[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 43, Volume 1]
[Revised as of October 1, 2002]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 43CFR17.250]

[Page 390-391]
 
                    TITLE 43--PUBLIC LANDS: INTERIOR
 
PART 17--NONDISCRIMINATION IN FEDERALLY ASSISTED PROGRAMS OF THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR--Table of Contents
 
          Subpart B--Nondiscrimination on the Basis of Handicap
 
Sec. 17.250  Health, welfare, and social services.

    This subpart applies to health, welfare, and other social service 
programs and activities that receive or benefit from Federal financial 
assistance and to recipients that operate, or that receive or benefit 
from Federal financial assistance for the operation of such programs or 
activities.
    (a) General. In providing health, welfare, or other social services 
or benefits, a recipient may not, on the basis of handicap:
    (1) Deny a qualified handicapped person these benefits or services;

[[Page 391]]

    (2) Afford a qualified handicapped person an opportunity to receive 
benefits or services that is not equal to that offered nonhandicapped 
persons;
    (3) Provide a qualified handicapped person with benefits or services 
that are not as effective, as defined in Sec. 17.203(b), as the benefits 
or services provided to others;
    (4) Provide benefits or services in a manner that limits or has the 
effect of limiting the participation of qualified handicapped persons; 
or
    (5) Provide different or separate benefits or services to 
handicapped persons except where necessary to provide qualified 
handicapped persons with benefits and services that are as effective as 
those provided to others.
    (b) Notice. A recipient that provides notice concerning 
beneficiaries or services, or written material concerning waivers of 
rights or consent to treatment, shall take such steps as are necessary 
to insure that qualified handicapped persons, including those with 
impaired sensory or speaking skills, are not denied effective notice 
because of their handicap.
    (c) Emergency treatment for the hearing impaired. A recipient 
hospital that provides health services or benefits shall establish a 
procedure for effective communication with persons with impaired hearing 
for the purpose of providing emergency health care.
    (d) Auxiliary aids. (1) A recipient that employs fifteen or more 
persons shall provide appropriate auxiliary aids to persons with 
impaired sensory, manual, or speaking skills, where necessary to afford 
such persons an equal opportunity to benefit from the service in 
question.
    (2) The Director may require recipients with fewer than fifteen 
employees to provide auxiliary aids where the provision of aids would 
not significantly impair the ability of the recipient to provide its 
benefits or services.
    (3) For the purpose of this paragraph, auxiliary aids may include 
brailled and taped material, interpreters, visual aids, and other aids 
for persons with impaired hearing or vision.