Project Civic Access -- First Steps Toward Solving Common ADA Problems

Through its Project Civic Access initiative, the Department of Justice has worked with over 100 State and local governments to bring them into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and, in doing so, has observed certain common problems.  This publication describes how those problems affect people with disabilities and offers some suggestions for how to solve them.

The key goals of the ADA are to ensure that all people with disabilities have equality of opportunity, economic self-sufficiency, full participation in American life, and independent living.  All city and county governments, whether or not they receive federal financial assistance, are covered by the ADA as “public entities.”  All of their activities, services, and programs are covered, including employment, public meetings, court activities, and programs of police, fire, voting, emergency management, and parks and recreation departments.  When services are provided on a web site, those services, too, must be made accessible.

New Construction and Alterations

Facilities constructed or altered after January 26, 1992, must comply with the ADA Standards for Accessible Design (ADA Standards), which are available online (www.ada.gov/stdspdf.htm), or the Uniform Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS).  Because compliance with the ADA Standards or UFAS is a matter of federal law, they must be followed, even if local codes are more lenient.

Program Access in Existing Facilities

State and local government’s services, programs, and activities, when viewed in their entirety, must be readily accessible to and usable by persons with disabilities.  This standard, known as “program access,” applies to all existing facilities of State and local governments.  Removing barriers to access in pre-ADA facilities – or moving programs from pre-ADA facilities to newer and more accessible facilities or even providing those programs in alternate accessible ways – will ensure full and independent opportunities to participate for people with disabilities while minimizing costs.  Governments do not have to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of their programs or result in an undue financial or administrative burden, taking into account all resources available for use by the program.

U.S. Department of Justice -
Civil Rights Division, Disability Rights Section