§ 5-07 Inmates with Disabilities and Inmates Who Are Limited English Proficient.
RCNY § 5-07
(a)The Department shall take appropriate steps to ensure that inmates with disabilities (including, for example, inmates who are deaf or hard of hearing, those who are blind or have low vision, or those who have intellectual, psychiatric, or speech disabilities), have an equal opportunity to participate in or benefit from all aspects of the Department's efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment. Such steps shall include, when necessary to ensure effective communication with inmates who are deaf or hard of hearing, providing access to interpreters who can interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially, both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary. In addition, the Department shall ensure that written materials are provided in formats or through methods that ensure effective communication with inmates with disabilities, including inmates who have intellectual disabilities, limited reading skills, or who are blind or have low vision. The Department is not required to take actions that it can demonstrate would result in a fundamental alteration in the nature of a service, program, or activity, or in undue financial and administrative burdens, as those terms are used in regulations promulgated pursuant to title II of the Americans With Disabilities Act, 28 C.F.R. § 35.164.
(b)The Department shall take reasonable steps to ensure meaningful access to all aspects of the Department's efforts to prevent, detect, and respond to sexual abuse and sexual harassment for inmates who are limited English proficient, including steps to provide interpreters who can interpret effectively, accurately, and impartially, both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary.
(c)The Department shall not rely on inmate interpreters, inmate readers, or other types of inmate assistants except in limited circumstances where an extended delay in obtaining an effective interpreter could compromise the inmate's safety, the performance of first-response duties under 40 RCNY § 5-26, or the investigation of the inmate's allegations. (Added City Record 11/25/2016, eff. 1/2/2017)
