From the TASC/NAPAS 2003-04 Annual Report

ACCESSING A STABLE AND SECURE LIFE IN THE COMMUNITY

In 1990, the ADA brought the promise of integration and equality to people with disabilities. It has been almost 15 years since the since the ADA was passed, but people with disabilities continue to face barriers that impede their ability to truly integrate themselves into their communities.  As the primary non-federal enforcers of the ADA, P&As continue their education, advocacy and litigation efforts in order to ensure that people with disabilities can have access to a stable and secure life in the community.   

Accessing the Community

People with disabilities often face various barriers to the community.  These barriers not only manifest themselves in physical forms, but also in the discriminatory attitudes of individuals and policies in the community.  For more than 25 years P&As have been fighting to bring down all types of barriers in order to make the community is accessible to people with disabilities.  

As a result of the advocacy efforts of the California P&A, the Los Angles Department of Public Works has adopted a policy to install curb ramps at all intersections affected by street resurfacing or reconstruction. Although the ADA requires local governments to adopt such a policy, the city had not.  In addition, the P&A was able to get the city to agree to re-advertise its ADA Curb Ramp Program, whereby persons with disabilities can request the installation of a curb ramp at any intersection that affects them. 

The District of Columbia P&A investigated allegations of blatant discrimination by a shopping mall against people with mental disabilities.  The individuals were visiting the mall with their instructors as part of their day program.  The mall managers confronted the individuals, was verbally abusive toward them and their instructors, and banned them from the mall=s food court because he said they made the mall look bad.   The District of Columbia P&A sent a demand letter to the mall owner, but attempts to resolve the matter failed.  The P&A subsequently filed a Title III ADA lawsuit against the mall seeking injunctive relief and is in the process of litigating the matter. 

A woman who uses a wheelchair contacted the Virginia P&A after her grocery store removed the accessible parking spaces from its parking lot.  The P&A sent the store a letter requesting that it correct the violations of the ADA and included a technical assistance sheet that explained the store obligation under the ADA in this regard.  The store ignored the letter and the P&A filed a lawsuit in the agency=s own name for the customer. After P&A filed the suit, the store decided to settle the matter and put back the accessible spaces in its parking lot. The store is once again accessible to the customer.

The North Dakota P&A was contacted by two men who use wheelchairs that were denied service at a restaurant.  The restaurant refused to serve the men during peak hours.  The restaurant would only serve the men early in the morning or late in the afternoon and during those time the men  would only be served in the back area of the restaurant.  The P&A contacted the restaurant address the issue and was able to work with the restaurant to rectify the discriminatory practice. The P&A also provided training to the restaurant personnel.  The two men, as well as others in the community with disabilities, have reported that there have no more incidents of discrimination at the restaurant.

The Guam P&A advocated on behalf of a client who felt discriminated against when she visited a hotel restaurant with her friends.  The hotel asked her to take another route into the restaurant instead of the accessible route that her friends were taking. Once she reached the entrance of the restaurant, hotel staff picked her up in her wheelchair to carry her in the restaurant after she had indicated she did not want to be picked up.  The staff picked her up despite her wishes because they were afraid she would have trouble negotiating the ramp into the restaurant.  The P&A contacted the restaurant and was invited to train hotel staff on how to appropriately serve customers with disabilities.

The ADA requires businesses to allow people with disabilities to bring their service animals onto business premises in whatever areas customers are generally allowed, however, a restaurant in Maine refused to allow a customer with a service animal onto their premises. The customer filed a complaint  with the Maine Human Rights Commission and then sought the assistance of the Maine P&A in representing her through the Commission process.  The P&A was success in obtaining a favorable decision on behalf of the client. 

Securing Effective Communication

The ADA provides that business and local governments must ensure that communications with individuals with disabilities are as effective as their communications with others. Depending on the length and complexity of the communications, certain aids and services to assist in communication must be given. Often, however, these services are not provided and people with disabilities are left out of many essential conversations, including some as critical as those that involve their health and legal rights.  Through education and litigation P&As are fighting to ensure that people who do not use traditional means to communicate can have a say in all aspects of their lives.

After various meetings with a county social service agent, in which she was denied accommodations that would allow her to effectively communicate with the agent, a Nevada woman contacted her state P&A.  The Nevada P&A worked with the county to help them come into to compliance with the ADA by ensuring a process was in place in which people with disabilities could request and obtain accommodations for equal access to the county=s programs. Additionally, because of the P&A=s advocacy the county provided training to its employees regarding the availability of accommodations and how to respond to requests for them.  The county disseminated the information regarding the availability of accommodations to the public and instituted a grievance process by which individuals could address denial of accommodations.

After receiving complaints from three individuals in different parts of the state, the Alabama P&A  became involved in a matter involving the entire state court system. The individuals that contacted the P&A were deaf and were each denied interpreter services by three different state judges.  The individuals needed these interpreter services to participate in court proceedings.   The Alabama P&A was able to refer the judges to the pertinent law, which provides that these services to be provided during judicial proceedings. The P&A also provided assistance to the court system in how these accommodations should be provided and developed an informational handbook on the ADA=s requirements in the court system, which was distributed to all judges in the state.   

The Connecticut P&A recently completed its monitoring of a class action settlement involving 32 acute care hospitals in the state.  The litigation was brought on behalf of individuals with deafness who did not receive appropriate communication accommodations while they were hospitalized.  Due to the settlement, sign language interpreter services have been greatly expanded and are readily available to patients in the inpatient units.  This has shortened the length of stay for persons who are deaf and has enhanced the accuracy of assessments of patients.  

 Stable and Safe Transportation

Transportation is an integral part of being part of any community. Transportation to get to work, school, receive medical attention and participate in the community are essential for all people, but especially for people with disabilities who need reliable transportation to live a productive and independent life.  Getting safe, stable and dependable transportation, however, is often a challenge for people with disabilities. P&As are working to ensure that access to reliable transportation is a reality for those who need it the most.   

After receiving and analyzing more than 350 complaints, the Illinois P&A filed a lawsuit against the Chicago Transit Authority to address lack of equal access to buses and trains.  A comprehensive settlement was reached to improve access to people with mobility, hearing and visual disabilities. The P&A is currently overseeing the implementation of the settlement agreement and accessible transportation in Chicago for people with disabilities has improved dramatically due to the carrying out of the settlement.

A man with schizophrenia who resided at a group home was denied transportation services to his job. He was told that his residence was inconvenient to the bus route and schedule. Through the advocacy efforts of the North Carolina P&A, the individual is now provided transportation so that he can work. 

A paratransit user in Montana tried to get the new vans that provided her transportation in compliance with the ADA, but was ignored by the paratransit company. She contacted the Montanan P&A, who investigated the situation and found that the wheelchair ramps were too steep and had no way of preventing chairs from rolling off, the entrance doors were too narrow, and there was not enough room in the vans, which inevitable lead to riders scraping and tangling their wheelchairs with other riders. Through various discussions and negotiations with the local transit authority, the vans have been modified to be ADA compliant.  The transit authority also announced that it would purchase five brand new and compliant paratransit vans, which the paratransit authority would operate in-house. 

The Virgin Islands P&A System made great strides in improving transportation options for individuals with disabilities.  The P&A launched a major media campaign, which included various town meeting and public service announcements aired on television, and filed a class action lawsuit.  Because of Virgin Islands P&A's advocacy the paratransit bus fleet has increased and consists of new, more reliable vehicles.  As part of the class action litigation, the buses on the fixed route system continued to be monitored by the P&A, with the assistance of the Office of the United States Attorney. The P&A hopes that this collaboration will expedite accessible traditional public transportation throughout the territory.