Popular Name: ADA
Objectives: To ensure that public accommodations and commercial facilities and State and local governments learn of the requirements of Titles II and III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and acquire the knowledge needed to comply with these requirements.
16.108 ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS:
Applicant Eligibility: Nonprofit organizations, including trade and professional associations or their subsidiaries, organizations representing State and local governments or their employees, other organizations representing entities covered by the ADA, State and local governments agencies, national and State-based organizations representing persons with disabilities, and individuals.
Beneficiary Eligibility: The target audiences of funded grants will include State and local governments, businesses and nonprofit organizations that operate public accommodations and commercial facilities, and individuals with disabilities.
Credentials/Documentation: Not applicable.
16.108 APPLICATION & AWARD PROCESS:
Preapplication Coordination: None.
Application Procedure: Notice of solicitation of grant applications published in Federal Register. Applications are typically submitted in 45 to 60 days prior to award. Solicitation requires that the following forms be submitted with the application: SF 424 and 424A Application for Federal Assistance; Office of Justice Programs (OJP) Form 4000-3 (attached to SF 424); OJP Form 4061/6 (3-91); certifications regarding lobbying, debarment, suspension, and other responsibility matters; and Drug-Free Workplace Requirement; OJP Form 7120/1 (1/85), Accounting System and Financial Capability Questionnaire.
Award Procedure: Final award decisions are made by the Assistant Attorney General, Civil Rights Division. Civil Rights Division Program personnel receive and review proposals and make recommendations to the Assistant Attorney General. All grants are made directly to applicants. No State Plan required.
Deadlines: Variable. Announced in the solicitation published in the Federal Register.
Range of Approval/Disapproval Time: The range is 60-120 days.
Appeals: None.
Renewals: None.
Criteria for Selecting Proposals: Criteria for selection of projects published in the solicitation of application.
Examples of Funded Projects: The Police Executive Research Forum was awarded funding to create a set of materials on protecting the rights of persons with seizure disorders, speech and hearing impairments, and mental illness, to be integrated into police academy training and others for use in on-the-job roll-call training. The Chief Officers of State Library Agencies was awarded funding to place a collection of ADA material in 15,000 local libraries nationwide. The National Association of Towns and Township was awarded funding to produce ADA training materials to assist regional and State ADA technical assistance providers in educating officials from small towns across the country on how to comply with the ADA. The American Association of Retired Persons was awarded funding to create materials and conduct training sessions throughout the country to educate older persons with disabilities about their rights under the ADA. In 1995, the Program funded 16 state based grant projects to increase knowledge about the requirements of the ADA and awareness of resources available locally and at the State, regional, and national levels.
Range & Average of Financial Assistance: Not available.
16.108 RELATED PROGRAMS:
None.
16.108 PROGRAM ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
The Technical Assistance Program
promotes voluntary compliance with the ADA by providing free information
and assistance to businesses, State and local governments, people with
disabilities, and the general public. Each year more than one million
people are assisted by the Program and its grantees. The Program
operates a toll-free ADA Information Line receiving at least 75,000
calls a year; develops and disseminates ADA publications and other
information (40 million disseminated in 1995); provides ADA training at
meetings nationwide; and conducts outreach to broad and targeted
audiences that have included mayors, local Chambers of Commerce, and
millions of businesses. The Program produces a range of technical
assistance documents, including Technical Assistance Manuals and yearly
updates, ADA-TA, a technical assistance series aimed at businesses,
State and local governments, architects, and others explaining efficient
ways to comply with the ADA, Question-and-Answer publications addressing
specific topics, and other materials. The documents listed above and
the ADA regulations may be ordered from the Program or obtained
electronically through the Program's electronic bulletin board or the
Internet. The Program coordinates ADA technical assistance
government-wide, chairing an ADA Technical Assistance Coordinating
Committee, conducting legal and technical reviews of materials developed
by other agencies to ensure accuracy, and other initiatives. The
Program also continues to provide technical assistance to State and
local jurisdictions in their efforts to obtain certification of their
building codes as meeting or exceeding ADA accessibility requirements.
Since 1991, the Program has awarded 41 grants totalling $8.2 million.
16.108 FINANCIAL & ADMINISTRATIVE INFO:
Federal Agency:
CIVIL RIGHTS DIVISION, DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE
Type of Assistance:
Project Grants; Provision of Specialized
Services; Dissemination of Technical Information.
Obligations:
(Grants) FY 95 $1,579,014; FY 96 est $1,500,000; and
FY 97 est $1,500,000. (Salaries and Expenses) FY 95 $8,824,986; FY 96
est $8,424,000; and FY 97 est $8,734,000.
Budget Account Number:
15-0128-0-1-752.
Authorization:
Americans with Disabilities Act, Public Law
101-336, Section 506.
Regulations, Guidelines, & Literature:
Notice of solicitation
of grant applications, Federal Register 25980 - 25983, June 5, 1991.
Notice of solicitation of grant applications, Federal Register
13797-13208, March 15, 1993, and Federal Register 15523, March 23, 1993.
Regional or Local Office:
None.
Headquarters Office:
Chief, Disability Rights Section, Civil
Rights Division, P.O. Box 66738 Washington, DC 20035-6738. Phone:
(800) 514-0301 (Voice) (800) 514-0383 (TDD). Contact: Office of Public
Affairs, Phone: (Voice) (202) 514-2007; (TDD) (202) 514-1888.
16.108 ASSISTANCE CONSIDERATIONS:
Formula & Matching Requirements:
Not applicable.
Length & Time Phasing of Assistance:
Normally 12 months.
Release by Letter of Credit and as required.
Uses & Use Restrictions:
Grants limited to the provision of
technical assistance and educational activities that have a wide impact,
including the development and dissemination of materials, the conduct of
seminars, conferences, and training, and the provision of technical
assistance on a state, regional or national basis depending on the
funding priorities announced each year.
16.108 POST ASSISTANCE REQUIREMENTS:
Reports:
Quarterly financial (OJP 7160/1, (Rev. 2/90)) and
program (OJP 4587/1 (Rev. 2/90)) reports.
Audits:
Grants may be audited by the Office of Justice
Programs using standard audit procedure mandated by GAO.
Records:
Organization financial audits for each calendar
year in which grant was effective.
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