Disabilities Employment Program (DEP)
Carzella Pritchett
Disability Employment Program Manager
USDA, Natural Resources Conservation Service
2118 W. Park Court, Champaign, Illinois 61821
Ph: 217.353.6651 Fx: 217.353.6675
Email: Carzella
Calendar of Events
| Month |
Activity |
| October |
Disability Awareness Month |
| December |
National DEPM Training Conference, Bethesda, MD
Perspectives Training Conference, Bethesda, MD |
Links
ADA and ABA Accessibility Guidelines
ADA and ABA
Accessibility Guidelines for Buildings & Facilities
(Rev. 7/23/04)
Uniform
Federal Accessibility Standards (UFAS)
Frequently
Asked Inquiries:
ADA Regulations
ADA Regulation for Title II,
as printed in the Federal Register (7/26/91). The Department of Justice's
regulation implementing title II, subtitle A, of the ADA which prohibits
discrimination on the basis of disability in all services, programs, and
activities provided to the public by State and local governments, except
public transportation services.
ADA Regulation for Title
III, as printed in the Code of Federal Regulations (7/1/94). The
Department of Justice's regulation implementing title III of the ADA, which
prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in "places of public
accommodation" (businesses and non-profit agencies that serve the public) and
"commercial facilities" (other businesses). The regulation includes Appendix A
to Part 36 - Standards for Accessible Design establishing minimum standards
for ensuring accessibility when designing and constructing a new facility or
altering an existing facility.
Section 508
Section 508 - In 1998, Congress
amended the Rehabilitation Act to require Federal agencies to make their
electronic and information technology accessible to people with disabilities.
Inaccessible technology interferes with an individual's ability to obtain and
use information quickly and easily. Section 508 was enacted to eliminate
barriers in information technology, to make available new opportunities for
people with disabilities, and to encourage development of technologies that
will help achieve these goals. The law applies to all Federal agencies when
they develop, procure, maintain, or use electronic and information technology.
Under Section 508 (29 U.S.C. ‘ 794d), agencies must give disabled employees
and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the
access available to others. It is recommended that you review the laws and
regulations listed below to further your understanding about Section 508 and
how you can support implementation.
Section 508 (508 statute
html, 508 statute pdf)
Office Accessibility
The following tutorial requires
Adobe Acrobat
Reader software.
New Checklist Approved by NRCS/FSA/RD (May 2007)
Office
Accessibility Survey Checklist (PDF, 1.2 MB) NEW
REVISION! (Fillable Form)
Reasonable Accommodation
Reasonable Accommodation Procedures (General)
Reasonable Accommodation
(Assistive Technology)
The following tutorial requires
Microsoft
PowerPoint software.
Reasonable
Accommodation & Assistive Technology Tutorial (PPS, 348 kb)
Physical Disabilities
American Paralysis
Association - national non-profit organization dedicated
to finding a cure for spinal cord injury paralysis.
National Spinal Cord
Injury Association - interactive community providing
information, referral and support for people living with spinal
cord injury, their families and professionals.
Circle of Friends
- help Chris and his friends find a cure for paralysis caused
by spinal cord injury and other central nervous system disorders.
Learning Disabilities
Independence
Center - a non-profit organization dedicated to independent
living for young adults with a variety of learning disabilities.
Learning Disabilities Association
of America (LDA) - national volunteer organization which
provides help to parents, professionals, and individuals with
learning disabilities.
International Dyslexia
Association
Visual Impaired and Blind
American Council of the
Blind
American Foundation for the
Blind
Association for
the Blind and Visually Impaired - a non-profit organization
that strives to serve the visually impaired and to promote the
prevention of blindness.
National Association for
Visually Handicapped - works with people worldwide
dealing with the difficulties of vision impairment.
National Federation of the
Blind
Hearing Impaired
National Association of the
Deaf
National Institute
on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Miscellaneous
American Disability
Association
American Association of
People with Disabilities - non-profit cross-disability
organization whose goals are: unity, leadership & impact.
National Alliance OF The
DisAbled, Inc. - NAOTD is an online disability advocacy
and informational organization.
National Association of
American Business Clubs (AMBUCS)
United States National
Council on Disability - independent federal agency
making recommendations to the President and Congress on disability
policy.
World Association of Physically
Disabled
Americans
with Disability Act (ADA)
Arc of Illinois
- advocates for people with disabilities.
Assistive Technology
As a result of the
agreement signed on August 30, 2002 between the United States Department of
Agriculture (USDA) and the Department of Defense (DoD), all
Assistive Technology accommodations will be provided to all USDA Agencies
at no cost through the TARGET Center by the DoD Computer / Electronic
Accommodations Program (CAP)
USDA TARGET Center's
Guide to Requesting
Assistive Technology Accommodations
The following instructions are provided to assist USDA employees seeking
reasonable accommodations in the form of assistive
technology only. Detailed information on these and other
accommodation procedures can be found in the
Departmental Manual 4300.002, the Departmental Reasonable Accommodation
Procedures.
1) The USDA employee should meet with his/her supervisor and identify his/her need(s). The employee should also provide a completed
CONFIRMATION OF REQUEST FOR REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION form to his/her
supervisor.
2a) If the employee has an obvious disability or a previously documented
medical condition that qualifies him/her as an individual with a disability and
the request is related to the known disability, the supervisor may
immediately approve the request by completing and signing the
REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION INFORMATION REPORTING form and sending a copy to
the agency Disability Employment Program Manager (DEPM), the employee, and to
the USDA TARGET Center (Fax: 202-720-2681); or
2b) If the employee does not have an obvious disability or previously
documented medical condition that qualifies him/her as an individual with a
disability, the supervisor may request that the employee provide sufficient and
reasonable documentation of his/her medical condition to the Mission Area
Designee, who will determine, in consultation with the USDA Medical Officer, as
necessary,
whether the employee is an individual with a disability.
3)
Mission Area Designee may only request sufficient additional medical
documentation to substantiate that the employee has a disability and that
the disability is relevant to the reasonable accommodation requested. No other
unrelated medical documentation may be requested, and all documentation provided
will be kept in strict compliance with
confidentiality regulations. All medical documentation and information about
functional limitations must be kept in files separate from the individual's
personnel file.
4) After reviewing applicable documents, the
Mission Area Designee shall convey the decision of whether the employee is an
individual with a disability to the employee, the employee's supervisor, the
USDA TARGET Center (Fax: 202-720-2681), and to the agency Disability Employment
Program Manager (DEPM).
5) When the
USDA TARGET Center receives the signed request form from the employee, a
needs assessment will be performed (if necessary) and accommodation
recommendations will be entered into the TARGET Center's Reasonable
Accommodation Tracking Database. A trial or loan of the recommended technology
may be arranged when possible. When both the employee and the USDA TARGET Center
are in agreement with the recommended assistive technology, the USDA TARGET
Center will forward the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP)
Accommodation Request Form for purchase of the assistive technology. The USDA
TARGET Center will be available for follow-up support or technical consultations
if the employee or supervisor has any questions or concerns. For more
information, contact the USDA TARGET Center on (202)720-2600 (v/tty), or via
email at
target-center@usda.gov.
Assistive Technology Resources Available
Ergonomics
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