1. Creating Accessible Services:
A Training For Certified Domestic Violence Center
Advocates
Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence
1
“Sponsored by the Florida Coalition Against Domestic Violence and
the State of Florida, Department of Children and Families.”

2. Training ObjectivesTraining Objectives
 Advocates will gain knowledge on the link between
domestic violence and participants living with a
disability.
 Advocates will be able to illustrate the meaning of the
word “accessible.”
 Advocates will be able to identify at least three ways
they can enhance services to be more accessible to
participants living with a disability.

3. Civil Rights Acts Pertaining to DisabilityCivil Rights Acts Pertaining to Disability
Americans With Disabilities Act of 1990—Prohibits
discrimination based on a disability.
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968—Provides for fair
and equal housing throughout the United States- The FairThe Fair
Housing ActHousing Act

4.  Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
“No person in the United States shall, on the ground of race,
color or national origin, be excluded from participation in,
be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to
discrimination under any program or activity receiving
federal financial assistance.”
Section 601 of Title VI, 42 U.S.C. sec. 2000d
Civil Rights Act Pertaining toCivil Rights Act Pertaining to
Limited English ProficiencyLimited English Proficiency

5. The American With Disabilities Act and The Fair HousingThe American With Disabilities Act and The Fair Housing
ActAct
 The American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Fair
Housing Act (FHA) are federal laws that ensure that people
with disabilities have equal access to services.
 The FHA prohibits making a shelter unavailable based on a
person’s race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial
status or disability.
 The civil rights protections of Title II of the Americans
with Disabilities Act of 1990 apply to public entities,
regardless of whether they received federal financial
assistance.
 All 42 certified domestic violence centers adhere to the
ADA and FHA.

6. The American With Disabilities Amendments Act of 2011The American With Disabilities Amendments Act of 2011
(ADAAA) and FHA Definition of a Disability is:(ADAAA) and FHA Definition of a Disability is:
 a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits
one or more major life activities (sometimes referred to
in the regulations as an “actual disability”); or
 a record of a physical or mental impairment that
substantially limited a major life activity
(“record of”); or
 when a covered entity takes an action prohibited by the
ADA because of an actual or perceived impairment that
is not both transitory and minor (“regarded as”).

7. Examples of DisabilitiesExamples of Disabilities
Cognitive Disabilities Mental Health Disabilities
 Aphasia
 Brain injury
 Attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder
(ADHD)
 Dyslexia
 Language Delay
 Learning disabilites
 Obsessive-compulsive
disorder
 Post-traumatic stress
disorder (PTSD)
 Major depression
 Bipolar disorder (also
referred to as manic-
depressive illness)
 Schizophrenia
 Personality Disorders

8. Examples of DisabilitiesExamples of Disabilities
Mobility/Physical Disabilities Sensory Disabilities
 Partial or total paralysis
 Amputation
 Spinal injury
 Arthritis
 Muscular dystrophy
 Multiple sclerosis
 Cerebral Palsy
 Blindness or visual
impairments
 Deaf or Hard of Hearing
 Tactile processing delays
 Sensory integration
disorder

9. Domestic Violence and DisabilityDomestic Violence and Disability
 Women living with disabilities have a greater risk of
violence than women without disabilities.
 The most common perpetrators of violence against
women living with disabilities are their male partners.
 Women with disabilities are three times more likely to
be sexually assaulted than women without disabilities.
Office on Women’s Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.(2011). Violence Against Women With Disabilities
[Data file]. Retrieved from http://www.womenshealth.gov/violence-against-women/types-of-violence/violence-against-women-
with-disabilities.html 9

10. People Living with Disabilities are atPeople Living with Disabilities are at
an Increased Risk of Victimizationan Increased Risk of Victimization
 For longer periods of time
11.3 years vs. 7.1 years in situations of physical abuse
8.3 years vs. 4.1 years in situations of sexual abuse.
 By multiple perpetrators over a life time.
 Trauma often not considered in a medical model.
 Victims of violence are at risk of permanent disability:
Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder
Physical Disabilities.
10
Nosek, M. Ph.D., & Hughes, R. Ph.D.(2002). Violence Against Women With Physical Disabilities Retrieved from
https://www.bcm.edu/research/centers/research-on-women-with-disabilities/index.cfm?pmid=1409

11. Types of Abuse Perpetrated Against Participants LivingTypes of Abuse Perpetrated Against Participants Living
with a Disabilitywith a Disability
 Disability-related
emotional abuse may
include threats of
abandonment, belittling,
or accusation of faking.
 Destroying assistive
equipment such as:
hearing aids, canes and
even service animals
 Withholding finances,
misusing or delaying
needed supports or
medications.
 Disability-related
physical abuse may
include being restrained
or left in a wheelchair
for days.

12. Types of Abuse Perpetrated Against Participants LivingTypes of Abuse Perpetrated Against Participants Living
with a Disabilitywith a Disability
 Calling the participant CRAZY, NUTS, HYSTERICAL.
 Telling friends and co-workers that the participant has a
mental illness.
 Threatening to take the children away stating courts will
not allow a CRAZY person to have custody of a child.

13. Becoming AccessibleBecoming Accessible
1st
Decide as an agency to become accessible.
2nd
Consider how each service may be accessed by people
living with different disabilities.
3rd
Adjust programs to be accessible to all.

14. FHA and Reasonable AccommodationsFHA and Reasonable Accommodations
 The FHA makes it unlawful for any person to refuse “to
make reasonable accommodations in rules, policies,
practices, or services, when such accommodations may
be necessary to afford person(s) living with disabilities
equal opportunity to use and enjoy a dwelling.”
14
The Fair Housing Act,42 U.S.C. & 3604(f)(3)
(B).

15. Examples of Reasonable AccommodationsExamples of Reasonable Accommodations
 Hotline services that are accessible to callers living with
a speech or hearing disability like Relay Service access
or TDD access.
 Private room in shelter if the individual has a immune
disorder that prohibits the person from sharing a room.
 Installing ramps or lifts in order to give access to
individuals living with limited mobility.

16. Right to AccommodationsRight to Accommodations
 Centers should post a notice in residential and non-
residential service areas that participants may request
reasonable accommodations to make services accessible.

17. Accessibility and Certified Domestic Violence CentersAccessibility and Certified Domestic Violence Centers
 Accessibility is more than physical access, providing
auxiliary aids or providing documents in alternate
languages.
It is about Inclusive Services for ALL Participants!

18. Inclusive Services/Accessible ServicesInclusive Services/Accessible Services

19. Example of Inclusive ServicesExample of Inclusive Services
 Jane is living with a
vision disability and
discloses this on a
hotline call when
seeking information on
outreach services.
 How should the advocate
respond?

20. The Advocate’s ResponseThe Advocate’s Response
 Notify the participant when making the appointment that
your center provides accommodations free of charge.
 An accommodation request may include printing
documents with a larger font size.

21. Creating an Accessible HotlineCreating an Accessible Hotline

22. HotlineHotline
The hotline is your
doorway to services
Screen In NOT
Screen Out
X“Can you care for
you self?”
X“Are you on
medication for your
mental illness?”

23. HotlineHotline
 TDD and Relay
Services.
 Do not make
assumptions about
someone’s speech.
 Ask everyone the same
qualifying questions.

24. HotlineHotline
 Do ask
“Will you need any
special
accommodations during
your stay in shelter?”
“You are able to request
an accommodation at
any time while
receiving services from
our center”

25. Auxiliary Aid PlansAuxiliary Aid Plans
 Review your agency’s auxiliary aid plan.
 Plan ahead and be prepared.
 For example, know your local sign language interpreter service.
 Do not make assumptions of an individual’s needs or
wants.
 Ask.
 For example, not all individuals who are Blind read Braille.
 Some may prefer an audio file or other form of media file of
safety planning tools.

26. Examples of Auxiliary AidsExamples of Auxiliary Aids
 Pocket Talker
 Certified Sign Language Interpreter
 Telecommunication Device for the Deaf
 Service Animal
 Communication Access Real-time Translation Services

27. Examples of Auxiliary Aids to Support Safety PlanningExamples of Auxiliary Aids to Support Safety Planning
 Create audio files of safety planning tools and provide
headphones for individuals to listen to the audio files on
the computer or CD player if they have a vision
disability.
 Be prepared to draft a safety plan using an electronic
version or simpler language.
 Contact your local Center for Independent Living (CIL)
to determine other auxiliary aids that may be used to
support safety planning.

28. Service Animals: American With Disabilities ActService Animals: American With Disabilities Act
 Service animal is defined by the ADA as any dog or
miniature horse that is individually trained to do work or
perform tasks for the benefit of an individual with a
disability, including a; physical, sensory, psychiatric,
intellectual, or other mental disability.
 Service animals must be permitted to accompany people
living with disabilities in all areas where members of the
public are allowed to go.
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29. Documentation of Service AnimalsDocumentation of Service Animals
 Under the ADA, you may make only limited inquiries
about the service animal. The ADA regulations permit
only two inquiries if you are not certain that an animal is
a service animal:
• Is this animal required because of a disability?
• If so, what work or task(s) has the animal been trained to
perform?

30. Emotional Support Animal: Fair Housing ActEmotional Support Animal: Fair Housing Act
 The Fair Housing Amendments Act applies to shelter
and transitional living programs and requires that if an
animal is an emotional support animal and the person
needs the support animal in order to have equal access to
a dwelling then an emotional support animal must be
permitted as a reasonable accommodation.

31. Practice Tip:Practice Tip:
 A recommendation that agencies providing short-term,
emergency shelter refrain from requiring documentation
of the need for the emotional support animal.
 Shelter residents often do not come with documentation,
having fled their homes.
 If the center’s policy is to ask for documentation, you
must ask all participants for the same documentation
regarding emotional support animals.

32. Support Group AccessibilitySupport Group Accessibility
 A support group consists of a variety of people and there
may be people living with a disability that attend as well
as people who have limited English proficiency.
 What steps can you take to ensure that people will have
equal access to the support group?

33. Tips to Make Support Groups More AccessibleTips to Make Support Groups More Accessible
 Have multiple
advocates to facilitate
group
 List of online support
groups
 Alternate formats of
printed materials
 Keep physical
accessibility in mind
when using an off-site
location
 Offer auxiliary aids
 Convey in spoken words
what is distributed in
written word
 Give the participant
enough time to articulate
his or her thoughts and
do not interrupt or finish
sentences for a
participant

34. Another Tip For Accessible Support GroupsAnother Tip For Accessible Support Groups
 Language is key to facilitating a productive and
accessible support group.

35. Examples of People First LanguageExamples of People First Language
Instead of Saying: Say:
 Disabled Person
 I work with mentally
challenged people
 Bob is wheelchair bound
 Luke’s a slow learner
 My deaf sister
 Person living with a
disability
 I work with people living
with a mental health
disability
 Bob uses a wheelchair
 Luke is living with a brain
injury
 My sister is Deaf

36. Accessible LanguageAccessible Language
Terms to Use: Terms Not to Use:
 Mental health disability
 Person who uses a
wheelchair
 Someone of short stature
 Person living with a
disability
 Blind or visual disability
 Deaf or Hard of Hearing
 Intellectual disability
 Non-visible disability
 Crazy
 Cripple
 Dwarf or Midget
 Handicap
 Physically Challenged
 Retard/Retarded
 The Disabled
 Wheelchair-bound
 Suffers from a disability

37. Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights ActTitle VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act
 The U.S. Supreme Court stated that one type of national
origin discrimination is discrimination based on a person’s
inability to speak, read, write or understand English (Lau v.
Nichols (1974))
 President Clinton signed Executive Order 13166 in Aug.
2000: "Improving Access to Services for Persons with
Limited English Proficiency.”

38. Limited English Proficiency (LEP)
 LEP persons are those individuals who do not speak
English as their primary language and have a limited ability
to read, write, speak or understand English.
 Recipients of federal financial assistance have a
responsibility to take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful
access to their programs and activities by persons with LEP.

39. Example of an Accommodation for LEP ParticipantsExample of an Accommodation for LEP Participants
 An advocate can have a qualified German language
interpreter available to translate for a participant who
speaks German as their primary language and requires
help completing an application.
 The center can have forms available in both English and
Spanish for participants who speak Spanish as their
primary language.

40. CertificationCertification
 Sign Language Interpreters must be certified by the
State of Florida.
 Qualified Oral Interpreter- An individual who can
competently render a message spoken or written from
one language into one or more other languages.

41. Guidelines on Language InterpretersGuidelines on Language Interpreters
 Staff can only act as a sign language interpreter if they
are certified by the State of Florida.
 Staff can act as qualified foreign language interpreters
for participants who identify as LEP.
 Sign Language and Foreign Language Interpreters are
Provided to the Participant at NO Charge.

42. What can you do to be accessible?What can you do to be accessible?
 Just Ask
 Universal Access
 Community Resources

43. Just AskJust Ask
 Do not assume every person living with a vision
disability, mental health disorder or physical disability
requires the same accommodations or faces the same
challenges.
 It is acceptable to ask questions about a person’s
disability once they disclose if the questions are for the
sole purpose of providing accessible services, not for
gossip or idle curiosity.

44. Universal AccessUniversal Access
Strive to create programs that are
accessible to all instead of augmenting
services upon request.
In other words, be prepared when
someone living with a disability accesses
your services.

45. ResourcesResources
 Centers for Independent Living (CIL)
◦ www.floridacils.org
 Florida Alliance for Assistive Services and Technology
(FAAST)
◦ www.faast.org
 Florida Telecommunication Relay, Inc. (FTRI)
◦ www.ftri.org

46. At the conclusion of this training:At the conclusion of this training:
 Advocates should be able to identify services that can be
modified to be accessible for participants living with a
disability.
 Advocates should have more understanding of the
tactics that perpetrators use to control a participant
living with a disability.
 Advocates should be able to discuss the meaning of
accessible services.

47. Thank youThank you
Thank you for completing this course
and good luck on the quiz!
You have earned two training hours for
this course.
Please contact Maggie Cveticanin,
Domestic Violence, Disability
Compliance and Abuse in Later Life
Specialist at
cveticanin_maggie@fcadv.org or (850)
425-2749 if you have any questions.