ADA Best Practices Tool Kit for State and Local Governments

D. Reasonable Modifications

The ADA generally requires emergency managers and shelter operators to make reasonable modifications to policies, practices, and procedures when necessary to avoid discrimination.⁹ A reasonable modification must be made unless it would impose an undue financial and administrative burden.¹⁰ The following are examples of reasonable modifications that emergency managers and shelter operators will generally need to make:

• Modify “no pets” policies to welcome people who use service animals. Many emergency shelters do not allow residents or volunteers to bring their pets inside. But shelters must generally modify “no pets” policies to allow people with disabilities to be accompanied by their service animals. 
  
  A service animal is not a pet. Under the ADA, a service animal is any animal that is individually trained to provide assistance to a person with a disability. Most people are familiar with dogs that guide people who are blind or have low vision. But there are many other functions that service animals perform for people with a variety of disabilities. Examples include alerting people who are deaf or hard of hearing to sounds; pulling wheelchairs; carrying or retrieving items for people with mobility disabilities or limited use of arms or hands; assisting people with disabilities to maintain their balance; and alerting people to, and protecting them during, medical events such as seizures. 
  
  How can a service animal be identified? Service animals come in all breeds and sizes. Many are easily identified because they wear special harnesses, capes, vests, scarves, or patches. Others can be identified by the functions they perform for people whose disabilities can be readily observed. When none of these identifiers are present, shelter staff may ask only two questions to determine if an animal is a service animal: (1) “Do you need this animal because of a disability?” and (2) “What tasks or work has the animal been trained to perform?” If the answers to these questions reveal that the animal has been trained to work or perform tasks for a person with a disability, it qualifies as a service animal and must generally be allowed to accompany its owner anywhere other members of the public are allowed to go, including areas where food is served and most areas where medical care is provided. Questions about the nature or severity of a person’s disability or ability to function may not be asked. It is also inappropriate to question a person’s need for a service animal or to exclude a service animal on the grounds that shelter staff or volunteers can provide the assistance normally provided by the service animal. 

• Modify kitchen access policies for people with medical conditions that may require access to food. Most shelter operators restrict residents’ and volunteers’ access to the kitchen to preserve food and beverage supplies and maintain efficient kitchen operations. But people with medical conditions such as diabetes may need immediate access to food to avoid serious health consequences. Shelter operators need to make reasonable modifications to kitchen policies so that residents and volunteers with disability-related needs can have access to food and beverages when needed. 

• Modify sleeping arrangements to meet disability-related needs. To maximize efficiency, shelter operators typically provide one standard type of cot or mat for use by shelter residents. However, some people have disability-related needs for cots to be modified or may need to sleep on cots or beds instead of on mats placed on the floor. For example, a person with muscular dystrophy may require a cot with a very firm mattress to provide the physical support needed to facilitate breathing. Similarly, many people with mobility disabilities will be unable to use a sleeping mat placed on the floor. For example, many people using wheelchairs or scooters will be unable to safely transfer on and off a cot or bed unless it is firmly anchored so it does not move and has a firm sleeping surface that is 17 - 19 inches above the floor. Shelter operators need to establish procedures that people with disabilities can use to request reasonable modifications to sleeping arrangements.