The District of Columbia is committed to making its homeless shelter programs accessible to people with disabilities in compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).

Homeless shelter services are provided by the Department of Human Services (DHS) through contracts with private agencies.  Shelters are located in privately owned buildings, buildings leased by the District, and buildings owned by the District.

The goal of this Comprehensive Plan is to achieve “program accessibility” under Title II of the ADA. Program accessibility is measured by the ADA Accessibility Guidelines (ADAAG) section 9.5.2 unless meeting the standard would constitute a fundamental alteration of the program, an undue hardship on the District, or would be technically infeasible.

The District of Columbia’s Second Revised Comprehensive Plan, submitted to the United States Department of Justice, pursuant to paragraph 20(i) of the Settlement Agreement between the United States and the District of Columbia under the Americans with Disabilities Act (DJ #204-16-96), effective December 10, 2008 is provided below:

District of Columbia Second Revised Comprehensive Plan
Shelter Accessibility by Program Type and Shelter Location*

All persons who desire to comment on the Comprehensive Plan should submit their comments in writing to Deborah A. Carroll, Interim Director, District of Columbia Department of Human Services, 64 New York Avenue, NE, Washington, DC 20002, Attn: Mr. Fred Swan, Administrator, Family Services Administration.  Persons may also submit any comments to David W. Knight, Trial Attorney, Disability Rights Section – NYA, 950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC  20530, or by E-mail: david.w.knight@usdoj.gov, or by Fax: (202) 307-1197.

A copy of the Second Revised Comprehensive Plan may be obtained through the DHS website, by writing to the above address, or by calling the Department of Human Services at (202) 671-4200.