DOT Memorandum - Information and Action: ADA Transition Plan Process

ADA Transition Plan Working Group and Review Team:

With the amount of interest in the topic, the Associate Administrator for the Office of Civil Rights and the Chair of the Division Administrator (DA) Civil Rights Advisory Group agreed that it would be beneficial to create a Working Group to develop guidance on the transition plan attributes that are consistent with regulatory requirements. The Working Group was established in the Summer of 2015 with the following members: Tom Smith, DA West Virginia; James Christian, DA Florida; Joe Werning, DA Nebraska; Karla Petty, DA Arizona; Amy JacksonGrove, DA Connecticut; Gary Corino, DA Oklahoma; Joseph Daily, DA Wyoming; Jim Esselman, FHWA Office of Chief Counsel; Warren Whitlock, AA Office of Civil Rights; Candace Groudine, HCR; Nichole Mcwhorter, HCR; Connie Yew, HCR; Elizabeth Hilton, Office of Infrastructure; Patrick Gomez, Resource Center (RC).

The effort began with two, all-day face-to-face meetings in July 2015 to discuss in depth, the broad range of challenges faced by States in completing their ADA transition plans, as well as the need to clarify for the States what is required by the regulations to ensure compliance with the ADA. Shortly after those meetings, a smaller, break-out team (referred to as the “ADA transition plan Review Team,” hereinafter, “Review Team”) was created by the Working Group and charged with the responsibility to identify minimum attributes that FHWA should evaluate in determining the adequacy of a State’s ADA transition plan. This team also discussed how to address the large number of transition plans that had already been reviewed and accepted by Divisions. The Review Team consists of the following individuals: Tom Smith, DA West Virginia; Amy Jackson-Grove, DA Connecticut; Jim Esselman, Office of Chief Counsel; Elizabeth Hilton, Office of Infrastructure; Candace Groudine, Office of Civil Rights; and Patrick Gomez, RC. Each team member had also been a member of the larger Working Group.

In August 2015, the “What’s Hot Webinar” hosted by the Division Administrators’ Council (DAC) included discussion about the ADA Transition Plan Working Group and Review Team and a high level summary of what was emerging from the team’s work.

At the September 2015 Fall Business Meeting’s DAC Session, HCR provided an update on the efforts from the Working Group and Review Team, and requested feedback from all the Division Administrators.