Make Victim Services Accessible

September 2012

Office for Victims of Crime (OVC)

It is illegal to discriminate against persons with disabilities in the United States. The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 require that the same full range of services be available to all people in the most integrated setting, regardless of any physical, sensory, cognitive, psychiatric, or other disability. All service providers, regardless of agency size, are required to provide accessible services to persons with disabilities.

There are three types of accessibility, and they are all intertwined: Attitudinal accessibility, Physical accessibility, Programmatic accessibility.

Section 4: Make Victim Services Accessible

Part of the overall Multidisciplinary Response to Crime Victims with Disabilities: Community-Level Replication Guide