Response to Grand Jury Report Report Title: Here We Go Again Report Date: 7/2/19 Response by: Humboldt County Board of

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The Humboldt County Civil Grand Jury recommends the Board of Supervisors direct staff to conduct a review of the County’s compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act Decree to better understand the problems encountered so they may be avoided in the future. This review and report should be 7 completed by December 1, 2019. Response: This recommendation has been implemented. The County of Humboldt continues to actively address elements contained within the September 7, 2016 Consent Decree between the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) and the County of Humboldt (County). The county has conducted a review of access barriers contained in the Department of Justice Consent Decree and the county’s subsequent ADA Access inspections. From this information the county has implemented several policies, provided mandatory staff training and other educational opportunities, and provided trainings and workshops to local building officials, contractors and property owners in an effort to change the culture around the ADA in Humboldt County. Beginning October 10, 2016, and annually thereafter, the county provides a mandatory four-hour Individuals with Disabilities training approved by the Department of Justice for county staff. County staff also have the option to meet this requirement through online training. Beginning October 10, 2016, the county provided all staff with California Relay Service training, a mandatory training requirement, for all employees who interact with the public. Following the adoption of the county’s Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Compliance Effective Communication Policy on March 6, 2018, the county contracted with the Pacific ADA Center to design a prerecorded Effective Communication Training. This training incorporated the Effective Communication Policy allowing employees to satisfy their California Relay Service Training more timely and providing additional information about Effective Communication and the ADA. On July 26, 2017, in an effort to help local contractors, engineers, property managers and other businesses comply with the ADA, the County of Humboldt provided a workshop led by Sally Swanson Architects, Inc., that focused on ADA Title II and III regulations related to facilities and construction. The workshop was designed to help these professionals understand ADA issues, identify ADA barriers and actions to mitigate against future costs. On November 17, 2017, the county contracted with the Pacific ADA Center to provide select county staff with Service Animal training. It was decided that such a training would be useful in conjunction with the November 14, 2017, adoption of the Humboldt County Service Animal Policy. An additional Service Animal training lead by the county’s ADA coordinator was conducted for Library Staff on December 4, 2018. On February 26, 2018, due to a need to better understand accessible public rights-of-way, a training titled ADA Access Compliance in the Public Rights-of-Way was designed. This training was designed for Public Works staff and the county’s consultant for the curb ramp projects. On June 5, 2018, the county provided a second workshop. This workshop titled ADA Access Compliance Requirements was targeted towards plan checkers, design firms, inspectors and building owners. This workshop, provided by the County of Humboldt and led by SZS Consulting, focused on ADA Title II access compliance requirements. Through the adoption of the Humboldt County Website Accessibility Policy, on November 8, 2016, the county instituted mandatory training for web authors and web managers to ensure documents and other information contained on the county’s website are accessible for individuals with disabilities. Annually county web authors and web managers are required to take website accessibility training to maintain their permissions. A voluntary online training specific to Title II of the ADA has been made available to staff, and since the signing of the Consent Decree, five county employees have received their ADA Coordinator’s certification and two county employees have received their Certified Access Specialist program (CASp) certification. Additionally, the county no longer enters into new leases for buildings that are not fully compliant and/or without project timelines to bring buildings into compliance with the ADA. 9