Government - Public Entities
Under State and Federal Law, government agencies, also known as public entities, must provide individuals with disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from its programs. Services provided to persons with disabilities must be as effective in affording equal opportunity to obtain the same result, to gain the same benefit, or to reach the same level of achievement as those provided to others. The laws apply to all state and local Government programs, activities and services regardless of funding sources.
For public entities, program access is not limited to making facilities physically accessible. Adhering to program access requirements includes effective communication practices, proper public meeting protocols, accessible signage, the designation of a responsible employee to serve as contact for concerns or grievances and other aspects of program services that mere physical accessibility does not fulfill.
Public entities are required to furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communications with individuals with disabilities, unless doing so would result in a fundamental alteration to the program or service or in an undue burden. Auxiliary aids include taped texts, Brailled materials, large print materials, captioning and other methods of making audio and visual media available to people with disabilities.
The effective communication rules applies to public entities using the Internet for communications regarding their programs, goods or services since they must be prepared to offer those communications via an accessible medium.
Also, public entities must adhere to all non-discrimination laws and regulations regarding employment of people with disabilities.
Resources and Information
State and local governments are required to follow specific architectural standards in the new construction and alteration of their buildings. They also must relocate programs or otherwise provide access in inaccessible older buildings.
While the ADA requires that all new public accommodations and facilities built for first occupancy after January of 1993 be accessible to disabled individuals, California law actually provides some greater protections. California already requires that facilities open to the public and built with private funds after July 1, 1970, be accessible. Facilities constructed before July 1, 1970 must have been made accessible when any alterations, structural repairs, or additions were made.
California also passed a series of laws designed to ensure that all buildings, structures, sidewalks, curbs, and related facilities open to the public and constructed using state, county, or municipal funds, were accessible and usable by individuals with disabilities. Buildings constructed before 1968 are not required to be accessible unless structural alterations or repairs are made.
U.S. Department of Justice ADA web page
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
Division of the State Architect (DSA) acts as California's policy leader for building design and construction, and provides design and construction oversight for K-12 schools and community colleges. DSA has offices in Los Angeles, Oakland, Sacramento, and San Diego. DSA also develops and maintains the accessibility standards and codes utilized in public and private buildings throughout California. DSA incorporates the offices of the independent State Historical Building Safety Board, caretaker of California's State Historical Building Code.
Contact DSA:
http://www.dsa.dgs.ca.gov/ContactDSA/default.htm
Universal Design Section:
http://www.dsa.dgs.ca.gov/universaldesign/default.htm
State Historical Building Safety Board:
http://www.dsa.dgs.ca.gov/StateHistoricalBuildingSafetyBoard/default.htm
Access Compliance Reference Manual provides information and the text of selected California Accessibility Statutes:
http://www.dsa.dgs.ca.gov/UniversalDesign/ud_accessmanual.htm
Building and Standards Commission's mission is to produce sensible and usable state building standards and administrative regulations that implement or enforce those standards.
http://www.bsc.ca.gov
Communications
A public entity shall take appropriate steps to ensure that communications with applicants, participants, and members of the public with disabilities are as effective as communications with others. Accessability requirements for information technology such as computer terminals and websites has been outlined in both Federal and State laws.
Appropriate auxiliary aids and services need to be provided where necessary to afford an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in, and enjoy the benefits of, a service, program, or activity conducted by a public entity.
The type of auxiliary aid and service is determined by giving primary consideration to the requests of the individual with a disability. "Auxiliary aids" include such services or devices as qualified interpreters, assistive listening headsets, television captioning and decoders, telecommunications devices for deaf persons (TDD's), videotext displays, readers, taped texts, Brailled materials, and large print materials.
More Information
Information Technology
Alternative Formats
Information and Signage
The Title II Technical Assistance Manual
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/taman2.html
Title II Highlights
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/t2hlt95.htm
Writing for Persons with Disabilities, an ADA Task Force Bulletin
The Legal Rights of Persons with Disabilities-- Chapter 3 Non- discrimination in Businesses and Services
http://caag.state.ca.us/consumers/general/adach3.htm#ch3
Section 508
http://www.section508.gov/
Section 508 requires that Federal agencies' electronic and information technology is accessible to people with disabilities.
Section 508 Facts Understanding Section 508 and the Access Board's Standards
http://216.218.205.189/sec508/brochure.htm
World Wide Web Consortiums (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative
Applying the ADA to the Internet: A Web Accessibility Standard
by Cynthia D. Waddell, JD
ADA Coordinator, City of San Jose, CA USA
The International Center for Disability Resources on the Internet ICDRI http://www.icdri.org/CynthiaW/applying_the_ada_to_the_internet.htm
Bobby was created to help web page authors identify and repair barriers to access by individuals with disabilities. http://bobby.watchfire.com/bobby/html/en/index.jsp
Accessible web authoring resources and education http://aware.hwg.org: The AWARE Center was launched in April 1999 as part of the HTML Writers Guild's annual Web Accessibility Month, a special focus on the importance of designing for universal accessibility. http://aware.hwg.org/degrade/evaluators.html
W3C Web Accessibility Initiative, Evaluation, Repair and Transformation Tools for Web Content Accessibility.
http://www.w3.org/WAI/ER/existingtools.html
The inclusion of products or services in this resource guide should not be viewed as an endorsement by the State of California. Resources have been compiled for informational purposes only, and the State of California makes no guarantees regarding the accessibility or quality of the cited references.
If you encounter any broken links in this resource guide, please alert us by sending e-mail to: adatf@dor.ca.gov.
American Printing House for the Blind, Inc., The
1839 Frankfort Avenue
Mailing Address:
Post Office Box 6085
Louisville, Kentucky 40206-0085
502-895-2405
800-223-1839 (toll-free)
502-899-2274 (facsimile)
http://www.aph.org/contact.htm
Braille Institute, The
741 N. Vermont Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90029
323-663-1111
323-663-0867 (facsimile)
http://www.brailleinstitute.org
Braille Transcribers
http://www.spedex.com/directories/braille.htm
Education Transcription Center
Ventura College
4667 Telegraph Road
Ventura, California 93003
805-648-8927
http://www.venturacollege.edu/eacenter/hightechcenter.htm
MSMT Braille Center
Santa Rosa, California
707-579-1115
National Braille Press
88 St. Stephen Street
Boston, MA 02115
617-266-6160
800-548-7323 (toll-free)
617-437-0456 (facsimile)
http://www.npb.org
New World Languages
909-388-1798
Sacramento Braille Transcribers
2791 - 24th Street
Sacramento, California 95814
916-445-9121
Sacramento Society for the Blind
2750 - 24th Street
Sacramento, California 95814
916-452-8271
Large Print
Audio Resources
Other Alternative Media Resources
American Thermoform Corporation
2311 Travers Avenue
City of Commerce, California 90040
800-331-3676 (toll-free)
213-728-8877 (facsimile)
American Theroform Corporation is a major California-based supplier of Braille paper and related supplies. Braille paper is available in various widths and in weight suitable for both draft and final documents.
http://www.atcbrleqp.com
TAEVIS Online, Purdue University
TAEVIS Online is an electronic library containing tactile diagrams. These diagrams, redrawn to tactile specifications are created from college-level course material and can be used to transmit visual information such as that found in graphs, chemical structures, and biological drawings.
http://www.taevisonline.purdue.edu
Captioning Resources
Information and Signage
Designation of Responsible Employee and Adoption of Grievance Procedures
Public entities need to designate at least one employee to coordinate its efforts to comply with the ADA and disability access laws, including any investigation of complaints alleging noncompliance. The name, office address, and telephone number of the employee or employees designated must be available to the public.
Grievance procedures providing for prompt and equitable resolution of complaints need to be adopted and published.
For more information see ADA Task Force Bulletin:
The ADA Coordinator Provides Essential Support For Effective Implementation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) in State Government
The Disability Advisory Committee
The United States Department of Justice, when promulgating the regulations for the ADA, recognized the importance of state agencies and departments soliciting the input of individuals with disabilities when developing policies and procedures. Additionally, state law directs departments to ensure that persons with disabilities have access to positions in state government on an equal and competitive basis with the general population. To this end, departments are encouraged to assemble a disability advisory committee (DAC) comprised of employees with a broad range of disabilities or with a knowledge of disabilities to provide consultation to management on issues regarding program access and employment for persons with disabilities.
For More Information In Forming A Disability Advisory Committee see: How to Have an Effective Disability Advisory Committee.
http://www.spb.ca.gov/svcgen/dacgiderd.cfm
Technical Assistance for Government Entities
California Department of Fair Employment and Housing
The Mission of the Department of Fair Employment and Housing is to protect the people of California from unlawful discrimination in employment, housing and public accommodations, and from the perpetration of acts of hate violence.
http://www.dfeh.ca.gov
Employment/Public Accommodations/Hate Violence:
1-800-884-1684 (Within California)
1-916-227-0551 (Outside California)
The U.S. Department of Justice Americans with Disabilities Act Technical Assistance Program
The ADA requires the Department to provide technical assistance to businesses, State and local governments, and individuals with responsibilities and rights under the law.
http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm
Toll-Free ADA Information Line:
800-514-0301 (voice)
800-514-0383 (TDD)
The Disability Access Section, California Department of Rehabilitation
The Section serves as a centralized resource for providing public information, training, and technical assistance on FEHA, ADA, and other related disability laws to state entities, agencies, and One-Stop service delivery systems serving persons with disabilities and employers.
E-mail: adatf@dor.ca.gov
916-263-8674 Voice
916-263-8672 TTY
The Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund (DREDF)
The leading national law and policy center in disability civil rights-- DREDF--founded in 1979 by a unique alliance of adults with disabilities and parents of children with disabilities. DREDF's name was chosen to associate and align with the tradition of other civil rights legal defense funds, starting with the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund.
http://www.dredf.org/what.html
510-644-2555 Voice/TTY
Pacific Disability and Business Technical Assistance Center (DBTAC)
Provides information, problem solving assistance and referrals for implementing the ADA and Accessible Electronic and Information Technology (E&IT).
http://www.pacdbtac.org
1-800-949-4232 (Voice &TDD)
510-848-2980 (Voice)
510-848-1840 (TDD)
Access Board
The Access Board is an independent Federal agency devoted to accessibility for people with disabilities. It operates with about 30 staff and a governing board of representatives from Federal departments and public members appointed by the President. Key responsibilities of the Board include: Developing and maintaining accessibility requirements for the built environment, transit vehicles, telecommunications equipment, and for electronic and information technology; providing technical assistance and training on these guidelines and standards; enforcing accessibility standards for federally funded facilities.
http://www.access-board.gov/
(202) 272-0080 (v)
(202) 272-0082 (TTY)
(202) 272-0081 (fax)
(800) 872-2253 (v)
(800) 993-2822 (TTY)
Disability Direct
As part of President Bush's New Freedom Initiative, his comprehensive plan to reduce barriers to full community integration for people with disabilities, the Department of Labor, in collaboration with other Federal agencies, is in the process of expanding and improving the DisabilityDirect.gov web portal. Accordingly, the existing site will be shut down for a brief period while the new site is under construction. Please join our subscriber list to learn more about the new site as it becomes available.
http://www.disabilitydirect.gov
Protection and Advocacy
An organization that works in partnership with people with disabilities, offers several publications dealing with individuals with disabilities and transportation. For more information see the Protection and Advocacy website.
http://www.pai-ca.org/