One DHS People, Access and Culture · Job aid · How to do it
Accommodations across transitions: closing the accommodation cliff
Accommodations that work in the current role are often lost during a rotation, an acting assignment, a leadership cohort, or an interview process because nobody owns them across the transition. This aid names the transitions, the owner for each, and what to carry.

Why it matters: The cliff is invisible to the people who design pathways and very visible to the people who fall off it. Naming an owner for accommodations across each transition is a small change that removes a structural barrier.

CONTENT
Transitions to plan for: nomination and application, interview or selection event, acting or stretch assignment, leadership cohort or program, new team or new supervisor, and return from leave.
For each transition, name one owner responsible for carrying existing accommodations forward and for offering accommodation to everyone entering it. The owner is a person, not a process.
Carry the accommodation, not the diagnosis. The receiving supervisor or program needs to know what works, not why. The accommodation process holds the confidential record.
Offer accommodation to everyone at every transition, in the same sentence used for logistics, so no one has to disclose to receive it.
Design cohort events accessible by default: materials in advance, captioning, flexible participation formats, no timed or drag-based activities, and time to rest.
Check after the transition. Ask everyone, not only people who requested something, whether the arrangements worked, and fix what did not.
Boundaries. Accommodation decisions and disputes belong to Human Resources and the accommodation process. This aid is about pathway design and ownership; it does not decide any accommodation.

NEXT STEPS
• Accessible leadership pathways and sponsorship — program page /library/pn-accessible-leadership-pathways
• Accessible and culturally responsive meetings — program page /library/ja-accessible-meetings
• Find the right person — program page /support/right-person?matter=advancement_or_leadership_pathway

PRACTICE PATHS THIS SUPPORTS
• Leadership pathway or sponsorship plan for staff with disabilities

One DHS People, Access and Culture