Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Purpose. To establish procedures to
provide auxiliary aids and services whenever necessary to ensure effective
communication with qualified individuals with disabilities.
B. Applicability. Deputy Secretary,
Undersecretary, Chief of Operations, Assistant Secretary, Regional Wardens,
Wardens, Director of Probation and Parole, Director of Prison Enterprises,
offenders, employees and visitors who are hearing-impaired. Each unit head is
responsible for ensuring that appropriate unit written policy and procedures
are in place to comply with the provisions of this regulation.
C. Policy. It is the secretary's policy to
ensure that communication with offenders, employees and visitors with
disabilities is to the same extent as communicating with others. The department
shall furnish appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to afford
an individual with a disability an equal opportunity to participate in, and
enjoy the benefits of, a service, program or activity conducted by the
department where the auxiliary aids or services does not constitute an undue
administrative and financial burden or fundamentally alter the service,
program, or activity. Any male offender whose hearing cannot be restored to a
"within normal limits" medical level with an auxiliary aid will be housed at
either the Louisiana State Penitentiary (LSP) or Rayburn Correctional Center
(RCC). Any female offender whose hearing cannot be restored to a "within normal
limits" medical level with an auxiliary aid will be housed at the Louisiana
Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW.)
D. Definitions
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) -a
comprehensive federal law which requires the state to provide equal access for
people with disabilities to services, programs, and activities of the
department.
Auxiliary Aids and Services (AAS)
-external aids used to assist people who are hearing-impaired and may
include qualified sign language or oral interpreters, written materials,
telephone handset amplifiers, assistive listening devices, telephones
compatible with hearing aids, closed caption decoders, open and closed
captioning, telecommunication devices for deaf persons (TDD/TTY), videotext
displays or other effective methods of making aurally delivered materials
available to individuals with hearing impairments.
Departmental Personnel -for the purpose of
this regulation, this shall include, but not be limited to, nurses, physicians,
social workers, therapists, admitting personnel, security staff, probation and
parole officers and any other administrative staff who have or are likely to
have direct contact with offenders and/or visitors.
Disability -a physical or mental
impairment that substantially limits one or more of the major life activities
of an individual, including a record of such impairment or being regarded as
having such impairment.
Effective Communication -communication
with persons with disabilities that is as effective as communication with
others. Effective communication is achieved by furnishing appropriate auxiliary
aids and services where necessary to afford qualified individuals with
disabilities an equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from the
services, programs and activities of the department.
Major Life Activity -walking, seeing,
hearing, breathing, caring for one's self, sitting, standing, lifting,
learning, thinking, working and reproduction. This list is illustrative only.
The impairment to a major life activity must be long term.
Offender -anyone committed to the physical
custody of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections or under the
supervision of the Division of Probation and Parole.
Qualified Interpreter -an interpreter who
is able to interpret effectively, accurately and impartially both receptively
and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary.
Note: An employee who signs "pretty well" or has only a
rudimentary familiarity with sign language or finger spelling is not a
qualified sign language interpreter pursuant to this regulation. Likewise,
someone who is fluent in sign language but who does not possess the ability to
process spoken communication into the proper signs or to observe someone else
signing and change their signed or finger spelled communication into spoken
words is not a qualified sign language interpreter. A departmental employee
should not be allowed to interpret if his presence poses a conflict of interest
or raises confidentiality and privacy concerns. On occasion, an offender may
possess the skill level necessary to provide interpreting services; however,
the impartially concerns remain, and in many-if not most-situations, offender
interpreters should not be used due to confidentiality, privacy and security
reasons.
Reasonable Accommodation -a modification
or adjustment to a job, service, program or activity, etc. that enables a
qualified individual with a disability to have an equal opportunity for
participation.
Requestor -a person who requests an
accommodation for a disability.
TTY/TDD -a device that is used with a
telephone or computer that has telephone text capability to communicate (by
typing and reading communication) with persons who are deaf or
hearing-impaired.
Visitor -for the purpose of this
regulation, includes any non-departmental employee who is authorized to be on
institutional grounds. i.e., volunteers, contractors, official guests,
etc.
E. Procedures
1. Establishment of Auxiliary Aids and
Services (AAS) Program. The department shall design and institute a program to
provide auxiliary aids and services, schedule, announce and promote all
training required, and draft, provide and maintain all reports as required by
this regulation.
2. Designation of
an official or office responsible for AAS.
a.
Each unit ADA coordinator will be responsible for the AAS Program and shall
maintain all necessary information about access to and the operation of the
program.
b. LSP, RCC and LCIW unit
ADA coordinators shall maintain a combination voice, TDD/TTY telephone line or
dedicated TDD/TTY telephone line and shall publicize the purpose and telephone
number broadly within the unit and to the public.
c. Each unit ADA coordinator shall provide
appropriate assistance regarding immediate access to, and proper use of, the
appropriate auxiliary aids and services available. It is the responsibility of
the unit ADA coordinators to know where the appropriate auxiliary aids are
stored, how to obtain services and how to operate them and shall facilitate
maintenance, repair, replacement and distribution.
d. Each unit ADA coordinator shall maintain a
recording system for inquiries regarding the provision of auxiliary aids and
services and the response.
3. Provision of Appropriate Auxiliary Aids
and Services
a. The department shall provide
to offenders, employees and visitors who are deaf or hearing-impaired an
appropriate auxiliary aid or service that may be necessary for effective
communication as soon as practicable after determining that the aid or service
is necessary.
b. The determination
of which appropriate auxiliary aids and services are necessary and the timing,
duration and frequency with which they will be provided shall be made by unit
personnel, who are otherwise primarily responsible for coordinating and/or
providing offender services, in consultation with the person with a disability.
When an auxiliary aid or service is required to ensure effective communication,
the unit shall provide an opportunity for an individual with a disability to
request the auxiliary aid or service of the requestor's choice and shall give
consideration to the choice expressed, but shall have the final decision
regarding the accommodation to be provided.
c. The initial offender communication
assessment shall be made at the time of the intake interview at a reception and
diagnostic center or other appropriate classification center within 48 hours of
arrival. Properly trained staff shall perform and document a communication
assessment to determine the offender's level of effective communication. This
assessment shall be conducted by an outside provider or departmental staff,
barring any unusual or emergency condition within 10 weeks from the initial
assessment. The written assessment shall be made a part of the offender's
master prison record.
i. During the initial
communication assessment, each offender shall be given a Request for
Accommodation Form. This form shall also be made available to the current
offender population. Offenders are free to reject or to fail to request
auxiliary aids and services, but failure to use the designated form does not
relieve the reception center/institution of its duty to assess the offender,
nor to inform the offender of the availability of appropriate auxiliary aids
and services. Refusal or failure by an offender to complete or return the
Request for Accommodation shall not constitute a violation of the ADA or of the
Resolution Agreement by the department.
ii. If the initial assessment reveals that an
offender's hearing is below normal limits as defined by the Occupational Safety
and Health Administration, a male offender shall be transferred to LSP for
continuation and completion of the classification process.
d. Each unit shall conduct a minimum of a
yearly assessment of each offender with hearing or speech disability regarding
the provision of appropriate auxiliary aids and services. If an intervening
problem or adjustment is required, the offender shall request a medical
call-out. Each unit shall maintain appropriate documentation that reflects the
ongoing assessments. The information shall be filed in the offender's medical
record.
4. Nothing in
this regulation shall require that an electronic device or piece of equipment
used as an appropriate auxiliary aid be used when or where its use may be
inconsistent with other departmental regulations or unit policies or when use
may pose security concerns. (For example, closed-captioned televisions are
provided consistently for offenders with hearing disabilities with the same
duration and frequency as televisions are provided to the other offenders
classified in the same status. No offender will be provided a television if his
status would not otherwise permit access.)
5. The department shall maintain an effective
complaint resolution mechanism regarding the provision of auxiliary aids and
services. Records shall be kept of all complaints filed and actions taken in
response. All complaints shall be handled through each unit ADA coordinator and
the grievance systems currently in effect. The warden designated to oversee the
operation of the ADA Program at each institution or division shall conduct a
meaningful review of this regulation on a semi-annual basis.
6. If an offender who is deaf or
hearing-impaired does not request appropriate auxiliary aids or services, but
departmental and/or unit personnel have reason to believe that the offender
would benefit from appropriate auxiliary aids or services, the offender may be
asked if the use of auxiliary aids would be beneficial and initiate the testing
procedure without violating ADA.
F. Qualified Interpreters
1. The department shall provide qualified
sign language or oral interpreters when necessary for effective communication
with, or effective participation in, departmental programs and activities by
employees, offenders and visitors who are deaf or hearing-impaired. In
addition, the department shall offer qualified sign language interpreters to
offenders who are deaf or hearing-impaired and whose primary means of
communication is sign language and qualified oral interpreters to offenders who
rely primarily on lip reading, as necessary, for effective communication.
a. The following are examples of
circumstances when it may be necessary to provide interpreters:
i. initial intake and classification
processing;
ii. regularly scheduled
health care appointments and programs, such as medical, dental, visual, mental
health and drug and alcohol recovery services;
iii. emergency health care where having an
interpreter would not present an undue burden (e.g., interpreter can arrive at
the scene quickly);
iv. treatment
and other formal programming;
v.
educational classes and activities;
vi. parole board hearings;
vii. disciplinary board hearings;
viii. criminal investigations (to the extent
controlled by the department);
ix.
classification review interviews;
x. grievance interviews;
xi. religious services; and
xii. formal internal
investigations.
2. The department shall establish a contract
with individual sign language interpreters or with interpretive agencies for
hearing impaired offenders, employees or visitors who require this service, or
shall provide other effective means to ensure that qualified interpreters or
oral interpreters are provided within three hours of an unscheduled request and
timely for scheduled requests. Additionally, as a back-up measure, the
headquarters ADA coordinator shall maintain a list of all qualified sign
language and oral interpreters (and their contact information) residing or
working within a 50-mile radius of any unit housing deaf or hearing-impaired
offenders. The headquarters ADA coordinator shall provide this information to
the unit ADA coordinators at LSP, RCC and LCIW.
NOTE: The department shall ensure by contract or other
arrangements that all services, programs or activities provided or operated by
contractors are in compliance with ADA. Contracts with those entities that fail
or refuse to comply with ADA shall be subjected to formal termination
proceedings.
3. Between the
time an interpreter is requested and when an interpreter arrives, unit
personnel shall continue to try to communicate with the person who is
hearing-impaired to the same extent as they would communicate with a person
without a hearing impairment, using all available methods of communication.
However, in an emergency, seeking the services of an interpreter shall not mean
that medical treatment will be delayed until the interpreter arrives. In
addition, upon arrival of the interpreter, unit personnel shall review and
confirm with the offender, employee or visitor all information received prior
to the interpreter's arrival.
4.
Offenders requesting auxiliary aids and/or services, after the initial
assessment and which would require a medical evaluation, shall be charged the
standard medical co-pay.
EXCEPTION: The offender may be assessed the total costs of
replacement of an auxiliary aid if it is determined that replacement is a
direct result of the offender's negligence/damage to property.
G. Hearing Aids and
Batteries
1. Each unit shall purchase
appropriate types of hearing aid batteries and keep them in stock in the
medical supply room during the length of time an offender who wears a hearing
aid is housed at that unit. Replacement hearing aid batteries shall be provided
to offenders who request them on the first business day following receipt of
the request. If the request is made on a weekend or holiday or a night after
regular business hours, the replacement battery will be provided on the first
standard business day following the request.
2. Each unit shall send offender hearing aids
to a hearing aid repair company as soon as possible, but no later than 24 hours
(excluding weekends and holidays) following a request for repair of the
offender's hearing aid. The unit shall inform the offender in writing, as soon
as possible, when his hearing aid was sent for repair and when it is expected
to be returned by the repair company. The unit shall maintain written
documentation of all hearing aid repairs, including detailed information
regarding the vendor used, the date of the repair and the specific repairs
performed. This information shall be submitted by each unit to the medical
department at the Louisiana State Penitentiary quarterly for statistical
compilation purposes.
H.
Telephones
1. The department shall provide
telecommunication devices for the deaf (TDDs/TTYs) for offenders who are deaf
or hearing-impaired in a manner that ensures effective access to telephone
services. In addition, the following is required so that those offenders who do
hear will have access to TDDs/TTYs to communicate with family members or
friends who are deaf or hearing-impaired.
a.
Each unit shall make at least one TDD/TTY device available in each of the
visiting areas where non-contact visits are conducted and the communication
exchanged is accomplished over a telephone device. The unit can either
permanently install the required TDD/TTY or make available a sufficient number
of portable TDDs/TTYs for these visits.
b. Each unit shall provide a TDD/TTY to all
deaf or hearing-impaired offenders residing in housing areas to the extent that
pay telephones are available to other offenders. In those situations where the
unit provides portable TDDs/TTYs, the housing officers shall provide them upon
the offender's request, absent emergency circumstances such as
lockdown.
c. The department shall
take the necessary steps to provide offenders, with toll-free access to "800"
numbers for telephone relay services and TDD/TTY operators. These numbers will
be posted near all offender telephones, with notice that they are toll-free
numbers. The telephone calls to the TDD/TTY operator will be provided free of
charge, but any charges incurred to the receiving party will be handled as a
standard offender telephone call. Thus, the offender or the receiving party
shall be responsible for any long distance charges accrued.
d. Due to the fact that telephone calls
placed via a TDD/TTY take longer than telephone calls placed using standard
voice telephone equipment, the unit shall allow offenders needing TDD/TTY
assistance to have 30 minutes per telephone call, barring any unusual
circumstances.
2. Each
unit shall ensure that at least one and no less than 25 percent of all offender
telephones are equipped with volume control mechanisms and appropriate signs
are displayed indicating the phone is volume controlled.
3. Each unit shall ensure that no less than
25 percent of all of its offender telephones are hearing aid compatible in the
general population.
4. Each unit
shall maintain records of all offenders who have been medically evaluated for
any type of hearing impairment, the results of such assessment, date of any
reassessment, any transfer or discharge of offenders assessed with a hearing
impairment, requests for accommodations including the date requested and the
determination and the provision of auxiliary aids or services and the date(s)
provided. This information shall be submitted by each unit to the medical
department of the Louisiana State Penitentiary quarterly for statistical
compilation purposes.
I.
Visual and Tactile Alarms
1. Where there are
audible emergency alarms in visiting areas, each unit shall add visual alarms
when an individual who is deaf or hearing-impaired is anticipated to spend
significant periods of time in these areas.
2. Each unit shall place visual emergency
alarms in rooms where offenders who are deaf may reside alone or work alone to
ensure that they will always be alerted when an emergency alarm is activated.
To be effective, such devices must be located and oriented so that they will
spread signals and reflections throughout a space or raise the overall light
level sharply.
3. Where each unit
has audible alarms in housing areas, the unit shall add visual signal devices,
when necessary, to alert offenders who are deaf or hearing-impaired to
announcements (e.g., roll call.)
J. Televisions
1. Each unit shall provide and maintain
closed-captioned television decoders (or built-in decoder televisions) in
television rooms to enable offenders who are deaf or hearing-impaired to enjoy
the same opportunity for television viewing as that afforded to other
offenders.
K. Training
1. Annual training regarding this regulation
shall be provided by the department to all employees through the regularly
scheduled ADA Training Program.
2.
The training program shall be sufficient in duration and content to instruct a
reasonable number of personnel in access to the AAS Program, use of the
program, and sensitivity to the needs of the deaf and hearing-impaired offender
population. Such training shall include:
a.
topics relevant to the health care needs of deaf and hearing-impaired
offenders, such as the various degrees of hearing impairment;
b. language and cultural diversity in the
deaf community;
c. dispelling myths
and misconceptions about persons who are deaf or hearing-impaired;
d. identification of communication
requirements of persons who are deaf or hearing-impaired;
e. the unique needs and problems encountered
by late-deafened individuals;
f.
psychological implications of hearing loss and its relationship to interaction
with hearing health care professionals;
g. types of auxiliary aids and services as
required pursuant to this regulation;
h. the proper use and role of qualified sign
language interpreters;
i.
procedures and methods for accessing the AAS Program for providing
interpreters;
j. making and
receiving calls through TDDs/TTYs and the Louisiana Relay or other relay
service providers;
k. third party
resources which can provide additional information about people who are deaf or
hearing-impaired; and
l. the
existence of the department's complaint resolution process.
L. Recordkeeping
1. The Headquarters ADA Coordinator shall
maintain records of all requests for accommodation made throughout the
department.
2. The headquarters ADA
coordinator shall maintain and track statistics concerning all requests for
accommodation from offenders, employees and visitors and the nature and outcome
of the accommodations requested.
3.
If a pattern becomes apparent following review of the statistics, the
headquarters ADA coordinator shall seek to remedy and/or correct any problems
noted and report same to the secretary.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
49:950.
