Effective Access Advisory Committees Cal ACT October 2019
Effective Access Advisory Committees Cal. ACT October 2019 Presented by: Naomi Armenta October 30, 2019 Photo source: MBTA Twitter 1
ACCESS ADVISORY COMMITTEES CAN BE CHALLENGING • Source of complaints • Managing expectations An empowered and effective committee can increase transparency and trust between your program and riders, and improve your program's reputation within your agency and with your governing Board. Photo source: catsvscancer. org/2014/10 Photo source: MBTA Twitter 2
HOW DO YOU EMPOWER YOUR COMMITTEE? • • • Give them a purpose Orient and train them Agenda planning with officers Annotated agendas Provide materials to committee in easily digestible ways • Provide talking points to Chair for Board, to other members for other committees Photo source: MBTA Twitter Source: Arnstein, S. R. (1969). "A ladder of citizen participation". Journal of the American Institute of Planners. 35 (4): 216– 224. doi: 10. 1080/01944366908977225. hdl: 11250/2444598. 3
WHAT DO WE WANT TO AVOID? • Your agency should be in the habit of bringing new policies and programs (not just about access) through your committee • “How will this look in the news? ” • After the fact is no fun -- then everybody is mad Photo source: MBTA Twitter 4
ACCESS ADVISORY COMMITTEE POWER MOVES • Members serve on other committees and report on Access Committee's activities and vice versa • Members form relationship with appointer/ Board member and support your program • Members do outreach (e. g. resource fairs, senior centers/ housing, newsletters) • Members collect data for projects (e. g. bus stop accessibility assessments) Photo source: MBTA Twitter 5
MORE TECHNICAL RESOURCES • Department of Transportation (DOT) Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regulations at 49 C. F. R. Section 37. 137(c) requires an “ongoing mechanism for the participation of individuals with disabilities in the continued development and assessment of services to persons with disabilities. ” • The Brown Act or “Open Meeting Law” is officially known as the Ralph M. Brown Act and is found in the California Government Code § 54950 et seq. 1. • Some Organizational Development basics Photo source: MBTA Twitter Source: Okpalad, based on Tuckman and Jensen (1977) Source: Nelson/Nygaard, Concord, CA (2019) 6
THANK YOU! Naomi Armenta 510. 506. 7586 narmenta@nelsonnygaard. com
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