Website Accessibility Statement
- The Ocean County Website has been designed to be usable by the widest audience possible.
- It complies with ADA Section 508 accessibility standards and the World Wide Web Consortium's Priority 1 and most of the Priority 2 accessibility guidelines.
- Popular screen readers such as Jaws and WindowEyes can be used effectively by the visually impaired on this web site.
- In addition, contrasting colors have been employed for low vision readability.
- If you have a question about accessibility in the County of Ocean, please contact the Ocean Department of Human Services at:
Phone: 732-506-5374 (or 800-544-7184)
Email: jgallo@co.ocean.nj.us
Address: 1027 Hooper Avenue
Building 2, 3rd Floor
PO Box 2191
Toms River, NJ 08754-2191
NOTICE UNDER THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT
In accordance with the requirements of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), the County of Ocean will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.
Employment: County of Ocean does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Title I of the ADA
Effective Communication: County of Ocean will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.
Modifications to Policies and Procedures: County of Ocean will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in County of Ocean offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.
Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity of County of Ocean, should contact the office of Jill Perez, Director, Human Services Department, as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.
The ADA does not require the County of Ocean to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.
Complaints that a program, service, or activity of County of Ocean is not accessible to persons with disabilities should be directed to the Ocean County Department of Human Services at:
County of Ocean
Human Services Department
PO Box 2191
Toms River, NJ 08754-2191
Employee grievances regarding ADA compliance will be handled by the Director of Employee Relations in accordance with Union contracts and/or the Ocean County Personnel Handbook.
County of Ocean will not place a surcharge on a particular individual with a disability or any group of individuals with disabilities to cover the cost of providing auxiliary aids/services or reasonable modifications of policy, such as retrieving items from locations that are open to the public but are not accessible to persons who use wheelchairs.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
In accordance with Section 35.106 of the ADA's Title II Regulations, all applicants, participants, beneficiaries, and other interested persons are advised that further information may be obtained from this County government and from the Office on the Americans with Disabilities Act, Civil Rights Division, U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC 20035-6118 (202) 514-0301 (Voice) or (202) 514-0381 (TDD)
Grievance Procedure under The Americans with Disabilities Act
The Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders has adopted an internal grievance procedure to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"). It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the County of Ocean. The County's Personnel Policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination. The complaint should be in writing and contain information about the alleged discrimination such as name, address, phone number of complainant and location, date, and description of the problem. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a tape recording of the complaint, will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request. The complaint should be submitted by the grievant and/or his/her designee as soon as possible but no later than 15 calendar days after the alleged violation to:
Ocean County Department of Human Services
1027 Hooper Avenue
Building 2, 3rd Floor
PO Box 2191
Toms River, NJ 08754-2191
Upon receipt of the complaint, the designated ADA Coordinator will notify the complainant of the receipt of the complaint and initiate an investigation. A report of the final resolution will be issued no later than 60 days from the date of receipt of the complaint, unless a later date is agreed to by the complainant. This decision shall be transmitted to the complainant and/or his/her designee. If the response by the ADA Coordinator or her designee does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or his/her designee may appeal the decision within 10 calendar days after receipt of the response to the County Administrator or his designee. A written response will explain the position of the County of Ocean and offer options for substantive resolution of the complaint. The determination will also be forwarded to the Ocean County Board of Chosen Freeholders for action (if required). All written complaints received by Jill Perez or her designee, appeals to the County Administrator or his designee, and responses from these two offices, will be retained by the County for at least three years.