50. 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.
51. 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.
52. This
Agreement will remain in effect for three years from the effective date.
53. The person
signing for the County represents that he is authorized to bind the County to
this Agreement.
54. The
effective date of this Agreement is the date of the last signature below.
For
Loudoun County:
Board
of Supervisors of Loudoun County
By:__________________________ KIRBY M.
BOWERS County
Administrator Loudoun
County Government Center 1 Harrison
Street, S.E. Leesburg,
Virginia 20175
Date: ___________________________ |
For the United
States:
BRADLEY J.
SCHLOZMAN, Acting Assistant
Attorney General
By:_____________________________
JOHN L. WODATCH,
Chief JEANINE WORDEN,
Deputy Chief MARY LOU MOBLEY,
Senior Counsel ELIZABETH BACON,
Supervisory Attorney CELESTE A.
SIMMONS, Investigator MICHELE ANTONIO
MALLOZZI, 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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