Riverside County Department of Veterans Services - Accessibility

A ramp leading to the main Veterans Services facility in Riverside is not in compliance with the American’s with Disabilities Act (ADA) standards because there are no handrails (Attachment 1). The Auditor/Controller’s Report (Internal Audit Report 2018-005, dated December 28, 2017) states: …The 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design, Section 405, identifies a ramp as having a slope of greater than 1:20 and requires handrails for ramp runs with a rise greater than six inches. The facility entrance has two elevated runs heading toward the entrance on each side. When facing the entrance, the run on the left has a slope of less than 1:20, as such it does not meet the definition of a ramp. However, the run on the right has a slope greater than 1:20, qualifying it as a ramp per ADA standards. This same ramp has a run rise greater than six inches and is required to have hand rails. With the rise of the ramp over six inches, the lack of handrails can cause injury to individuals who have difficulty walking. This increases the risk of litigation against the County of Riverside. The same Auditor/Controller’s Report had an estimated correction date of March 1, 2018. Veterans Services requested an evaluation for design plans and an estimate of costs to install the handrails through the Riverside County Economic Development Agency (EDA). EDA referred the issue to the Riverside County Engineering Division. As of May 7, 2018, the Veterans Services Director was still awaiting the requested estimate.

Based on Riverside County Grand Jury (Grand Jury) research and interviews, Veterans Services is understaffed. Staffing consists of one Director, one Assistant Director, three Senior Veterans Service Officers, five Veterans Representatives, one Executive Assistant, and five Office Assistants serving at seven locations throughout Riverside County. According to the Veterans Services website, the veteran population is 129,364 which is 5.6% of the Riverside County total population. Countywide, beginning fiscal year July 2016 through February 2018, Veterans Services served and assisted 36,966 in-house clients, handled 60,511 phone calls and responded to 23,803 e-mails. The phone call and e-mail statistics are incoming and outgoing combined.

Riverside County Veterans Services offices are closed to the public on Fridays. The Veterans Services Director explained to the Grand Jury that Friday closures allow Representatives to process caseloads steadily and uninterrupted. In-house clients are seen on a first-come, first-served basis. Representatives are rarely able to schedule appointments because they spend whatever amount of time necessary to address the needs of each 3 client. The field offices are open at limited times throughout the week. Schedules are subject to change without notice if Representatives are unavailable. According to several interviewed veterans, walk-in wait times can be as much as three hours (Attachment 2).