Washington Office Accessibility Working Group

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIORBUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENTWASHINGTON, D.C. 20240http://www.blm.govMarch 20, 2013In Reply Refer To:1261 (WO250/560/600/720/854) PEMS TRANSMISSION 03/22/2013Information Bulletin No. 2013-050To:                   All Washington Office and Field Office Officials  From:               Principal Deputy DirectorSubject:           Washington Office Accessibility Working GroupThe Bureau of Land Management (BLM) along with other Federal agencies is required to follow various legal mandates and policies that require the agencies to make facilities, programs, services, and electronic information technology (EIT) accessible for people with disabilities. In the BLM, the responsibility for these mandates and policies fall under several different directorates making coordination and communication essential. At the Washington Office (WO), employees across different directorates are working together on public accessibility issues and sharing information.  This effort has formed the basis for the creation of a WO Accessibility Working Group (WO-AWG).  This group, working with state and field office contacts which have accessibility and compliance responsibilities will: 

• Be more strategic in managing an overall accessibility program and provide support to the state and field offices;
• Expand partnerships among directorates within the BLM;
• Share accessibility laws, regulations, and policy information;
• Increase awareness and knowledge of those laws, regulations, policies, and how they may affect the BLM’s areas of responsibility;
• Provide technical support and training; and
• Work together on accessibility issues for programs, activities, services, facilities, and accessible EIT for people with disabilities.

Attachment 1 provides the list of laws, regulations, standards, and guidelines for the Federal Government.  The attachment has been organized into three main categories as below: 

• Facilities
• Programs, Services and Activities, and
• Publication, EIT Media, and Communication

The attachment also provides examples of how these laws, regulations, standards and guidelines may affect or relate to various duties and responsibilities.Attachment 2 includes a current list of state, center, and field office contacts with responsibilities for accessibility in each of the three categories.  All offices are encouraged to update this list and forward to Tina McDonald, WO-250, tmcdonal@blm.gov.For more information about the WO- AWG or any of the laws, regulations, standards and guidelines, please contact Tina McDonald, National Accessibility Coordinator, WO-250,  Recreation and Visitor Services Division at 202-912-7251, or Gina Edelen, Public Civil Rights Manager, WO-720, Civil Rights Division at 202-912-7488, or Marjorie Chiles, Civil Engineer, WO-854, Engineering and Asset Management Policy Branch at 202-912-7151, or Kimberly Ashby, Section 508 Coordinator, WO-560, IRM Governance Management Division at 202-912-7551.  For questions about the BLM’s web sites or closed caption, contact Kaveh Sadeghzadeh, New Media Lead, WO600, Office of New Media at 202-912-7423.Signed by:                                                      Authenticated by:Jamie E. Connell                                             Robert M. WilliamsActing, Deputy Director Operations                Division of IRM Governance,WO-5602 Attachments      1 - Laws, Regulations, Standards and Guidelines for People with Disabilities (5 pp)      2 - List of Current State or Field Office Contacts (2 pp)