Your Rights as a Person with a Disability on Mandatory Supervision

I have a disability. What rights do I have regarding accommodations for my disability?

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and California state law protect you against discrimination based on your disability, and protect your rights to equal treatment and reasonable accommodations.

If you are on probation (informal or formal), PRCS, or Mandatory Supervision[818], you have the right to:

    Reasonable accommodations and changes in procedures so that you can participate in probation services, programs, and activities, and can successfully complete the terms of your supervision.[819] EXAMPLES INCLUDE:
    If you are in a wheelchair, probation staff should make sure that any programs, meetings, and services are in wheelchair-accessible buildings.
    If your probation officer refers you to community service (such as a drug treatment center, job center, or literacy center), or requires you to complete a program, the probation staff should make sure that you can actually get to the services and participate in the programs.
    If you are required to complete a work program, probation staff should make sure that you are given a (alternative) job that you are able to do with your disability.
    Effective communication so that you can fully understand and participate in probation programs, services, activities, and proceedings.[820] This includes communication during orientations, interviews, and supervision meetings; when you are notified of conditions of probation and registration requirements; and during grievance and revocation proceedings. EXAMPLES include:
    Assistance by a sign language interpreter for a hearing- impaired person;
    Reading aloud of written materials for a vision-impaired person; or
    Simplifying information for a developmentally disabled person.
    Additional assistance (including services) and aids (like healthcare devices) to accommodate your disability and ensure that you can fully and successfully participate in programs, activities, and services. EXAMPLES include:
    Providing sign language interpretation if you are hearing impaired or
    Wheelchair assistance if you have difficulty walking and cannot access a building.[821]
    Information about your right to receive accommodations and equal treatment, and how this affects your probation programming and requirements.[822]
  1. 818

    Title II of ADA, § 202 (codified at 42 U.S.C. § 12132); Cal Gov’t Code § 11135; Cal. Civ. Code §§ 54 et seq. See also 28 C.F.R. Part 35 (implementing the ADA). In addition to federal and state law, some cities or counties may provide additional protections for individuals with disabilities, which protect your rights while you are on supervision in that county. Telephone call with Jennifer Scaife, Reentry Division Director, San Francisco Adult Probation Dept., Nov. 6, 2014.

  2. 819

    28 C.F.R. § 35.130.

  3. 820

    28 C.F.R. § 35.160(a).

  4. 821

    28 C.F.R. § 35.160(b).

  5. 822

    28 C.F.R. § 35.106.

How can I request an accommodation or file a complaint if I feel that probation is not accommodating my disability, or if I am not getting access to probation services or programs?

Unlike for state parole, there are no formal probation policies or procedures to request accommodations or file a complaint related to your disability. Each county does things differently, and many counties have no formal procedures. You can first talk to your probation officer and explain the situation to him/her OR you may ask a judge to modify your probation to accommodate your disability by filing a motion requesting a change. Please Appendix AA, on PG. 314, for detailed steps on the process.

  1. 823

    The information in this section is based on our staff’s conversation with probation staff in Alameda, Contra Costa, and Yolo Counties, and our law clerk’s conversation with probation staff in Sacramento. If your county Probation Department employs more than 50 people (including POs and other staff), the department is required by law to provide a formal complaint (grievance) process. 28 C.F.R. § 35.107(b). However, most Probation Departments do not have formal grievance procedures to request accommodations or complain about discrimination based on disability.