|
The Department of Treasury Inter Departmental Account provides
funding for the purpose of accessibility compliance of the Americans With
Disabilities Act, (ADA), Title II requirements.
This correspondence is to provide guidelines and procedures for
state agencies to follow when requesting funding from the Department of
Treasury Office of Disabilities Management Statewide Americans With
Disabilities Act Compliance project account (ADA Account).
I. General Background of Title II, ADA
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is to
protect qualified individuals with disabilities from discrimination of the
basis of disability in access to services, programs or activities of all
state and local governments. In order to comply with the requirements
outlined in this Title, every state and local government was required to
complete a Self-Evaluation Plan by January 26, 1993. The self-evaluation
was a process in which state government assesses its current policies and
practices. The purpose of the self-evaluation process was to identify and
correct those policies, procedures and practices which directly or
potentially exclude people with disabilities from participating in any
state government sponsored programs or services.
Once a public entity has identified policies or practices that
denies or limits the participation of individuals in its programs or
activities, it should take corrective action to eliminate the impediments
to attain full and equivalent participation. The plan should have outlined
needed changes and a method to execute these changes.
Where structural modifications are required to achieve
program accessibility and no other options are available, a public entity
must develop a corrective action plan that provides for the removal of
these barriers.
The corrective action plan should contain, at a minimum:
II. Requirements to Develop the ADA Funding Projects
The primary goal of ADA compliance project funding is to provide
for people with disabilities in the most cost effective manner. In
order to develop a viable ADA project, the following requirements must be
met:
- Identify a public entity or facility that should take corrective
action to eliminate the impediments that would lead to full and equal
participation if those impediments did not exist.
- Identify a physical barrier in a public entity or facility that
limit the accessibility of its programs, activities or services to
individuals with disabilities. Outlined method to be utilized to remove
these barriers and make these facilities accessible.
- Utilize the "level of accessibility" worksheet to determine the
physical change needed versus programmatic access in the individual
element. Levels of accessibility are determined by evaluating the
usability of certain physical characteristics such as slope of paths,
surface materials and safety features. The accessibility level will
assist to identify the physical barriers in the areas of parking,
pathways, entrances, building interiors, toilet rooms, elevators and
drinking fountains.
III. Priority
Projects recommended for funding will be prioritized using the
following criteria:
- Priority I - High Public Use Areas
- Priority II - Providing for the best possible access, both
geographically and programmatically within the public entity or facility
itself.
IV. Procedures for Requesting the Funding
The following procedures are to be used when requesting funds from
the Department of Treasury ODM Statewide Americans With Disabilities Act
(ADA) Compliance Account:
- Agencies shall submit requests to the Office of Disabilities
Management (ODM), 9th Floor, P.O. Box 34, Trenton, NJ 08625-0034.
-
Request must include:
- Type of priority.
- The project location(s) -- identifying facility and/or
building(s).
- Identify the proposed project in relation with the
self-evaluation plan for the programs, services and activities used in
the facility.
- Conceptual estimate costs -- providing consultant design fees,
construction cost, other fees and contingencies, etc.
- Estimated project duration -- identifying starting date and
completion date for design and construction.
- Site visit by ODM.
-
All funding
requests will be reviewed and approved by ODM.
-
An approval
letter authorizing required funds will be issued by ODM to Fiscal
Section of the Department of Treasury. A copy of this letter will be
sent to the department or agency. The Fiscal Section of the Department
of Treasury will establish requisition (RD transaction) for Office of
Construction Services (OCS) projects or reserve funds for agency
projects (AO transaction).
For OCS Projects
- The department or agency shall submit the OCS Project Alert Form
along with Fund Approval , Letter from ODM to OCS to initiate the
capital construction process.
-
Fiscal
Section of the Department of Treasury will electronically submit an RD
transaction through NJCFS to OCS to establish an OCS Project Number and
begin capital construction process.
-
Approved
projects will be considered as Department of Treasury/Agency/ODM
projects. ODM will have the responsibility to monitor the progress of
the project in terms of project budget and schedules, and to review
project scope of work and design documents.
-
Upon
completion of a project, all balances will be returned to the ODM/
Statewide ADA compliance account.
For Agency Projects
- The department or agency, with assistance from ODM, will be
responsible for the following tasks:
-
Establishing agency project number.
-
Identifying account number for the project.
-
Developing project scope
-
Soliciting consultants and contractors to bid the project.
-
Awarding
the project to consultant or contractor.
-
As soon as
the project is awarded, the department or agency shall submit the total
amount of the contract to ODM for process to release the reserved funds
through the Fiscal Section of the Department of
Treasury.
-
The Fiscal
Section of the Department of Treasury will prepare an AO for the agency
project from the ODM Statewide ADA compliance
account.
-
Upon
completion of a project, all balances will be returned to the ODM
Statewide ADA compliance account.
For additional information or assistance, please contact:
David M. Millstein, ADA Administrator
Office of Disabilities
Management
(609) 292-7299
|
Property Management and Construction: