Accessibility

Creating a New Way for People To Discover Government Benefits—To make it even easier for everyone to find services and benefits without needing to understand government structure, we’re developing a new digital tool in partnership with 10x, GSA’s incremental technology fund. BEARS, the Benefits Eligibility Awareness Resource Service, is an important step forward in providing an integrated, simple solution for federal benefits to improve the customer experience and will eventually cover all federal benefits from all agencies. — via USA.gov

Next Steps for Section 508 Compliance at the Office of Natural Resources Revenue: Stakeholder Interview Findings—Accessibility is the foundation for inclusion, diversity, and equity within the federal government. The main way the government establishes accessibility requirements for information and communication technology is through Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. Our team recently documented the steps we took to ensure all documents on onrr.gov are Section 508 compliant. This daunting task is now complete! Read interview findings and discover the next steps used to ensure ONRR continues to be at the forefront of Section 508 compliance. — via DOI Revenue Data

New on Section508.gov: Integrating Accessibility into DEIA Implementation Plans — Accessibility, the “A” in DEIA, is a foundation on which the federal workforce must build diversity, equity and inclusion for people with disabilities. Without accessibility, we cannot truly achieve the others.

The GSA Government-wide IT Accessibility Program has published “Integrating Accessibility into Agency Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Implementation Plans,” a guide designed to support the Accessibility roadmap outlined in the Government-wide Strategic Plan to Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce. The guidance contained in this article is a preliminary step before offering broader updates to guidance and best practices materials to meet this objective.

Learn How to Create an Accessible Meeting—The GSA Government-wide IT Accessibility Program publishes guidance on how you can plan your next meeting—from selecting your venue or online platform, planning for and scheduling accommodations, ensuring the accessibility of meeting documents and materials, meeting management techniques, and more. — via Section508.gov

FAR Updated To Add Revised Section 508 Standards for Information and Communication Technology—On January 18, 2017, the U.S. Access Board issued a final rule (the Revised 508 Standards) that updated accessibility requirements covered by Section 508 for Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Read more about the final FAR rule update and changes effective as of September 10, 2021. — via Section508.gov

Document Accessibility: Getting From 5,000 to 0—Our approach to making 5,000 documents on onrr.gov accessible. We’re steadily making progress towards getting all of our documents 508 compliant. It seemed like an insurmountable challenge, but with a little bit of prioritization and coordination, we’re chipping away at the incompliant debt we had accumulated. — via DOI Revenue Data

Making It Easier for People to Find Federal Agencies—Finding contact information for a federal department or agency is a top task at USA.gov and USAGov en Español. Our A-Z Index of U.S. Government Departments and Agencies directory is a popular feature and the result of many years of user testing and website user metrics. — via USA.gov

Accessibility: Usability for Every Ability—Accessibility enables full participation, and everyone who works on government websites has a role to play in making federal resources accessible and inclusive. — via U.S. Web Design System

When’s the Best Time to Tweet? @USAGovEspanol Experiments with Twitter—A good following on social media is fundamental to USAGov’s goal of getting clear and helpful government information to Spanish speakers around the country. To make sure we’re reaching the right people at the right time with valuable content, our team began to rethink our USAGov en Español Twitter strategy. — via USA.gov

How to Test Websites for Accessibility—Use both manual and automated testing methods to create accessible websites. — via Digital.gov

Building Trust in a Public Health Crisis—Lately, the 18F content team has been thinking about how to communicate well in a crisis—providing clear, understandable content is especially important. Content strategy practices that focus on the needs of the user are essential to earning the trust of the public. Here, we will explain how to embody those qualities on the web in user-centered ways. — via 18F

"Diga o marque 2": USAGov en Español’s New Approach to Interactive Voice Response—USAGov receives and responds to questions directly from the public in many ways: through social media, on page surveys on USA.gov and USAGov en Español, and through chats and calls. One powerful tool in the USAGov toolbelt is our interactive voice response (IVR) system in both English and Spanish through the USAGov Contact Center. — via USA.gov