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Community Participation
Serve DC  Individuals with disabilities have unlimited potential to contribute to community service projects. The mission of Serve DC is to strengthen and promote the State's spirit of service through partnerships, national service, and volunteerism.
 
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DC Government Agencies, Programs and Services

Department of Disability Services The Department on Disability Services provides innovative, high quality services for people with disabilities enabling meaningful and productive lives as vital members of their families, schools, workplaces and communities in every neighborhood in the District of Columbia.

Developmental Disabilities Council The Developmental Disabilities Council (DDC) funds programs and projects in the areas of community education and outreach, including classroom education, employment, and quality assurance.  The DDC funds activities that support change to public policies, plans, and practices that prevent and/or reduce discrimination against individuals with developmental disabilities and their families.

Office of Human Rights The DC Office of Human Rights is an agency of the District of Columbia government that seeks to eradicate discrimination, increase equal opportunity, and protect human rights in the city. The Office enforces the DC Human Rights Act of 1977 and other laws and policies on nondiscrimination. The Office is also the advocate for the practice of good human relations and mutual understanding among the various racial ethnic and religious groups in the District of Columbia.

Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) – Special Education The purpose of the OSSE website is to provide the public with access to information about special education related services, approved placements and direct online connections to helpful documents.

DC Library Adaptive Services Division (ASD)
ASD helps make the District of Columbia Public Library a leading resource for people with disabilities, for the deaf community and for DC’s multifaceted society of older adults, veterans, and injured servicemen and servicewomen of the United States Armed Forces.  The following services are offered:

  • Adaptive Technology Program:
    This program provides adaptive technology workstations for people who need them in order to access the library’s programs and services.  The workstations are located in the Adaptive Services Division, Room 215 at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library, and include adjustable furniture, large screen computer monitors, video magnifiers and software programs that make information accessible to individuals with disabilities.   
  • DC Regional Library for the Blind and Physically Handicapped:
    ASD provides books, magazines, newspapers and other materials in accessible and large print formats.
  • Library Service to the Deaf Community:
    This service offers free American Sign Language classes and deaf culture programs, as well as resources by and about the deaf community.
  • Homebound Services: 
    This service opens the District of Columbia’s rich collection of books, videos and DVDs to DC residents who are homebound on a temporary or permanent basis because of age or physical disability or illness. 
  • Older Adult Services: 
    This service reaches residents of DC’s retirement homes, nursing homes, and senior wellness and recreation centers with special library programs and services designed to promote reading and lifelong learning.
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Employment Programs and Services

Department of Employment Services (DOES) The mission of the Department of Employment Services is to plan, develop and administer employment-related services to all segments of the Washington, DC metropolitan population. We achieve our mission through empowering and sustaining a diverse workforce, which enables all sectors of the community to achieve economic and social stability.

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Transportation

MetroAccess & Online Web-booking MetroAccess is a shared ride, curb-to-curb paratransit service for people who cannot use public transportation due to a disability. To qualify for MetroAccess service, you must complete an WMATA application (certified by a health care professional) and participate in a functional assessment to determine which Metro services will best meet your transportation needs. Registered MetroAccess customers may now use the Internet to book, cancel, or review trips. Visit the MetroAccess website for more information about the standard or the accessible web-booking site.

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA Metro) – Accessibility Overview  WMATA provides accessibility information on Metrobus, Metrorail, MetroAccess, other transit providers in the region, our Ombudsman Program and our Elderly and Disabled (E&D) Transportation Advisory Committee along with other useful information.

Call for Applications - WMATA Elderly & Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee.

WMATA wants to hear from people like you.  Our customers with disabilities and senior citizens have a lot to say about our service. More importantly, they have a lot of good ideas to share. The WMATA Elderly & Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee advises Metro on ways to improve metrobus, metrorail, and MetroAccess services.  Senior Citizens and customers with disabilities have a chance to participate in making Metro better. WMATA is currently soliciting applications from customers interested in filling vacancies on the WMATA Elderly & Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee.

2008 Richard D. Heddinger Accessible Transportation Award Microsoft Word*, PDF*

The Metro Department of Access Services and the Elderly and Disabled Transportation Advisory Committee are seeking nominations for the 2008 Richard D. Heddinger Accessible Transportation Award.  The award honors a person or organization whose efforts have resulted in significant improvements to accessible public transportation services for people with disabilities.  Nominations are being accepted through May 1, 2008.  The award recipient will be announced this summer. 

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Viable Federal Government Resources

DisabilityInfo.gov is a one-stop federal Website designed to offer people with disabilities access to the information and resources they need to fully participate in the workforce and in their communities. Managed by the US Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), DisabilityInfo.gov offers a broad range of valuable information, not only for people with disabilities, but also for community and faith-based organizations, caregivers, state Medicaid agencies and service providers of all kinds working to maintain the independence of people with a range of physical or mental impairments.

Disability Program Navigator (DPN)
The US Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration and the Social Security Administration are jointly funding the DPN Initiative in 45 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico where SSA implemented employment support initiatives.  This Initiative promotes comprehensive services and work incentive information for SSA beneficiaries and other people with disabilities, through the One Stop system. The Initiative focuses on developing new and ongoing partnerships to achieve seamless, comprehensive, and integrated access to services, creating systemic change, and expanding the workforce development system's capacity to serve customers with disabilities and employers.

Office on Disability, US Department of Health and Human Services

The Health and Human Services Office on Disability was created in October 2002 in response to President Bush's New Freedom Initiative (NFI). The office oversees the implementation and coordination of disability programs, policies and special initiatives pertaining to the over 54 million persons with disabilities in the United States. The New Freedom Initiative established seven distinct domains in the area of disability: community integration, education, employment, health, housing, technology, and transportation.  The Office on Disability focuses its efforts on these seven domains. dotted line
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Guidelines for Assisting Those with Accessibility Needs

Accessibility Guide- Microsoft Word*, Accessibility Guide- PDF*

In an effort to include everyone who comes to visit the nation’s Capitol or state home offices in the daily dialogue, Members of Congress and their staff must accommodate a wide variety of individuals who have accessibility needs.  Ensuring their ability to interact and assist individuals with accessibility needs requires that Members of Congress are prepared in advance to meet their constituents’ needs from appropriate language and basic etiquette, to ensuring they are included in the emergency preparedness plans and provided for in the accessible room designs.


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**This document is presented as a Microsoft Word form.
 
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