FACT SHEET

Settlement Agreement between the United States of America
and
The Town of Swansea, Massachusetts

On February 15, 2011, the Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with the Town of Swansea, Massachusetts, under title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), 42 U.S.C. §§ 12131-12134, and the Department's implementing regulation, 28 C.F.R. Part 35.

The Department of Justice initiated a compliance review of Swansea as a part of Project Civic Access, a Departmental initiative to ensure greater access for persons with disabilities to state and local government programs, services, activities, and facilities. This review included an on-site survey of the Town's buildings, programs, and services.

Facilities and programs surveyed by the Department and covered by the agreement include: Ernest W. Bell Animal Shelter, Vinnium Woods Cemetery, Fire Stations #2 and #4, Swansea Ambulance Corps, E. S. Brown School, St. Dominic's Parish Hall, the Senior Center, Town Hall Annex, Board of Health Veteran Services Building, Swansea Public Library, Town Hall, the Tax Department, several town offices, Swansea Highway Department, Norman B. Smith School Committee Room, Town Beach, and Little League Field Complex.

The Department reviewed the Town's policies and procedures regarding emergency management, voting, and sidewalk construction and maintenance to evaluate whether persons with disabilities have an equal opportunity to utilize these programs.  The Department also reviewed the policies and procedures of the Swansea Police Department regarding effective communication with persons who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.

Under the agreement announced today, the Town of Swansea will take several important steps to improve access for individuals with disabilities.  The text of the settlement agreement specifies the particular modifications that Swansea will make to each of the programs, services, and facilities covered by the agreement as well as the timeframes for making each change. Among other things, the Town 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;
• Post, publish, and distribute a notice to inform members of the public of the provisions of title II and their applicability to the Town's programs, services, and activities;
• Ensure that the Town's official website and other web-based services are 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;
• 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 and curb ramps throughout The Town of Swansea, Massachusetts; and
• Ensure that 9-1-1 emergency service calls placed by persons with disabilities who use text telephones (TTYs) are answered as quickly as other calls, that such calls are monitored for timing and accuracy, and that employees are trained and practiced in using a TTY to make and receive calls.

Swansea, Massachusetts was established in 1663 as a colonial site.  The historical town is located in Bristol County at the mouth of the Taunton River in southeastern Massachusetts, less than 50 miles from Boston.  According to U.S. Census data, Swansea has just under 16,000 residents.  Approximately 16 percent of Swansea residents have a disability and will benefit from this agreement.

The Settlement Agreement will remain in effect for three years from February 15, 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.

Project Civic Access | archive.ADA.gov Home Page

February 15, 2011