Policy In Depth: Centralized Accommodation Funds What is a Centralized Accommodation Fund? A centralized accommodation fund, or CAF, is a consolidated funding strategy to meet reasonable accommodation requests made by employees and applicants with disabilities, rather than requiring each state agency to pay for accommodations out of individual agency budgets. Why establish a CAF? By using a centralized accommodation fund to pay for requests, states can ease the administrative and financial pressure on agency hiring personnel worried about the impact of accommodations on agency budgets.
D Adopt policies and procedures to facilitate advancement and retention. In the spirit
of continuous improvement, the state as a model employer can enhance efforts to develop professionals with disabilities through career pathways planning that might include mentorships, additional natural supports and employee satisfaction assessment tools.
Suggested Strategies i Establish a centralized reasonable accommodation fund.
ii Centralize expertise on disability employment.
iii Provide career pathways planning, including mentorship programs. iv Develop and encourage natural supports. v Conduct “stay” and “exit” interviews and employee satisfaction surveys.
EXAMPLES IN ACTION Centralized Reasonable Accommodation Fund Massachusetts and Minnesota have established centralized funds for accommodating individuals with disabilities. Massachusetts operates a Reasonable Accommodation Capital Reserve Account meant to supplement existing agency resources. Established in fiscal year 2009, state agencies may make requests for supplemental funding for accommodations to the Massachusetts Office of Disability and Office of Access and Opportunity, which are evaluated and funds disbursed until the reserve account is exhausted for the current fiscal year. In past years, at least $100,000 has been made available to supplement state agency budgetary resources.
The accommodation fund in Minnesota has two goals: 1)“to provide equal footing for applicants with disabilities during the hiring process” and 2)“to provide for a more inclusive workplace environment.” The state Department of Administration can reimburse up to $1,000 for current employees’ one-time expenses; there is no limit to expenses reimbursed for applicants and ongoing expenses incurred for current employees. In 2016, the legislature authorized $200,000 for the fund.
Centralized Expertise on Disability Employment Disability employment and accommodations expertise is centralized in Alaska, Oklahoma and Vermont. Alaska’s ADA Compliance Program embeds ADA coordinators in major state agencies and assists employees with accommodation requests.
30 The Council of State Governments • National Conference of State Legislatures