News  Five years of improving access

By Jeffrey Dougan, Assistant Director for Community Services

Since 2017, Massachusetts Office on Disability (MOD) has been fortunate to have funding to assist local communities across the Commonwealth with improving access to services, programs, and activities through the competitive Municipal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Improvement Grant program.

Funding is distributed to communities who meet eligibility requirements for either a Planning or Project grant. Planning grants help fund the development or update to a community’s Title II ADA Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan, while Project grants assist communities with the improvement of architectural or communication access as identified within said plan.

Since the grant program’s inception in FY2017, MOD has reviewed over 450 grant applications, awarded over $7.3 million in funding, and seen a significant increase in ADA Title II compliance and community accessibility.

Funding and distribution of funds

Over the past five years:

• The grant program has been funded a total of $7.5 million to return to communities for ADA related improvements
• MOD voted to award $7,337,466 to the communities; 98% of the total monies provided
• There were 468 separate applications, totaling $43,443,535, submitted to MOD over the past 5 years. MOD awarded 168 separate grants (an award rate of 36%)
• Of the awards, $2,480,252 (37% of the total reimbursements) were for Planning grants while $4,188,547 (63% of the total reimbursement) were for Project grants

As seen in the numbers above, the grant program only continues to grow throughout the Commonwealth as we have seen the number of applications increase steadily over the years.

Impact on compliance with ADA Title II Administrative Requirements

As a result of this program, MOD has seen a significant increase in compliance with the Title II Administrative requirements overall under the ADA, which prohibit state and local government entities from discriminating against or excluding people from their facilities, programs, services, and activities on the basis of disability.

Over the past 5 years, MOD has seen the following changes:

• Responsible Person (ADA Coordinator): From FY2017 to FY2021, MOD saw a 3% increase in designated ADA Coordinators for applicant communities – a rise from 326 Coordinators in 2017 to 335 in 2021.
• Notice of Non-Discrimination: In FY2017, 18 communities provided MOD a copy of their notice, compared with 210 communities in FY2021. This is an increase of 1066%.
• Grievance Procedure: In FY2017, 20 communities provided MOD a copy of their Grievance Procedure, compared with 210 communities in FY2021. This is an increase of 950%.
• Self-Evaluation and Transition Plans: In FY2017, 81 communities provided MOD a copy of their plans, compared with 211 communities in FY2021.This is an increase of 160% over the last five years.

Success stories

The amount of physical access, communication access, and development of plans that have been created by the use of these grant funds has had a real, tangible, and beneficial impact for persons with disabilities throughout the Commonwealth.

While we are not able to cover all 168 grants that have been awarded, we would like to share three notable examples of grants that the Selection Committee felt had a substantial impact for persons with disabilities.

In the first year of the program, three communities applied for Planning Grants to update their Self-Evaluation and Transition Plan to incorporate the forthcoming Public Rights of Way Accessible Design Standards. This covers the streetscapes, sidewalks, curb cuts, pedestrian access signaling, parking, and many other elements that should be considered within the public right of way for access.

Since the inception of the grant program, coastal communities have sought the grant in order to improve access to beaches or lakes. In the FY2019 cycle of the grant program, MOD funded a few projects to create accessible routes to the beaches and lakes. This was done with the use of beach access mats and boardwalk construction. As the grant program continues, we see this request frequently, along with outdoor recreation area improvements and playground surface improvements.

Over the past five years, communities have also utilized grant funding to improve communication access. MOD has funded Braille printers, assistive listening devices, signage, and even some accessible pedestrian crossings. In the FY2021 cycle, five grants were awarded to improve signage, purchase assistive listening devices for public meetings, and provide accessible pedestrian crossing controls with the appropriate level of visual, tactile, and audible alerts. We receive applications for these types of improvements every cycle. For example, one of the items that was addressed at Fall River’s City Hall, among other work performed, was the outdated room identification signs that were replaced and posted according to access code requirements.

We look forward to watching this program continue to grow and improve the lives of people with disabilities across the Commonwealth. The volume of applications received illustrates an interest in improving accessibility and a need within Massachusetts communities for dedicated funding for such improvements.

While the FY2022 cycle has now closed and awards have been made, we expect the FY2023 cycle to open for application submissions in early August of 2022. MOD encourages any community who may have never applied for an MOD ADA Improvement Grant to do so in 2023.

To be notified when applications reopen, please contact Jeffrey Dougan at jeff.dougan@mass.gov. For other MOD related news, sign up for our email list.

Jeffrey Dougan has worked at MOD for over 20 years and manages the Community Services Unit (CSU). The CSU manages two grant programs and coordinates trainings, meetings, site visits and technical assistance on federal and state disability laws as they relate to accessibility.