Justice Department Reaches Agreement with Milwaukee to Ensure Civic Access for People with Disabilities

The Justice Department reached an agreement today with the city of Milwaukee to improve access to all aspects of civic life for persons with disabilities.  The agreement was reached under Project Civic Access (PCA), the department’s wide-ranging initiative to ensure that cities, towns and counties throughout the country comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Today’s agreement was reached under Title II of the ADA, which prohibits discrimination against individuals with disabilities by state and local governments.  The agreement requires the actions to be completed within three years and the department will actively monitor compliance with the agreement throughout this timeframe.

“Cities and towns must comply with the ADA so that people with disabilities can use public entities and participate fully in their community – from enjoying parks and libraries, to accessing polling places and courthouses,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Vanita Gupta, head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.  “We applaud Milwaukee’s commitment to ensuring that its entire population can access the city’s public resources and look forward to seeing these critical reforms become a reality.”

The agreement requires the city to modify facilities surveyed by the department so that they are accessible and to retain an independent licensed architect to survey facilities and programs that were not surveyed by the department.  The agreement also requires that Milwaukee certify that all remedial actions are compliant with the ADA, provide auxiliary aids and services necessary to ensure effective communication, ensure accessibility of polling places, provide accessible curb ramps throughout the city and ensure that the city’s website will conform with the Website Content Accessibility Guidelines Level 2.0 Level AA.

PCA ensures that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to participate in civic life.  As part of PCA, Justice Department staff survey state and local government facilities, services and programs in communities across the country to identify changes needed in order to comply with the ADA.  The agreements detail the actions that a public entity must take to improve access.

People interested in finding out more about the ADA, this agreement with Milwaukee, PCA or the ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments may access the ADA web page at www.ada.gov or call the toll-free ADA Information Line at (800) 514-0301 or (800) 514-0383 (TTY).

Milwaukee Settlement Agreement