FACT SHEET

Settlement Agreement between the United States of America

and Norfolk County, Massachusetts

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

The Department of Justice initiated a compliance review of Norfolk County in June, 2008 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 Department's June, 2008 on-site review team surveyed the County's buildings, programs and services.  County staff worked cooperatively with the Department throughout the compliance review process and during negotiations in order to reach an agreement.

The settlement agreement with Norfolk County addresses the following County facilities: Norfolk County Superior Court, Dedham District Court, Registry Building, Stoughton District Courthouse, Wrentham District Courthouse, Brookline District Courthouse, County Administration Building, Wollaston Recreational Facility, Norfolk County Agricultural High School, Quincy District Court, County Administrative Offices and the President's Golf Course.  

The text of the settlement agreement specifies the modifications that Norfolk County will be making 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 Massachusetts telephone relay service as a means of communicating with individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech impairments, and train staff in using the relay service for telephone communications.
• Survey other facilities and programs and make modifications wherever necessary to achieve full compliance with ADA requirements.
• Ensure that buildings and outdoor facilities that will be built or altered by or on behalf of the County comply with the ADA's architectural requirements.
• 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.
• Adopt a grievance procedure to address disability discrimination complaints relating to County programs and services.  

This agreement is the 191st under the PCA initiative.  Norfolk County consists of twenty-eight eastern Massachusetts communities, mostly located to the south and west of Boston. The County was incorporated as a regional governmental entity in 1793, and has its county seat at the town of Dedham.  Norfolk County is known as the “County of Presidents” because it is the birthplace of four Presidents of the United States:  John Adams (Braintree/modern day Quincy), John Quincy Adams (Quincy), John F. Kennedy (Brookline), and George Herbert Walker Bush (Milton).

The settlement agreement will remain in effect for three years from July 26, 2011.  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.

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