ARLINGTON, Va. (AFNS) —  

The Department of the Air Force has implemented a central fund for reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities. This approach will provide DAF senior leaders with greater insights about the types of reasonable accommodations requested and funded throughout the DAF.

“This central fund will help the Department of the Air Force retain and develop current civilian employees with a disability, recruit new talent, and remove barriers to advancement,” said Under Secretary of the Air Force Gina Ortiz Jones.

Beginning Dec. 15th, approved reasonable accommodation requests will be reimbursed using this fund. Organizations should coordinate with their local Disability Program Manager, follow local procurement procedures to fulfill approved requests, and utilize Emergency Special Program code “7F” to identify all approved reasonable accommodations costs for reimbursement.

Providing reasonable accommodations is a legal requirement under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The DAF is developing a disabilities reasonable accommodations portal to centralize and streamline requests for reasonable accommodations. The goals of the portal are to facilitate and simplify the reasonable accommodation request process, allow the tracking of requests, and streamline the reimbursement process. The service intends to roll out the portal in early 2023.

Jones has also directed the realignment of the Disability Program Manager position to the Office of Diversity and Inclusion to administratively align duties and ensure accessibility is factored into diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across the DAF. The program manager will help develop policies, strategies, and goals for supporting people with disabilities.

A reasonable accommodation is a modification or an adjustment to a job or the work environment that will enable a qualified applicant or employee with a disability to perform essential job functions.

A listing of Disability Program Managers at each installation is listed here. Any questions about funding for reasonable accommodations should be directed to these installation DPMs.