FACT SHEET

Settlement Agreement between the United States of America
and
The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas

On April 7, 2010, the Department of Justice entered into a settlement agreement with the Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas (the Unified Government), under title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA).

The Department of Justice initiated a compliance review of the Unified Government in September 2006, 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. An on-site survey of the Unified Government's buildings, programs, and services was conducted from April 30 through May 4, 2007. Unified Government staff worked cooperatively with the Department throughout the compliance review process in order to reach an agreement.

Facilities surveyed by the Department and covered by the agreement include: the Willa Gill Soup Kitchen, Century Garage, Court Services Building, Building C, Justice Complex, City Hall, Public Health Center, the George C. Meyn Detention Center, Armourdale Recreation Center, Sunflower Hill Golf Course, Fire Headquarters, Police Headquarters, Bethany Recreation Center, Wyandotte County Park, Parking Garage C, Parking Lot A, Pierson Park, City Park, Kensington Recreation Center, Parkwood Recreation Center, the George Dunn Animal Shelter, Argentine Recreation Center, Building B, Building A, Police Sation, Division 3, the Pat Hanlon Center, Eisenhower Recreation Center, Memorial Hall, Wyandotte County Jail, James P. Davis Hall, and Fire Stations # 2, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11, 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20.

The Department also reviewed the Unified Government's polling places, emergency management procedures, employment policies, sidewalks, and 9-1-1 emergency services.

Other Unified Government facilities are covered by the settlement agreement and will be surveyed and modified for compliance with ADA requirements by the Unified Government.

Among other things, the Unified Government 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 Unified Government's programs, services, and activities.
• Officially recognize Kansas' 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.
  
• 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 Unified Government'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 and curb ramps throughout Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas.

The text of the settlement agreement specifies all steps that will be taken and the time frames for taking them.

Most of the actions required by the settlement agreement will be completed within 3 years. The Unified Government will work with the disability community to prioritize modifications required to make sidewalks, pedestrian crossings, and transportation stops accessible, including the installation of large numbers of curb ramps throughout Wyandotte County and Kansas City, which will be completed within 10 years. 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.