Electronic & Information Accessibility Policy

The York County Information Technology Website Accessibility Policy guides York County's websites accessibility according to state and federal laws. York County is committed to ensuring that county websites are accessible to people with disabilities. Therefore, York County is actively working to increase the accessibility and usability of our websites to offer equitable access to all of our users. 

Background

ADA Title II Federal Regulation: State & Local Governments:

 ... prohibits discrimination based on disability in all services, programs, and activities provided by state and local governments. 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) says that ADA requires any person, business, or organization covered under the Act to communicate effectively about their programs, services, and activities. This includes information provided through websites.

 ADA Title Ill Federal Regulation: Public Accommodations 

... prohibits discrimination based on disability in the activities of places of public accommodations. 

The ADA standards apply to commercial and public entities that have "places of public accommodation" which includes the internet and websites. 

The Department of Justice (DOJ) published the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Standards for Accessible Design in September 2010. These standards state that all electronic and information technology must be accessible to people with disabilities. 

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) sets the main international standards (WCAG 2.0 & 2.1) for the World Wide Web and its accessibility. 

Policy

The county seeks to deploy information technology that has been designed, developed, or procured to ensure the county's external websites are accessible to people with disabilities, including those who use assistive technology. 

Website accessibility is not a one-time countywide effort. York County will continually strive toward achieving more accessible websites that ensure equitable access. 

York County will work towards the County's websites meeting the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0 level AA conformance published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C).

 This policy applies to all departments and divisions who provide services to the public via websites or other digital means. 

Accessibility Statement

The below statement is on all York County website pages and is provided by the County's website provider CivicPlus: 

If you use assistive technology (such as a Braille reader, a screen reader, or TTY) and the format of any material on this website interferes with your ability to access information, please contact us. To enable us to respond in a manner most helpful to you, please indicate the nature of your accessibility problem, the preferred format in which to receive the material, the web address of the requested material, and your contact information. Users who need accessibility assistance can also contact us by phone through the Federal Information Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339 for TTY/Voice communication. 

Accessibility Design Guidelines

 Our website has been designed with the following accessibility guidelines in mind: 

We work to comply with Section 508 as well as 2.0 A and AA referring to website accessibility standards. 

If you have difficulty accessing the site or have any comments or feedback, please do not hesitate to contact us. 

Browser Accessibility Information

 Many popular browsers contain built-in accessibility tools. 

Microsoft Edge Accessibility Information

Firefox Accessibility Information 

Chrome Accessibility Information

Safari Accessibility Information

Additional Plug-ins

 Adobe Reader is required to view and print PDF documents that appear on this website. 

To download this program free, visit the Adobe website. To read PDF documents with a screen reader, please visit the Adobe Reader Accessibility website, which provides useful tools and resources. Adobe Flash may be required to view certain videos that appear on this website.

 To access flash content using a screen reader, please visit the Adobe Flash Player Accessibility website which provides useful tools and resources.

 Supported Assistive Technology

Latest Version of JAWS for Windows; Latest Version of NVDA for Windows; Latest Version of VoiceOver for Mac OS X; Keyboard-Only Navigation 

Remediation Plan

AudioEye 

In December of 2022 York County purchased AudioEye, a program that identifies and resolves accessibility issues.  The implementation of AudioEye through the IT department further demonstrates York County's ongoing commitment to ensure that our online content is accessible to the widest possible audience.   Our York County website is now holds the AudioEye Trusted Certification, which means the site has been tested, and conforms with federal accessibility requirements.   Further testing and monitoring is ongoing, in addition to automatic remediation to ensure the optimal user experience for all users.

Training & Evaluation

 In September 2019, York County website administrators attended a Website Accessibility Optimization Webinar conducted by CivicPlus. This three-hour session covered the following topics: accessibility basics; laws, guidelines and enforcement; plans policies and best practices, accessible content. 

 In Fall 2019, CivicPlus conducted Accessibility Audits using AudioeEye software (https://www.civicplus.com/accessibility) on the following York County websites: -www.yorkcountygov.com -www.yorkcountysheriff.com -www.penniesforprogress.net 

On Monday, Oct. 14, 2019, County website administrators attended a training/presentation from CivicPlus regarding the ADA Accessibility Audits. CivicPlus representatives reviewed errors, risks, themes and document spot check summary of each website. Audie Eye also fixed errors meaning, "an element in which they can accurately detect a failure to fulfill a WCAG 2.0 Success Criteria." 

In the fall of 2021, The County PIO and Multimedia Specialist attended ADA Accessibility training with CivicPlus personnel.  

Maintenance Plan

 York County Web Administrators will provide ADA website accessibility training as needed to York County employees who are Authors, Publishers and/or Owners for all York County websites. During this training, employees will learn what makes a website accessible according to law and be provided time to edit their website pages. 

In the 2022-2023 budget year York County IT Department purchased Audio Eye's patented technology to run in the background of the county's website to automatically detect Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0 Level AA and Section 508 issues of accessibility and resolve those issues.          

On November 4, 2019, Council Meetings streamed through the York County website (www.yorkcountygov.com) became closed-captioned. 

 York County Website Administrators and the IT Department will review the county's website ADA policy every year and review the Civic Plus Accessibility checklist. (See attachment). 

York County GIS will continue to offer ADA Accessibility through the Geocortex software. 

 CivicPlus Website provider is responsible for any new accessibility regulations that require code changes to the websites. Please be patient as the county upgrades older pages and documents on our websites to conform to our commitment to provide accessibility to all users. 

 York County is continually seeking out solutions and trainings that will enhance website accessibility. In the interim, should you have trouble in accessing information on any York County websites, please contact the County Manager's Office at 803-684-8511 or email [email protected].