A deaf inmate filed a complaint with the United States Department of Justice against the Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, Sheriff's Department under Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act ("ADA"), alleging that the Sheriff's Department failed to provide him with a telecommunications device for the deaf ("TTD") upon his request while he was incarcerated in the Lackawanna County Jail. Following a Department of Justice investigation, the United States and the Lackawanna County Sheriff's Department entered into a settlement agreement on January 25, 1996, in which the Sheriff's Department agreed to purchase at least two TTD's for the Jail within one month and to adopt and follow certain procedures to ensure that telephone communications for the hearing impaired are as readily available as telephone communications for others. These procedures include placing appropriate signage near telephones to indicate the availability of TTD's; providing opportunities for prisoners to request any necessary auxiliary services or aids, and giving primary consideration to such requests; and adopting policies and procedures in respect to securing interpreters for the hearing impaired whenever necessary. We have no information other than the settlement agreement between the parties.

Megan Raynor - 03/06/2006


compress summary