§ 4-6Compliance with civil rights laws.
§ 4-7Communications.
§ 4-8Privacy.
§ 4-9Affirmative marketing and outreach.
Civil rights laws. Civil rights laws protect the rights of applicants and residents to equal treatment by the Housing Authority in the way it carries out its programs. It is the policy of The Woonsocket Housing Authority (WHA) to comply with all civil rights laws, including but not limited to:
Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which forbids discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin or sex;
Title VIII of the Civil Rights Act of 1968 (as amended by the 1974 HCDA and the Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988), which extend protection against discrimination based on disability and familial status and spell out forms of prohibited discrimination;
Executive Order 11063;
Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, which describes specific housing rights of persons with disabilities;
The Age Discrimination Act of 1975, which establishes certain rights of the elderly;
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA) requires that the WHA provide individuals with disabilities with access to its programs, services and activities, including common areas and public spaces. However, Title II does not require that individual housing units be accessible to individuals with disabilities; rather, Section 504 and the Fair Housing Act govern access for individuals with disabilities to the WHA's housing units;
Any applicable state laws or local ordinances; and
Any legislation protecting the individual rights of tenants, applicants or staff that may subsequently be enacted.
Nondiscrimination and fair housing.
The WHA shall not discriminate because of race, color, national or ethnic origin, sex, religion, familial status, sexual orientation, or disability in the leasing, rental, occupancy, use, or other disposition of housing or related facilities, including land, that is part of a development under WHA jurisdiction covered by a public housing Annual Contributions Contract with HUD.
The WHA shall not, on account of race, color, national origin, sex, religion, familial status, sexual orientation, or disability:
Deny anyone the opportunity to apply for housing (when the waiting list is open), nor deny to any qualified applicant the opportunity to lease housing suitable to its needs;
Provide anyone housing that is different (of lower quality) from that provided others;
Subject anyone to segregation or disparate treatment;
Restrict anyone's access to any benefit enjoyed by others in connection with the housing program;
Treat anyone differently in determining eligibility or other requirements for admission;
Deny anyone access to the same level of services;
Deny anyone the opportunity to participate in a planning or advisory group that is an integral part of the housing program.
The WHA shall not automatically deny admission to otherwise qualified applicants because of their membership in some group to which negative behavior may be imputed. Instead, each applicant who is a member of a particular group will be treated as an individual based on his or her attributes and behavior.
Fair housing information and complaint forms will be made available at the WHA main office. Clients who believe they may be victims of discrimination will be referred to the Rhode Island Commission for Human Rights and the nearest HUD office of fair housing and equal opportunity.
Reasonable accommodations.
The WHA must ensure that every applicant and tenant has an equal opportunity to use and occupy the property. To do this, the WHA must provide reasonable accommodations to applicants and tenants with disabilities in every aspect of occupancy.
Further, tenants may, at any time during their tenancy, request a reasonable accommodation for a household member with a disability, including a reasonable accommodation to enable the tenant or household member to comply with the lease.
The regulatory requirements for reasonable accommodation can be found in several sources. These include: The Fair Housing Amendments Act of 1988, which applies to all multifamily housing; Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1073, which covers all programs that receive federal funding; and Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990, which covers all programs administered by government entities.
The exact nature of the reasonable accommodation varies from case to case. The implementation of an accommodation is at the discretion of the Executive Director based on information volunteered by the individual with a disability.
In certain cases, the reasonable accommodation required is in the form of a physical modification to a unit or program space. The WHA must make reasonable accommodations in its procedures or practices unless such modifications would result in an undue financial and administrative burden on the Authority or would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of the program or would be physically infeasible. If the WHA makes a determination that a physical modification is a financial and administrative burden, this does not preclude the requester from identifying other sources which can be substituted or combined with Authority resources in order to make the modification. However, the final determination of the feasibility of any physical modification resides with the WHA.
Reasonable accommodation requests must be made in writing or in some permanent format (such as audio tape or videotape). The request should include both the condition that manifests the disability as well as the accommodation requested. For instance "limited manual dexterity" is the condition that manifests the disability and "changing of cabinet and door hardware" is the accommodation requested.
The WHA can request documentation from licensed clinicians and/or therapists to determine that there is a sufficient causal relationship between an individual's disability and the need to provide an accommodation. This documentation requires no specific description of the causes of a disability. It only seeks to verify that the specific reasonable accommodation is related to and overcomes the functional limitation of a documented disability. The WHA is only concerned with the limitations of the disability as it pertains to the nature and requirements of the housing programs and the ability to meet the requirements of tenancy or program participation. In all cases, requests for information about the cause (diagnosis) of a disability are not permitted.
Even if causal relationship is documented, the WHA reserves the right to accept or reject any reasonable accommodation on the basis of "financial or administrative burden," "change in the fundamental nature of the program" or "undue hardship." In addition, the Authority will never agree to a reasonable accommodation if the behavioral history of an applicant indicates a high likelihood of being a threat to the safety and health of others or the applicant. The WHA may request opinions from experts as to the nature of the behavior, but the final determination as to the import of any concerns about a resident's behavior resides with the Authority.
The WHA may elect an equal alternative that is less costly than the resident's request or the Authority may determine that the modification is not feasible. If the lack of feasibility is specific to a unit or program space, the WHA may propose to transfer the resident to a unit in which the modifications are feasible. In the case of a program or administrative space that requires a physical modification, an alternative program or administrative space that meets the physical accessibility standards may be substituted.
The denial of a reasonable accommodation request is subject to the WHA's grievance procedure. Further, this chapter does not prevent an applicant or tenant from filing a complaint of discrimination with the appropriate agency. Complaints related to program administration for participants should be filed with HUD's Office of Fair Housing.
Making programs and facilities accessible to persons with disabilities. Facilities and programs used by residents will be accessible to a person in a wheelchair. Application and management offices, hearing rooms, community centers, day-care centers, laundry facilities, craft and game rooms, etc. (to the extent that the WHA has such facilities) will be usable by residents with a full range of disabilities. To the extent that the WHA offers such facilities, if none is already accessible, some
No personal or political favors. The WHA will not permit these policies to be subverted to do personal or political favors. The WHA will not offer units in an order different from that prescribed by this chapter, since doing so violates the policy, federal law, and the civil rights of the other families on the waiting list.
Plain-language-accessible documents. At a minimum, the WHA will prepare information to be used by applicants and residents in plain-language-accessible formats. All documents will be written simply and clearly to enable applicants with learning or cognitive disabilities to understand as much as possible. Documents used by applicants and residents will be accessible for those with vision or hearing impairments. Unless prohibited by local law, documents may be translated into languages other than English.
Understandable explanations. The WHA will present examples to help applicants and residents understand eligibility, rent computation, applicant screening, reasonable accommodations, and lease compliance. In writing materials for applicants and residents, WHA staff will be prepared to explain rules and benefits verbally, as often as may be needed, because some disabilities may affect an applicant's ability to read or understand.
Alternate forms of communication. When the WHA has initial contact with the applicant, WHA staff will ask whether the applicant requires an alternate form of communication. Examples of alternative forms of communication might include, but are not limited to: a qualified sign language interpreter provided for and paid for by the WHA; having written materials explained orally by staff either in person or by telephone; provision of written materials in large/bold font; and permitting applicants to file applications by mail. In addition, the WHA's obligation to provide alternative forms of communication to persons with disabilities does not preclude an individual's right to have a friend, relative or advocate accompany him/her for purposes of conducting business with the WHA.
Bilingual assistance. Some applicants will not be able to read (or to read English), so intake staff must be prepared to read and explain anything that they would normally hand to an applicant to be read or filled out. Applicants who read or understand little English may furnish their own interpreter. The WHA is not required to pay the costs associated with having a foreign language interpreter (as they are for a sign language interpreters for the hearing impaired). The WHA will endeavor to have bilingual staff to assist non-English-speaking families.
TTY relay service. The WHA uses standard TTY relay service for people who are deaf, hard of hearing or speech disabled. To make a TTY relay service call, dial 711.
Standards and procedures. All Woonsocket Housing Authority employees, Commissioners, volunteers, independent contractors, consultants, on-site service providers, and officially recognized resident representatives are bound by the standards and procedures set forth in the WHA's Confidentiality Policy, in accordance with the Federal Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. § 552a), as regulated in 24 CFR 16.
Informed consent. Clients will be informed at the time of application or intake to any program that The Woonsocket Housing Authority maintains records on its clients and such records shall remain confidential except as described in the Confidentiality Policy. Each client over the age of 18 will be required to sign an informed consent statement describing the situations in which information is not kept confidential, and each client household will be given a copy of the signed statement. Adult members of applicant and tenant households will also be required to sign HUD Form 9886, Authorization for Release of Information and Privacy Act Notice.
Marketing plan.
The WHA will conduct affirmative marketing as needed so the waiting list includes a mix of applicants with races, ethnic backgrounds, ages and disabilities proportionate to the mix of those groups in the eligible population of the area. The marketing plan will take into consideration the number and distribution of vacant units, units that can be expected to become vacant because of move-outs, and characteristics of families on the waiting list.
The WHA will review these factors regularly to determine the need for and scope of marketing efforts. All marketing efforts will include outreach to those least likely to apply.
The WHA will publicize the availability and nature of its public housing program in a newspaper of general circulation, minority media, and by other suitable means. When possible, the WHA will utilize radio and television public service announcements.
The WHA will also communicate the status of housing availability to service providers in the community and provide them with the information needed to make proper referrals. The WHA shall, in particular, contact agencies that serve potentially qualified applicants least likely to apply (e.g., the disabled) to ensure that accessible/adaptable units are offered to applicants who need their features.
Marketing materials. Marketing and informational materials will:
Comply with Fair Housing Act requirements on wording, logo, size of type, etc.;
Describe the housing units, application process, waiting list and preference structure accurately;
Use clear and easy to understand terms and more than strictly English-language print media;
Make clear who is eligible: low-income individuals and families; working and nonworking people; and people with both physical and mental disabilities; and
Be clear about the WHA's responsibility to provide reasonable accommodations to people with disabilities.
Availability of materials. The following information will be made available at the WHA Service Center at 679 Social Street, Woonsocket, RI 02895:
Statement of policies and procedures governing admissions and continued occupancy, including income limits, dwelling lease, and grievance procedure.
Notice of the status (open or closed) of the waiting list.
Detailed listing of WHA developments, including the development name, address, office hours, telephone numbers, number of units, and units designed with special accommodations.
Any current WHA notices to the public or residents.
Income limits for admission.
Dwelling lease.
Grievance procedure.
Fair housing poster.
Equal opportunity in employment poster.
Public housing waiting list.
