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Accessibility Services
This page provides information on what accessibility services you can expect when interacting with the Vermont Arts Council’s programs and services. If you’re looking for resources on ways to make your own facilities and programs accessible, visit our Arts & Accessibility resources page and our accessibility considerations for grantees page.
What to Expect When:
Requesting Accommodations
The Vermont Arts Council strives to ensure that its facilities, events, services, and communications are equally accessible to all.
Whether you are visiting us in person, attending a virtual or in-person event, or applying for a grant, we welcome and encourage constituents and visitors with disabilities to contact us with requests for specific accommodations such as alternative formats (e.g. large print, digital format, braille), auxiliary aids and services (e.g. American Sign Language or captioning) and more.
We will make every effort to honor requests made at least two weeks before any Council public event, meeting, or grant deadline.
Questions about accessibility should be addressed to Michele Bailey, Accessibility Coordinator at the Vermont Arts Council. She can be reached by email at [email protected] or by phone at 802.402.4614. 711 Voice and Relay calls welcome.
We realize that both events and your schedule often come together at the last minute. If accommodation would be helpful and the lead time is less than two weeks, please let us know and we will do our best to help you participate.
Contacting Staff
We welcome questions and want to assist you as best we can. However, all staff are currently working remotely and only come into the office occasionally. If you’d like to have a meeting, contact the appropriate staff via email or phone to schedule an appointment to talk in-person or virtually. 711 Voice or relay calls are also welcome.
Visiting Our Office
The office is located at 136 State Street in Montpelier, Vermont. It is currently not open to the public on a regular basis as most staff work remotely. We would be happy to set up an appointment to meet you at the office.
The main entrance to the office is accessible to visitors who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids and is located on the east side of the building. The entrance walkway is gently sloped from State Street through the sculpture garden with a combination of cement walkway and gravel path. A slate patio with drainage grate is directly in front of the main entrance.
The first-floor reception area, conference room, and selected offices on the first floor are wheelchair accessible.
Restrooms
A unisex, accessible restroom is available on the first floor near the conference room.
Parking
Two accessible parking spaces are available on the west side of the building in the employee parking lot adjacent to the Council. The lot is marked “Reserved State Employee Parking Only.” However, all visitors (even if not an employee) who need accessible parking and arrive by car are welcome to use these accessible spaces. Contact us for suggestions about pick and drop off locations.
Service Animals
Service animals are welcome.
During Virtual Programs
The Arts Council uses Zoom to facilitate virtual meetings, events, and programs. Every effort is made to ensure that all virtual public programs and events are closed captioned with a live or automated captioner. Event recordings are also captioned before posting on our website. If you require a presentation that provides other accessibility accommodations, please let us know at least two weeks prior to the event.
During In-Person Programs
The Arts Council offers in-person events or meetings from time to time at various locations around Vermont. We strive to host public meetings, workshops, and events in facilities that are physically accessible to visitors who use wheelchairs or other mobility aids, and for those who prefer not to use stairs. Facilities are reviewed for accessible parking, path of travel, entrance, restrooms, and primary function areas for the event. We will provide accessibility information specific to each event in our promotional materials. Reach out to staff with specific questions about accommodation and services.
Completing an Online Form
The Council uses online forms for grant applications, registrations, event calendar, classified ad submissions and more. If you require an alternate format or need assistance accessing the online forms, please contact the staff listed on the appropriate pages of the website. We are happy to help you. We do suggest that you reach out at least three weeks prior to the deadline so that we can properly assist you.
Receiving a Grant
Arts Council grant recipients who receive federal or state funds must comply with the requirements of Section 504 of Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (504), the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 (ADA), and the ADA Amendment Act of 2008 (P.L. 110- 325) which became effective on January 1, 2009.
For more information about ways to make your facilities and programs accessible, visit accessibility resources and the accessibility considerations in the grant section of the website.
Visiting our Website
The Arts Council website has been designed and created using WCAG 2.1 design standards with alt text, image descriptions, high contrast and video captioning for current videos and more. Many older video postings have not yet been captioned but will be under review for captioning. We also link to websites and resources from other vendors, organizations, authors, and experts for general information purposes only. The other parties are responsible for the content and accessibility on their website(s).
Providing Feedback
The Council’s strives to respond to suggestions for improvement in a responsive, interactive, and informal manner in order to provide the highest level of service to all our constituents. We welcome and appreciate your feedback. You may provide feedback by contacting the Council’s accessibility Coordinator by phone or email. See contact info above.
Grievance Procedures
For programs or services provided by Vermont Arts Council
If you believe that a program or service or the Arts Council is inaccessible to persons with a disability or is otherwise illegally discriminatory you may also file a grievance. Complaints should be limited to the facilities of the Vermont Arts Council, public meetings conducted by the Council, and programs and services operated by the Council. Please file your grievance within thirty days after the action has occurred.
To request an alternate format to file your grievance, please contact Michele Bailey, accessibility coordinator at [email protected] or by phone at 802.402.4614. 711 Voice and Relay calls welcome.
If a satisfactory action is not identified and/or the complainant wishes to lodge a formal complaint against the Council, the complainant should contact the Vermont Human Rights Commission or the U.S. Attorney’s office.
Vermont Human Rights Commission
12 Baldwin Street
Montpelier, VT 05633-6301
800.416.2010
Fax: 802.828.2480
Toll free: TTY 877.294.9200
TTY 802.828.1493
Email: [email protected]
https://hrc.vermont.gov/how-to-file
U.S. Attorney’s Office
Post Office Box 570
11 Elmwood Avenue, 3rd Floor
Burlington, VT 05402-0570
802.951.6725
Fax: 802.951.6540
TTY:711
Email: [email protected]
https://www.justice.gov/usao-vt/civil-rights-program
For programs or services that are not provided by, but are funded by, the Vermont Arts Council
Visit Accessibility Considerations for information on Grantee Compliance and Grantee Grievance procedures.
April 6, 2023