“The power of the Web is in its universality. Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.”
–Tim Berners-Lee, W3C Director and inventor of the World Wide Web.
Every organization can have a great impact on the daily lives of people with disabilities by designing a website that is accessible for those with fine motor disabilities, epilepsy, cognitive disabilities, visual impairment and deaf / hard-of-hearing.
The Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative is a partnership between U.S. Attorneys’ offices across the nation and the Department’s Civil Rights Division to verify that healthcare institutions provide equal access to people with disabilities. This includes access to effective communication. The law prevents healthcare websites from discriminating against people with disabilities and requires compliance with accessibility standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0.
WCAG is the technical standard set by the World Wide Web Consortium for website accessibility, outlining a common definition for what is deemed accessible. This operates under guidelines governed by 4 core principles of accessibility: perceivable, operable, understandable, and robust.
CQ fluency is continually monitoring WCAG guidelines, and leverages custom technology to enhance accessibility for your web-based content in conformance with these principles. If you are a federal agency or one of their contractors (such as a Medicare Advantage/Part D Contractor), you are required to conform with WCAG 2.0.