	Administrative and Service Environment

Introduction

Administration and Management

Service Delivery Administration Standards

Service Standards

ASE 2: Accessibility

Service and administrative facilities are accessible and comply with applicable legal and regulatory requirements.

Note: Please see Checklist: Facility Observation in the Tools Index for additional assistance with this standard.

ASE 2.01

The organization complies with federal, state, and local legal requirements governing facility accessibility.

Interpretation: Applicable laws governing organizations include Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) as well as various state and municipal laws. Compliance with ASE 2.01 may be demonstrated in many different ways, such as removing structural barriers by constructing ramps, widening doorways, providing accessible parking, removing obstructing furniture, improving visual access to goods and services, widening toilet stalls, installing grab bars, and other modifications where such measures and/or modifications are readily achievable.

Interpretation: Religious organizations are exempt from Title III of the ADA. Note, however, that Title I of the ADA requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for employees with disabilities to the point of undue hardship. Additionally, the laws of some states exceed federal requirements for public accommodations.

ASE 2.02

In planning the location and use of offices and branches, the organization considers:

accessibility, availability, and affordability of public transportation;
location of other relevant community resources; and
the special needs of service recipients.

Interpretation: In addition to the needs of the defined service population, this standard requires the organization to address the needs of persons with disabilities.

ASE 2.03

Some of the organization’s administrative and service facilities are free of architectural barriers, or the organization coordinates use of accessible facilities.

Interpretation: When the facility’s age or excessive cost prevent change, an organization that provides equivalent services at an alternate, accessible location will have fully implemented this standard. Additionally, the organization will have effectively addressed legal requirements by adapting some of its physical facilities (ramps, lavatories, and drinking fountains) to be accessible to persons with physical disabilities or those otherwise qualified. This implementation may be evident in the current provision of services to persons with physical disabilities.

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	PURPOSE: The organization’s administrative and service environments are respectful, caring, safe, and accessible, and contribute to organizational productivity and effective service delivery.

RELATED FILES


	SERVICE One or more organization-operated programs or activities that have a common general objective and deploy the organization's material and human resources in a planned and systematic manner. An organization that publicly promotes or identifies itself in writing as offering a service, is licensed to deliver a service, assigns personnel and/or space to a service, or allocates financial resources to a service is considered to offer that service.


	EMPLOYEE Paid member of an organization. Foster parents are not considered employees and are specifically referenced in relevant standards.


	PLANNING The process of specifying objectives, evaluating the means for their achievement, and exercising deliberate decision making about appropriate courses of action.


	COMMUNITY A specific group of people living in the same locality and who may share a common culture, values, and norms. Communities can also be defined by race, religion, ethnicity, age, occupation, political status, tribal affiliation, interest in particular problems or outcomes, or other common bonds. The term "community" encompasses worksites, schools, tribes, residential neighborhoods, business districts, recreational areas, and health and human service sites.


	SPECIAL NEEDS A designation used in reference to conditions or characteristics of a person that reflect a need for special care, services, or treatment. When the term is used in the context of adoption services, special needs refers to conditions that make a child harder to place for adoption. This includes children who are members of sibling groups, older children, children with disabilities, children of certain racial /ethnic backgrounds, etc. When the term is used in the context of foster care it refers to the need for a higher degree of specialized case services and attention due to mental and physical disabilities. When the term is used in the context of out-of-school time services, a child or youth may have special physical, behavioral, medical, emotional, or cognitive needs that should be addressed or accommodated. The term is also used in other contexts. See also DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES.


	SERVICE RECIPIENT The individuals, groups, organizations, or communities that use, receive, or benefit from programs and services. Service recipients can include consumers, patients, family members, legal guardians, advocates, public/private organizations, employers, and purchasers. All are regarded as significant stakeholders served in a variety of agencies and practice settings.


	SERVICE POPULATION A group or target population that the organization's services are designed to serve in accord with its mission, and which includes the organization's service recipients. An organization's service population may be defined by geographic location, specific problems or needs, religion, ethnicity, culture, or other factors.


	PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES Individuals with physical or mental impairments that result in substantial functional limitations.


	ARCHITECTURAL BARRIER A physical impediment to the use of a facility by persons with physical disabilities including stairs, inaccessible toilet facilities, or other factors that restrict use.