ARC is committed to providing a fair process to all individuals seeking reasonable accommodation by responding to complaints. This process is intended to comply with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 by responding to complaints for reasonable accommodations from program beneficiaries (e.g., program participants, clients, customers, or consumers, etc.) as part of its nondiscrimination obligations under the acts.
Responsible Official
The ARC Executive Director and CEO is responsible for ADA Complaints and has designated the following as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance Officer:
Ms. Sheila Benefield, ADA Compliance Officer
In-Office Navigators:
- Kameisha Johnson, Human Resources Manager
- Donna Hudson, Human Resources Coordinator
Please use the contact form on this page to contact the officials listed above.
ADA Complaint Process
The Atlanta Regional Commission’s complaint process covers complaints filed by an individual or group of individuals under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, relating to any planning process, program or activity administered by the Atlanta Regional Commission. The process does not deny the right of the complainant to file formal complaints with other state or federal agencies, or to seek private counsel.
Definitions:
- The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) is a piece of civil rights legislation, requiring that no person can be discriminated against based on ability.
- Section 504 is part of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 which created groundbreaking protections for those with disabilities in the United States. Section 504 prevents discrimination in employment, access to services, and benefits for individuals based on their disability by organizations and governments that receive federal funding. The agency must make “reasonable” accommodations for an individual’s disability in order to work or receive services.
- Complaint: Any verbal or written communication received by the ADA Compliance Officer from members of the public referencing a general complaint regarding the inequitable distribution of benefits, services, amenities, programs or activities financed in whole or in part with federal funds is perceived as an informal charge. A complaint is further defined as any written complaint by an individual or group seeking to remedy perceived discrimination by policies, practices or decisions, which have an adverse impact resulting in inequitable distribution of benefits, services, amenities, programs or activities financed in whole or in part with federal funds.
Filing a Complaint:
- A complaint should be filed within 180 days of the alleged incident. Complaints may be filed with the ADA Compliance Officer via the ADA Complaint Form.
- Complainants may also file a complaint directly with other state or federal agencies or seek private counsel. In accordance with federal and state regulations, the Agency will treat any complaints and disability-related information in a confidential manner.
Responsibility
The Executive Director & CEO of the Atlanta Regional Commission is responsible for ADA Requests and Complaints and has designated Sheila Benefield, Chief Human Resources Officer, as the ADA Compliance Officer.
Intake and Processing:
- Any individual may submit a verbal or written complaint to the ADA Compliance Officer.
- All complaints will be assigned a tracking number upon completion of the complaint form and added to the tracking sheet.
- An investigation will occur unless there is omission of facts which could establish intentional unequal treatment, or the complainant is not a primary beneficiary of the federal funding received by ARC.
- If a determination is made that the matter is outside the scope of ADA guidelines, then a notification will be provided to the complainant in writing within 10 business days of receipt of complaint.
- If the matter is determined to be within the scope of ADA, the ADA Compliance Officer will notify the complainant and begin an investigation within 10 business days of receipt of the complaint.
Investigation, Determination and Recommendation:
- The ADA Compliance Officer will investigate inclusive of the following steps: the basis of the alleged unequal treatment; ascertain when and where the alleged unequal treatment occurred; identify and interview all relevant parties, review documents; and obtain other factual information from appropriate sources.
- A record of all discussions will be maintained, and documents related to the investigation will be retained in a confidential file by the ADA Compliance Officer.
- Based upon the conclusion of a thorough investigation, a report will be prepared summarizing the findings and suggesting appropriate corrective action, along with a proposed resolution.
- The investigation will be conducted and completed within 60 days of the receipt of the formal complaint.
- The investigative report will be submitted to the ARC Executive Director & CEO.
Communications of Findings and Complaint Resolution:
- The Executive Director & CEO of the Atlanta Regional Commission will accept, reject, or modify the investigative report.
- Written notification will be provided to the complainant of the findings and proposed resolution within 30 days.
Notification to Program Beneficiaries
This information will be provided on the ARC website and provided to all clients, customers, program participants, or consumers of the recipient and any subrecipients in alternative formats and languages as required. ARC has the capacity to translate the ADA Complaint Procedure via the agency website into the following languages on an as needed basis: Arabic, Simplified Chinese, French, German, Hindi, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, and Vietnamese. In addition, ARC partners with Hamilton Relay to provide telecommunications relay services for the state of Georgia including TTY, Voice Carry Over (VCO), Hearing Carry Over (HCO), Speech-to-Speech (STS), Spanish and CapTel.
Dial 711 to use Hamilton Relay in Georgia or call one of the toll-free numbers below:
- TTY: 800-255-0056
- Voice: 800-255-0135
- Speech to Speech: 888-202-4082
- Spanish to Spanish: 888-202-3972 (includes Spanish-to-Spanish and translation from English to Spanish)
Monitoring ADA Complaint Requests
All requests will be monitored using an Excel spreadsheet and will include the following:
- Initial Date
- Assignment of a case number
- The first and last name of the complainant
- A summary of the reasons for the complaint
- Request approved or denied
- Summary notes (i.e., proposed resolution, recommendation, etc.)
Appeal of Denial:
- An individual wishing to initiate an appeal must do so within 10 calendar days from the date of denial by submitting a written request to the ARC Executive Director & CEO.
- The Executive Director & CEO will review the complaint, and all pertinent information prior to making the final decision on the
- The individual will be notified in writing within 10 business days of the final decision of the ARC Executive Director & CEO.
In accordance with federal and state regulations, ARC will maintain the confidentiality of and appropriately secure any personally identifiable information (PII).
