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PURPOSE OF THESE GUIDELINES
These coordinated planning guidelines are intended to assist states and localities in their efforts to increase the amount and quality of transportation services available to persons who have special transportation needs. Such improvements are possible by coordinating funds from the programs of U. S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS),and the U. S. Department of Transportation (DOT). These Guidelines are one of a series of documents to be included in a Transportation Coordination Toolkit that is described in more detail later in this chapter.
Those who have extensive experience in the area of transportation coordination may wish to skip Chapters 1 through 4, which contain information on the background and history of coordination, and review Chapter 5.
The Secretaries of Health and Human Services and Transportation are committed to the maximum feasible coordination of the transportation activities of their respective grantees, including but not limited to human services transportation, Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA) paratransit and fixed-route public transit. This commitment is detailed in the transmittal letter for this document signed by both Secretaries. Grantees are expected to work together to achieve the greatest cost-effectiveness in delivering high-quality transportation services to persons who need them. HHS and DOT will support state and local efforts to coordinate transportation services by providing technical assistance and guidance throughout their respective networks of offices to their grantees. Both Secretaries encourage all their grantees to become more involved in coordinated transportation planning efforts, to meet regularly with each other, and to consider fully the needs and services offered by the others.
BACKGROUND
When human service agencies realized that many of their clients had no means of accessing needed services that were otherwise available to them, many agencies started their own transportation systems. Agencies with transportation as their primary mission (such as public transit agencies) and agencies with other primary missions (such as human service agencies) are now both involved in offering what have come to be known as specialized transportation services.
Coordination became an important management strategy when we found that agencies dealing with human service transportation needs were doing so in a "silo" or "stovepipe" fashion: dollars and rules came down from above in a narrow and constrained manner, and the perspective was one of a closed system from the top to the bottom. The transportation needs of one agency's clients could be served without coordination, but often at considerable expense and with some service quality problems. Many agencies had similar client travel needs, but fiercely guarded the rights and interests of their own clients against competing interests and the prerogatives of their own turf from outsiders. Few of these agencies were working with public transit agencies to secure transportation services for their clients and few public transit agencies were attempting to serve human service clients.
The longstanding commitments of HHS and DOT are represented by their joint efforts on the Coordinating Council for Access and Mobility (formerly the Joint HHS/DOT Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility) which was formed in 1986 to encourage and support the coordination of community transportation resources. The members of the Coordinating Council consist of the relevant Agency heads in HHS and FTA. The Coordinating Council has worked with states and localities to identify successful coordination practices and the technical assistance that is needed to support the development of these activities. The Resource Guide of the Transportation Coordination Toolkit provides information on technical assistance available to states and localities wishing to improve the coordination of their transportation resources.
Congress has indicated a growing interest in the issue of the coordination of transportation services through language in the appropriation legislation of the Departments of Transportation and Health and Human Services. In part, such language stimulated the development of this document and the Transportation Coordination Toolkit.
TRANSPORTATION COORDINATION TOOLKIT
The Transportation Coordination Toolkit is designed to provide detailed resource and practical experience information for use by individuals and organizations wishing to improve the coordination of transportation planning and service delivery.
The Transportation Coordination Toolkit will include the following resources:
- Planning Guidelines for State and Local Specialized Transportation Services – a guide that provides specific information on the planning for coordination of transportation services in HHS - and DOT-funded state and local programs
- Resources for Transportation Coordination – a compilation of information on funding sources, terminology, research and demonstration reports, and state and local agency contacts
- Innovative State And Local Practices In Planning For Coordinated Transportation
– a detailed report of 15 case studies of successful state and local coordination efforts
- Overcoming Coordination Challenges
– a compilation of frequently asked questions about coordination impediments with responses from practitioners
- Building Mobility Partnerships
– a resource guide of over 70 federal programs providing funding for some aspect of community transportation
- A Pocket Guide to Coordination
Planning – an easy reference card summary of the eleven steps to planning transportation coordination.
ISSUES FOR FEDERAL CONSIDERATION
The Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility will continue to support the coordination of federal agencies that fund and oversee transportation and human services programs. A number of concerns and ideas were identified through outreach sessions and the comment period as these Guidelines were developed. Among these are the following issues that will be explored by the Coordinating Council:
- Develop incentives for the development and/or enhancement of coordination activities at the State and local level
- Expand the membership of the Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility to include other relevant federal agencies.
- Improve HHS and DOT communication with State and local programs on coordination issues.
- Institutionalize coordination of transportation planning and resources at the federal level
- Work with states to develop criteria for evaluation of state-level consolidation efforts to identify benefits and challenges.
- Provide ongoing forum for raising state and local impacts of regulatory inconsistencies.
- Develop partnerships with states to encourage coordination and identify appropriate criteria for evaluating coordination efforts.
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