Loudoun Disability Services Board Issues Annual Report

The Loudoun Disability Services Board reported on its work in 2022 in its annual report to the Board of Supervisors on May 16.

Supervisors last year directed the board to conduct a thorough review and make recommendations for increased accessibility for people with disabilities visiting the three main public-facing county government buildings, the Government Center and Shenandoah Building in Leesburg and the Ridgetop Circle Building in Sterling. The board assessed those buildings for ways to go beyond the minimum Americans with Disabilities Act standards and reported those options to the county finance committee in July 2022.

The finance committee authorized the board’s recommendations on improving physical access and communications, such as moving accessible parking spaces closer to the Government Center, automating the front door at Ridgetop, adding handicap-accessible restrooms at Shenandoah, and conducting mandatory, consistent training for staff on etiquette and communication.

The total cost of those improvements was estimated at $240,000.

The DSB also co-hosted the first disability resource fair with the Arc of Loudoun in April 2022 and organized the 2021 Full Accessibility and Inclusion Moving toward Equity or FAIME awards in February 2022, among other work.