FACT SHEET

Settlement Agreement between the United States of America

and Daviess County, Kentucky

On July 26, 2011, the Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with Daviess County, Kentucky, under title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

The Department of Justice initiated a compliance review of Daviess County, Kentucky as part of Project Civic Access, a Department initiative to ensure greater access for persons with disabilities to state and local government programs, services, activities, and facilities.  The compliance review included an on-site survey of the following facilities: Daviess County Courthouse, Government Operations Center, Detention Center, Animal Shelter, Judicial Center, Panther Creek Park, Utica Fire Station, Moseleyville Fire Station, St. Joseph Fire Station, Stanley Fire Station, Thurston Philpot Fire Station #1, Pleasant Ridge Fire Station #2, Whitesville Fire Station, Philpot Fire Station, Yelvingville Fire Station, Airport Fire Station, and Sorgho Fire Station.  The Department also reviewed the County's emergency management procedures, employment policies, sidewalks, and its 9-1-1 emergency services.

The text of the settlement agreement specifies the modifications that Daviess County will make to its programs, services, and facilities.  Among other things, the County has agreed to:

• Make physical modifications to its facilities so that parking, routes into the buildings, entrances, public telephones, restrooms, service counters, and drinking fountains are accessible to people with disabilities.  The agreement specifies which modifications will be made at each facility and the time frame for completing each modification.
• Post, publish, and distribute a notice to inform members of the public of the provisions of title II and their applicability to the County's programs, services, and activities.
• Officially recognize Kentucky's telephone relay service as a key means of communicating with individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech impairments, and training staff in using the relay service for telephone communications.
• Ensure that 9-1-1 emergency service TTY calls are answered as quickly as other calls received, that monitoring of incoming calls includes the monitoring of incoming TTY calls for timing and accuracy, and that employees are trained and practiced in using a TTY to make and receive calls.
• Ensure that the County's official website is accessible to people with disabilities.
• Develop policies and procedures and perform necessary planning to ensure that individuals with disabilities are afforded equal, integrated access to emergency management programs, including emergency preparedness, notification, evacuation, sheltering, response, clean up, and recovery. 
• Develop a method for providing information for interested persons with disabilities concerning the existence and location of the County's accessible services, activities, and programs.
• Install signs at any inaccessible entrance to a facility directing individuals with disabilities to an accessible entrance or to information about accessing programs and services at other accessible facilities.
• Implement a plan to ensure the accessibility of sidewalks, curb ramps, transportation stops, and pedestrian crossings throughout the County.

This agreement is the 192nd under the PCA initiative.  According to census data, more than 21 percent of Daviess County residents have a disability.

The settlement agreement will remain in effect for 3 years from July 26, 2011, or until all actions required by the agreement have been completed, whichever is later.  The Department will actively monitor compliance with the agreement, which will remain in effect until the Department has confirmed that all required actions have been completed.