Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Disability Policy And Access topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Mayor’s Office on Disability to join DAS; office to be renamed San Francisco Office on Disability and Accessibility
Summary
The mayor’s Office on Disability will transition into DAS on April 1 and be renamed the San Francisco Office on Disability and Accessibility (ODA); staff described priorities including ADA transition planning, digital accessibility, and coordinating citywide ADA coordinators.
Eli Jelarden, director of the Mayor’s Office on Disability, presented an informational update on March 5 about the office’s upcoming transition into the Department of Disability and Aging Services and a name change to the San Francisco Office on Disability and Accessibility (ODA), effective April 1.
Jelarden said the office — historically formed after the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) — has broadened from a focus on physical access to include digital accessibility (Section 508 and WCAG) and grievance and data coordination across city departments. He said there are now more than 60 ADA coordinators across city departments and that ODA will act as “coordinator of the coordinators,” expanding training, grievance tracking and technical assistance.
Jelarden described planned accessibility work with capital projects and city departments, citing examples including the SoMa Arts Center and an accessible restroom project at Zuckerberg General Hospital. He said the office is also moving away from the MOD acronym to ODA (the Office on Disability and Accessibility) and emphasized that the office is a disabled‑led unit focused on disability rights, universal design and disability culture, and that it plans to continue staffing the Mayor’s Disability Council.
Commissioners asked about ADA transition plans, work with the Department of Building Inspection (DBI) on business accessibility programs, and digital accessibility coordination with the city’s digital technology office. Jelarden said the office will work with DBI, the Office of Small Business, and other partners to move beyond front‑door accessibility and toward broader 'beyond the front door' education and outreach initiatives for small businesses; he said the office will coordinate procurement and digital accessibility with city technology leadership.
Why it matters: The transition consolidates disability access and policy work within DAS and signals an expanded emphasis on digital accessibility, grievance tracking, and ADA compliance across departments.
Provenance (selected evidence spans) - Jelarden presentation (topicintro): transcript excerpt at 2258.5952 — "This is actually my second commission meeting. My first commission meeting occurred in January when I was all of 2 weeks old to the city of San Francisco." (topicintro) - ODA name change and integration (topicfinish): transcript excerpt at 2507.795 — "Moving forward, April 1 and beyond, we will be named the San Francisco Office on Disability and Accessibility." (topicfinish)
