THE INFORMATION ACCESS PROJECT FOR BLIND INDIVIDUALS A Cooperative Effort by the U.S. Department of Justice and the National Federation of the Blind The National Federation of the Blind has been awarded a U.S. Department of Justice Technical Assistance Grant to conduct the Information Access Project for Blind Individuals (IAP for short). This grant supports our efforts to assist the Justice Department to educate the various entities (state and local government bodies as well as private businesses) covered by the Americans with Disabilities Act (thus referred to in the Act and its regulations as "covered entities") in meeting the requirements of the ADA which relate to blind persons. Likewise, we will work with blind individuals to assist them in using the ADA to expand employment, educational, and avocational opportunities. Specifically, the IAP will serve as a national resource for understanding and interpreting the provisions of the Act which call for making print and other visually accessible materials (charts, posters, signs, video presentations, etc.) available to the blind. Overview of the ADA The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law by President George Bush on July 26, 1990. The ADA was passed to provide a comprehensive national mandate for the elimination of discrimination against individuals with disabilities. In addition, the law is designed to establish national standards to prevent discrimination against persons with disabilities as well as to define the federal government's role in enforcing these standards. The ADA is divided into five sections or titles. Title I deals with employment, Title II is concerned with services provided by public entities, while Title III deals with services and accommodations provided by private entities. Title IV is concerned with telecommunication and captioning services for the deaf and speech impaired, and Title V covers a variety of miscellaneous subjects including regulations by the Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board, attorney's fees, Federal Wilderness Areas, coverage of Congress and the whole legislative branch and more. The Title I regulations will become law on July 26, 1992, for companies with twenty-five or more employees and on July 26, 1994, for companies with fifteen or more employees. Titles II and III went into effect on January 26, 1992. Title IV of the ADA must be implemented by July 26, 1993, and there is no overall implementation date for Title V. Accessibility is a major goal of the ADA. Accessibility applies to information and communications as much as it does to the physical characteristics of buildings and facilities. It is this aspect of accessibility which is of most interest to blind persons and, therefore, the reason the National Federation of the Blind is working with the Justice Department on this project. Requirements for equal access to information flow mainly from the ADA'S auxiliary aids and services and reasonable accommodation provisions in Titles II and III. However, the provision of information in appropriately accessible forms for blind persons cannot happen merely by means of a legislated mandate. Without the involvement of organized blind consumers, what in practice becomes the definition of and standards for "appropriately accessible forms" may not truly be in the best interests of the blind; thus, the value of the National Federation of the Blind's serving as a liaison between blind individuals and covered entities (through the IAP) during the early months of the ADA's implementation. Purpose and Objectives The overall goals of the Information Access Project are to encourage collaborative efforts between blind individuals and covered entities for the provision of nonvisually accessible information and to assist blind individuals and covered entities in efforts to prepare and distribute printed material in nonvisually accessible media. What is meant by "nonvisually accessible media?" Any one of the following alternative forms or methods would meet the definition: Braille, sound recordings, enlarged print, digital text in computer formats, raised line drawings, and a live reader. However, both blind individuals and covered entities will need to recognize that the provision of materials in nonvisually accessible media will be rendered on a case-by-case basis; and that both the requirements and/or preferences of the blind individual or individuals and the resources of the covered entity should be considered in determining how accessibility is rendered. The IAP will play a key role in helping blind individuals and covered entities determine when compliance with ADA accessibility requirements has been met. Many covered entities will face considerable technical difficulties as they begin to face up to their new responsibilities under the ADA. For example, most covered entities are not currently equipped with in-house production capabilities or with ready access to outside production sources to meet their needs for Braille, recorded, or large print material. Most covered entities simply have never addressed the challenge of providing their informational materials in any form other than the standard print media accessible to the sighted users of their products or services. The IAP has been designed to accomplish the following specific objectives: (1) to provide blind individuals with greater access to printed information produced and distributed by covered entities; (2) to support cooperative efforts between blind individuals and covered entities to increase capabilities for covered entities to provide nonvisually accessible information on a regular basis; and (3) to improve the capability of covered entities to provide nonvisually accessible material through coordinated information access services provided from a national source--the Information Access Project. Major Activities To carry out the activities of the project, we have established the National Information Access Center at the National Center for the Blind. This Center, which utilizes the resources of the International Braille and Technology Center for the Blind, will disseminate information to blind individuals and to covered entities. It will also answer technical questions regarding production methods and/or equipment. Further, the Center will embark on some exemplary projects with covered entities that can serve as models for ongoing information access efforts. Finally, the Center will perform Brailling and other services for covered entities on a selected basis. Also, we have established a nationwide corps of Information Access Coordinators (a minimum of one per state--similar to the Job Opportunities for the Blind Volunteer Network). These coordinators will contact covered entities--both state and local government bodies, and private businesses and organizations--to make them aware of their responsibilities as they relate to the blind. Additionally, the coordinators will serve as local and state contacts for blind individuals who have questions about specific applications of the ADA regulations related to information access. Mr. David Andrews, Director of the International Braille and Technology Center, is serving as Program Manager for the Information Access Project. Mr. Andrews will handle the day-to-day operations of the project. Write, call, or communicate with him via NFB NET (our electronic bulletin board service) as follows: Information Access Project for Blind Individuals National Federation of the Blind 1800 Johnson Street Baltimore, MD 21230 Telephone: (410) 659-9314 Fax: (410) 685-5653 BBS: (410) 752-5011 One of the first efforts of the project was the production of a brochure which explains in some detail the ADA requirements for the provision of nonvisually accessible information to blind individuals. If you would like a copy of this brochure, "Toward Equal Access: Providing Information Access Services to Blind and Visually Impaired Persons Under the Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)," contact the IAP per one of the above methods. Consistent with provisions of the ADA, the brochure is available in large print, cassette, Braille, computer disk, and via NFB NET. The Information Access Project is funded by a $99,930 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice. Currently, the project is scheduled to operate through September 30, 1992.