Accessibility Services for Persons with Disabilities

Baltimore strives to be a city where people of all abilities shall be provided equitable access.  The Division of Disabilities Coordination is responsible for overseeing the implementation of the City's obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), as well as other disability rights laws. The ADA protects the rights of persons with disabilities, by requiring equal access to:

• Employment Opportunities
• Government Programs, Benefits, and Services
• Effective Communication
• Transportation  
• Government Buildings and Facilities

Services

• Investigation of disability-related grievances.
• ADA training and technical assistance
• Oversight of ADA Compliance through monitoring of agencies’ ADA plans.
• Work with agencies’ designated ADA Coordinator.
• Policy recommendations for improving Baltimore’s access to people with disabilities.

For any disability-related issues for city services or requests for reasonable accommodations/modifications including sign language services, please email Hugh Scoggins or call 410-396-6152.

For any disability-related issues regarding any city facilities, please email Carole Young by clicking here or by calling 410-396-3790.

Accessibility Policy

In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), the City of Baltimore will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities. 

Employment: The City of Baltimore does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under title I of the ADA.

Effective Communication: The City of Baltimore will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in the city’s programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures: The City of Baltimore will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities.  For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in the city’s offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity of the City of Baltimore, should contact Hugh Scroggins via email by clicking here or by phone at 410-396-6152 as soon as possible but no later than two business days before the scheduled event.

The ADA does not require the city to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, +or impose an undue financial or administrative burden. 

Email complaints that a program, service, or activity is not accessible to persons with disabilities can be directed to Hugh Scoggins by clicking here or by calling him at 410-369-6152.

The City of Baltimore will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy, such as retrieving items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs.