After a federal investigation into charges that city cops and anti-blight staff didn’t communicate properly with deaf people, the city has agreed to provide sign-language services.
The agreement is part of a legal settlement announced Monday by the Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s office.
The settlement closes an “effective communication” case against the city, which arose from a Department of Justice investigation into “allegations that the city’s Livable City Initiative (LCI) failed to effectively communicate with persons who are deaf or hard of hearing,” according to a release.
The Americans with Disabilities Act requires city to have measures in place to communicate with people with disabilities.
According to the settlement the investigation was prompted by two complaints by a man named Vincent Valanzuolo. The complaints allege that between 2008 and 2011, LCI and the police department “failed to provide interpreters during investigations, meetings, enforcement actions, arrests, and detentions.” The complaints also allege that the city doesn’t have proper policies or training on when and how to obtain interpreters, and “how to interact with people who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
The city denies any liability arising from the complaints.
According to the release, the settlement agreement requires the city to:
“Ensure its policies and practices are nondiscriminatory and provide effective communication for people with communication disabilities, including the provision of sign language interpreters; post a notice of the policies in public areas; train staff on the policies; and ensure that appropriate auxiliary aids and services, including qualified interpreters and specifically tactile interpreters, are made available to all individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing.”
“We commend the City of New Haven for agreeing to enter into this settlement agreement and for the assurance that critical and effective communication will be provided to persons who are hearing impaired,” Acting U.S. Attorney Daly said in the release. “The City’s cooperation in this investigation and its agreement today reflects the City’s strong commitment to keep residents safe and to uphold their civil rights.”
“The settlement will not cost the city any new money to implement, because the city has already been committed to ADA compliance,” said city spokesperson Anna Mariotti. “The settlement is formalizing the process of what the city’s already doing.”
Mariotti said the city’s director of disability services, Michelle Duprey, has already begun training city staff.
