ADA Transition Plan Resources
Provisions of the Americans with Disabilities Act must be met by local public agencies to be eligible for federal assistance and grants. The Northeastern Indiana Regional Coordinating Council (NIRCC) created this page to serve as a resource for Local Public Agencies (LPA) as they work toward meeting the appropriate ADA provisions.
All government agencies are required to do a self-evaluation (take inventory) of their programs for discrimination and compliance (but are not required to do a transition plan). The inventory must be made available for public comment. In addition all LPAs are required to publish their nondiscrimination notice and complaint policy.
Government agencies with at least 15 employees (including full-time, part-time and volunteer employees, elected officials and contractual employees) are required to do a self-evaluation (collection of inventory) of their programs (current services, policies, and practices)for discrimination and compliance; are required to have a designated official (coordinator) responsible for their ADA compliance; and they must also have a grievance/compliance procedure. The inventory must be made available for public comment. In addition they are required to publish their nondiscrimination notice and grievance/compliance procedure.
Government agencies with 50 or more employees (including full-time, part-time and volunteer employees, elected officials and contractual employees) are required to complete an ADA Transition Plan as stated in the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990.
To remain eligible for federal transportation funding, LPAs are being reminded that they need to be in compliance and have updated their transition plans. The goal is to ensure that LPAs have a specific plan of action by December 2011, and have reviewed and completed their updated ADA transition plans by December of 2012. The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) stipulated that every public agency with more than 50 employees have an ADA Transition Plan completed by January 26, 1995. ADA Transition Plans are documents that identify physical obstacles that limit the accessibility of facilities to people with disabilities and provide a schedule for the removal of those obstacles.
A good introductory resource for LPA's is the NCHP report (2009), ADA Transition Plans: A Guide to Best Management Practices (DOC 581.00 KB). This report details seven steps for meeting the requirements of ADA:
- Designate an ADA Coordinator
- Provide public notice of ADA requirements
- Establish a grievance procedure
- Develop internal design standards, specifications, and details
- Assign personnel for the development of the Transition Plan and completing it
- Approve a schedule and budget for the Transition Plan
- Monitor the progress on the implementation of the transition plan.
Below are additional resources that include a great deal of information about ADA Transition Plan requirements and related aspects of ADA:
ADA Workshop 7/25/11
The FHWA conducted an ADA Transition Plan Workshop for area local public agencies on July 25, 2011 at the IPFW campus. The following materials were used and discussed during the workshop:
Other Materials
Webinar: Americans with Disabilities Act and Context Sensitive Solutions
Presented by FHWA - January 5, 2012
View a recording of the webinar at this link:
http://contextsensitivesolutions.org/content/webinar/americans_with_disabilities_act/
View the presentation of the webinar:
(CSS ADA webinar 1-5-12)
This presentation was given to Indiana MPOs and other agencies in November 2009
FHWA Presentation - ADA Transition Plans (PDF 105.84 KB)
This webinar was given by representatives of FHWA, the City of Bellevue, WA and LYKA Consulting on March 17, 2010 and covers federal, local, and private consulting perspectives relating to ADA requirements and Transition Plans.
APBP Webinar - ADA Transition Plans (PDF 5.97 MB)
INDOT’s ADA Resource Page
http://www.in.gov/indot/2751.htm
Great Lakes ADA Center
http://www.adagreatlakes.org/
Legal, Regulatory, and Enforcement Resources
Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, as amended
http://www.ada.gov/pubs/ada.htm
Department of Justice home page
http://www.ada.gov/
This memo clarifies FHWA’s role in overseeing compliance with ADA and Section 504
Memo regarding FHWA oversight of ADA (PDF 55.13 KB)
This is a brief outline of the typical process for Department of Justice (DOJ) settlements and civil suits with examples
ADA enforcement overview (DOC 42.00 KB)
FHWA’s Office of Civil Rights
Question and Answer on ADA/Section 504 (FHWA) (PDF 89.37 KB)
Technical Guidance
ADA Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings and Facilities (ADAAG)
http://access-board.gov/adaag/html/adaag.htm
Public Right of Way guidelines for sidewalks, curbs and ramps (PROWAG)
http://access-board.gov/prowac/index.htm
Title II Technical Assistance Manual
http://www.ada.gov/taman2.html
This document provides best practices on addressing ADA compliance issues in public right of way. Includes information on data inventory, assessment and programming of improvements.
Asset Management Approaches to ADA Compliance (AASHTO) (PDF 5.00 MB)
This is a checklist and overview of pedestrian-related consideration in planning, design, and construction phases for roadway projects.
Pedestrians Checklist and Considerations for Temporary Traffic Control Zones (FHWA) (PDF 1.70 MB)
Title II of the ADA relating to curb ramps and pedestrian crossings.
ADA Best Practices Toolkit - Curb Ramps and Pedestrian Crossings (Department of Justice) (PDF 185.88 KB)
Transition Plan Examples
Municipality Transition Plans
Bellevue, WA a nationally recognized model of an ADA Transition Plan
City of Bellevue, WA - ADA Sidewalk and Curb Ramp Compliance Program
Rancho Cordova, CA Transition Plan
City of Rancho Cordova (CA) ADA Transition Plan (PDF 3.12 MB)
West Lafayette, IN Transition Plan (1992) includes policy statement, ADA grievance procedure & form
http://www.city.west-lafayette.in.us/department/division.php?fDD=5-198
City of Fairway, KS webpage with link to TP & grievance policy and procedure
http://www.fairwaykansas.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={3E72BADE-AAD5-4030-A43A-B2EC14CDBB13}
Newark, DE Transition Plan
Click here
Sandpoint, WA Transition Plan
Click here
Mitchell, SD Transition Plan
Click here
County Transition Plans
Bexar County, TX Transition Plan
Click here
Sacramento County, CA Transition Plan an example for a county
Sacramento County (CA) ADA Transition Plan (PDF 6.37 MB)
State Transition Plans
State of Hawaii Transition Plan
Hawaii ADA Transition Plan (PDF 161.36 KB)
New York State Department of Transportation
https://www.nysdot.gov/programs/adamanagement/ada-transition-plan
Grievance/Complaint Procedures, Forms, etc.
West Central Indiana grievance procedure:
http://www.westcentralin.com/ada_grievance.html
Allen County’s grievance procedure:
http://www.allencounty.us/allen-county-americans-with-disabilities-act-grievance-procedure
INDOT sample complaint log
Click here
INDOT sample complaint procedure
Click here
INDOT’s nondiscrimination notice
Click here
Data Collection and Prioritization
This one-page form can be used in the field to collect data at intersections on curb ramps, cross-walks, and approaches. This form was used by MACOG (South Bend, IN area) to provide the data needed for their ADA compliance review.
Field Data Inventory Form (Michiana Area Council of Goverments) (PDF 576.53 KB)
This document details MACOG’s methodology for prioritizing intersection improvements based on analysis of field data.
Prioritization Methodology (Michiana Area Council of Governments) (PDF 68.25 KB)
NEW ADA RULES WENT INTO EFFECT ON MARCH 15, 2011
According to a Mar. 14th U.S. Dept. of Justice news release, "Revised regulations implementing the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) will take effect tomorrow, March 15, 2011, the Department of Justice announced. The revised rules are the department's first major revision of its guidance on accessibility in 20 years."
"The regulations apply to the activities of more than 80,000 units of state and local government and more than seven million places of public accommodation, including stores, restaurants, shopping malls, libraries, museums, sporting arenas, movie theaters, doctors' and dentists' offices, hotels, jails and prisons, polling places, and emergency preparedness shelters. The rules were signed by Attorney General Eric Holder on July 23, 2010, and the official text was published in the Federal Register on September 15, 2010."
"The department is also releasing a new document, 'ADA Update: A Primer for Small Business,' to help small businesses understand the new and updated accessibility requirements. In addition, the department is announcing the release of a new publication explaining when the various provisions of its amended regulations will take effect..." Both documents are available at http://www.ada.gov/
