Solutions for Government

Common Challenges

If your site represents a US Federal agency, then you are probably already familiar with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Moreover, if you are contracting your services or products to the Federal government, including many grants, you will also need to comply with the Section 508 standards. Depending on the state in which you live, there may also be state laws that address the accessibility of your web content. Most government sites have legal obligations to meet accessibility requirements.

If your site is international, you may or may not be subject to a law for your country. Regardless of which laws may or may not apply, government sites should provide access to all people, regardless of their abilities.

In addition to legal requirements, there are other challenges common to government sites:

• Government sites may contain large amounts of complex information, web applications and forms.
• Many government groups deal with a large number of Adobe Acrobat (PDF) files. PDF potentially offers a new set of accessibility barriers (especially to those who are blind), but they can be overcome.
• Intranets, which are often more extensive then public sites, must be made accessible to government employees with disabilities.
• US federal government may need careful documentation of Section 508 conformance.
• Large agencies often employ a number of web developers or IT experts, some of which may be unfamiliar with the specifics of accessible design.

Possible Solutions

WebAIM can help your government agency meet web accessibility guidelines by providing:

• Training and technical assistance from a knowledgeable and friendly staff.
• Captioning services for real-time and archived multimedia.
• Adobe Acrobat (PDF) specific training or consultation.
• Accessibility policy planning and implementation.
• A well-documented accessibility audit and report written in Section 508-specific language.

Contact WebAIM for more information about an accessibility solution for your government agency.