ADA Planning
This page is designed to assist and educate cultural organizations as they prepare and develop their long range plan for compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Plans are a requirement for all organizations receiving funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts/Department of State. In addition, a majority of the state's County Cultural and Heritage Commissions require a plan from their grantees.
We encourage you to use the Online Resource Library for examples of policies, program descriptions, terminology, and best practices as it relates to ADA and access to cultural organizations.
The ADA Plan Outline, now available as an online form, has been revised to aid in standardizing the review of all ADA plans. This outline is designed for those organizations that are required to submit an ADA plan to the State Arts Council by February 28, 2021. Disciplines that need to submit in this cycle are: Crafts, Folk Arts, Literature, Media, Visual Arts, and County Arts Agencies.
If your organization is required to submit an ADA plan for FY21-23, we encourage a staff member to attend one of our virtual workshops for an overview of the plan requirements and submission process. 90 minute Virtual workshops will take place on December 10 at 10:30 am and January 6 at 1 PM. You may register to attend here.
The online plan submission form contains many questions that require written answers. We strongly recommend that you download this word document to use for drafting your plan.
If you are a County Arts Agency, you can use this word document to draft your plan.
Once your answers are drafted, you can copy and paste them into the online form. If you are a County Arts Agency, please copy and paste your answers into this form. The word document for drafting purposes only. Only plans submitted through the online form will be considered complete.
Ready to submit?
Please do so through this ONLINE PLAN SUBMISSION FORM
County Arts Agency: ONLINE SUBMISSION FORM
The Cultural Access Network has instituted this self-assessment and ADA planning tool in direct response to comments from arts organizations as they endeavored to write a comprehensive and usable ADA plan. It is strongly enouraged that the assessment is conducted by members of the organzation and their ADA advisory committee.
Policies and procedures are the foundation for your organization's access commitment. Polices include a board-approved policy statement outlining your organization's commitment to providing accessible services and programs. A sample policy is included in the Online Resource Library.
A board approved grievance procedure is meant to provide an internal mechanism for your organization to use in the event of a patron complaint.
It is important for organizations to have non-discrimination employment policies, be able to provide accessible accommodations for interviews, and to include marginal and essential functions in various job descriptions for staff and volunteers.
When completing the programs and services section of your plan, give thought to your organization's plans to offer sign-interpretation for the Deaf, open captioning for those with hearing loss, audio description for those with vision loss. Large print materials, sensory experiences, program information on digital media are other program examples. In addtion, consider how you are going to make your virtual events accessible (captioning, sign interpertation, audio description).
When completing the marketing and communications section of your plan, give thought to the steps your organization will take to reach people with disabilities. Examples include posting events on the Cultral Access Calendar, the use of international access symbols, target marketing, making your website accessible, and providing materials in alternate formats.
Accessible restrooms, signage, entrances, dressing rooms, performance and exhibit spaces, and patron parking are some of the areas that need to be considered when completing the facility section of your ADA Plan.