DOCUMENT RESUME ED 450 528 EC 308 285 AUTHOR Isler, Frederick D.; Zalokar, Nadja; Chambers, David; Kraus, Rebecca; Johnson, Wanda; Butler, Margaret; Avery, Michelle Leigh; Tyler, Marcia; Baird, Andrea; Foshee, Latrice; Turner, Ilona TITLE Helping State and Local Governments Comply with the ADA: An Assessment of How the United States Department of Justice Is Enforcing Title II, Subpart A, of the Americans with Disabilities Act. INSTITUTION Commission on Civil Rights, Washington, DC. PUB DATE 1998-09-00 NOTE 176p. AVAILABLE FROM U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, 624 Ninth Street, N.W., Washington, DC 20425. Tel: 202-376-8128. PUB TYPE Reports Descriptive (141) Reports Evaluative (142) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adults; *Agency Role; Arbitration; Children; *Civil Rights Legislation; *Compliance (Legal); Court Litigation; *Disabilities; *Disability Discrimination; Federal Regulation; *Law Enforcement; Program Effectiveness IDENTIFIERS Americans with Disabilities Act 1990; Commission on Civil Rights; Department of Justice ABSTRACT This report from the United States Commission on Civil Rights focuses specifically on the efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to enforce Title II, Subtitle A of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability by public entities such as state and local governments. The report evaluates DOJ's regulations and policies clarifying the language of the statute; processing of complaints of discrimination based on disability; litigation; and outreach, education, and technical assistance efforts related to the Act. The Commission finds that DOJ's implementation and enforcement program for the Americans with Disabilities Act is generally adequate, given its limited resources and extensive responsibilities. It finds that DOJ's greatest strength is its technical assistance and outreach and education program, which is extremely effective and praised widely by agency stakeholders. Another strength is DOJ's innovative use of alternative dispute resolution or mediation techniques to resolve complaints of discrimination. A general weakness of DOJ, however, is that it appears unresponsive to the concerns and priories of its stakeholders. To ensure that all stakeholders have a voice in DOJ's decision making, the Commission recommends that a formal mechanism be instituted to obtain input from interested parties. (Contains over 700 references.) (CR) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. 00 Helping Stateand Local Governments Comply with theADA An Assessment of How the United States Department of Justice Is Enforcing Title II, Subpart A, of the Americans with Disabilities Act U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) O This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization originating it. O Minor changes have been made to improve reproduction quality. Points of view or opinions stated in this document do not necessarily represent official OERI position or policy. A Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights September 1998 BEST COPY AVAILABLE 2 U.S. Commission on Civil Rights The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights is an independent, bipartisan agency first established by Congress in 1957 and reestablished in 1983. It is directed to: Investigate complaints alleging that citizens are being deprived of their right to vote by reason of their race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or by reason of fraudulent practices; Study and collect information relating to discrimination or a denial of equal protection of the laws under the Constitution because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or in the administration of justice; AppraiseFederallawsandpolicieswithrespectto discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin, or in the administration of justice; Serve as a national clearinghouse for information in respect to discrimination or denial of equal protection of the laws because of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin; Submit reports, findings, and recommendations to the President and Congress; Issue public service announcements to discourage discrimi- nation or denial of equal protection of the laws. Members of the Commission Mary Frances Berry, Chairperson Cruz Reynoso, Vice Chairperson Carl A. Anderson Robert P. George A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. Constance Horner Yvonne Y. Lee Russell D. Redenbaugh Ruby G. Moy, Staff Director s Helping State and Local Governments Comply with the ADA An Assessment of How the United States Department of Justice Is Enforcing Title II, Subpart A, of the Americans with Disabilities Act A Report of the United States Commission on Civil Rights September 1998 Letter of Transmittal The President The President of the Senate The Speaker of the House of Representatives Sirs: The United States Commission on Civil Rights transmits this report, Helping State and Lo- cal Governments Comply with the ADA, pursuant to Public Law 103-419. The report, along with a companion report, Helping Employers Comply with the ADA (dealing with enforce- ment of title I of the ADA by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission) reflects the Commission's commitment to ensuring that Americans with disabilities are afforded equal opportunity and that the Nation's civil rights laws prohibiting discrimination on the basis of disability are vigorously enforced. In accordance with this commitment, the Commission re- leases its first evaluation of the enforcement of the Americans with Disabilities Act, 8 years after enactment of the statute. This report focuses specifically on the efforts of the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to en- force title II, subtitle A, of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimina- tion based on disability by public entities such as State and local governments. The report evaluates DOJ's regulations and policies clarifying the language of the statute; processing of complaints of discrimination based on disability; litigation; and outreach, education, and technical assistance efforts relating to the act. The report also assesses DOJ's effectiveness in its role as coordinator of the Americans with Disabilities Act enforcement efforts of seven other designated Federal agencies. The Commission finds that DOJ's implementation and enforcement program for the Ameri- cans with Disabilities Act is generally adequate, given its limited resources and extensive responsibilities. DOJ deserves positive recognition for several aspects of its Americans with Disabilities Act enforcement to date. Perhaps the greatest strength of DOJ's Americans with Disabilities Act implementation and enforcement efforts is its technical assistance and out- reach and education program, which is extremely effective and praised widely by agency stakeholders. Another strength is DOJ's innovative use of alternative dispute resolution or mediation techniques to resolve complaints of discrimination. For many cases, mediation re- sults in an expedited resolution of the case to the satisfaction of both parties, without the un- necessary use of resources for investigation or litigation. However, the Commission has iden- tified several ways in which DOJ could improve its enforcement of title II, subtitle A, of the Americans with Disabilities Act and offers specific findings and recommendations to increase DOJ's effectiveness in carrying out its mission to enforce title II. A general weakness of DOJ's Americans with Disabilities Act implementation and enforce- ment program is that it appears unresponsive to the concerns and priorities of its stakehold- ers, including individuals with disabilities, State and local government agencies, disability professionals, and disability experts. To ensure that all stakeholders have a voice in DOJ's decisionmaking related to the Americans with Disabilities Act, the Commission recommends that the Disability Rights Section, the office responsible for the Americans with Disabilities Act, institute formal mechanisms to obtain input from interested parties, such as an Ameri- cans with Disabilities Act Advisory Board comprised of persons representative of the broad range of DOJ stakeholders. iii 5 Among important specific failings the Commission identified in DOJ's title II, subtitle A, im- plementation and enforcement program is that DOJ does not develop and publish indepth policy guidance documents to clarify the meaning of the law and explain the reasoning be- hind the positions it takes in controversial areas. Instead, DOJ's Americans with Disabilities Act policy development is limited to its enforcement and technical assistance activities, such as investigation of complaints and negotiation of settlement agreements, filing of arnicus cu- riae briefs, and development and dissemination of technical assistance materials. The diver- gent rulings among Federal courts on title II issues reinforces the need for DOJ to develop and publish formal title II policy guidance. The Department of Justice is required by its regulations to investigate all charges of dis- crimination it receives under title II. The Commission found that DOJ does not have enough investigators to investigate all charges of discrimination received. Without additional inves- tigators, the length of time it takes for a complaint to be resolved