00:00

before we get started

00:01

let me go ahead and welcome everybody

00:03

and say good morning thank you again for

00:06

joining

00:07

today's event in honor of national

00:09

disability employment awareness month we

00:11

are so happy to have you join us

00:13

but my name is monique dismuke and i'm

00:16

the disability program manager for the

00:18

department of commerce

00:20

um before we get started i just want to

00:22

go over just a few administrative

00:23

functions uh just to let you know closed

00:26

captions are available and they can be

00:28

enabled in your team's app you just

00:30

click on the three dots at the top of

00:32

the screen and you will see an option to

00:35

enable captions so if you need captions

00:37

feel free to turn them on

00:39

uh you may also use the link in the chat

00:42

function for live captions so if you

00:44

need that

00:45

option if you like that option you can

00:46

use the link that has been placed in the

00:48

chat function and you can get the live

00:50

captions

00:52

we also ask that everyone please place

00:54

yourself on mute and turn your cameras

00:56

off

00:57

um

00:58

we're going to have a q a session and at

01:00

that time you'll be able to put your

01:03

questions in the chat and again if we

01:05

need further clarification we might ask

01:07

you to you know raise your hand or

01:09

unmute yourself so that you can um

01:11

clarify the question

01:12

but at the end of each uh presentation

01:15

we're going to allow a little time for q

01:16

a so please we ask you please if you

01:18

have any questions bring them up perfect

01:21

time you got subject matter experts here

01:23

today so be sure to

01:25

ask your questions we also want to

01:28

inform you that the event is being

01:30

recorded you should have gotten a

01:31

notification at the top of your screen

01:33

that the event is being recorded so

01:35

be aware of that

01:37

thank you and we

01:39

before i turn it over to

01:41

um

01:42

our miss lao hannah to do our opening

01:44

remarks i just want to just kind of uh

01:47

introduce our panel now when they do

01:49

their presentation they will introduce

01:51

themselves so they'll give you more

01:52

information about themselves so this

01:54

morning we have joining us miss carl

01:56

westholm

01:58

who works in the office of facilities

02:00

and environmental quality we have mr

02:02

darwin jen who will be joining us also

02:05

doing a presentation

02:07

this morning he works in the office of

02:09

the chief information officer

02:12

and we have miss jennifer jessup who

02:14

will be joining us uh this morning she

02:17

also works in the office of the chief

02:18

information officer and then we have mr

02:21

david whittington who is from the census

02:24

he works i'm doing section 508 out at

02:26

the census department so

02:28

we are

02:29

so happy to have you all join us this

02:31

morning so without further ado

02:34

i'm going to turn this over to ms lyle

02:35

hannah for opening remarks thank you

02:37

miss hannah

02:39

thanks for inviting me so my name is

02:41

lyle hannah and i'm the acting deputy

02:43

assistant secretary for administration

02:45

at commerce and the director for

02:48

facilities and environmental quality so

02:49

i have the great

02:51

um luck to work frequently with kara

02:53

west home and i think you'll really

02:54

enjoy when she speaks

02:56

so we we're so pleased you've joined us

02:58

today to focus on national disability

03:01

employment awareness month this allows

03:03

us to focus on the important work of

03:05

tying together inclusivity and

03:07

accessibility

03:08

as a long-time facilities manager i've

03:10

seen the direct impact of making

03:12

buildings accessible

03:13

it opens up a wider net for those who

03:16

work or visit the facility and the

03:18

changes make the space better for all

03:21

i recall at one point where facilities

03:23

added automatic door openers so that a

03:25

person's service dog could open doors

03:27

for the individual

03:28

the dog opened the doors with his nose

03:30

it was awesome that meant that an

03:32

organization had a capable person who

03:34

did great work and furthered the

03:36

mission's goals

03:38

we hope that today you'll take some time

03:39

to educate yourself on laws policies and

03:42

practices related to disability

03:44

inclusion including section 508

03:46

information technology requirements and

03:49

building accessibility today's program

03:51

for endeam will highlight some useful

03:53

information

03:55

within the doc we have about 4 000

03:58

employees who have self-identified with

04:00

a disability

04:01

that's actually less than eight percent

04:02

of our population

04:04

we want to improve our commitment to

04:06

hiring and to providing appropriate

04:08

space for all people

04:10

and

04:11

under the umbrella of the pandemic we

04:13

all know that hiring has become more

04:15

challenging for many people

04:17

this is our opportunity to get behind

04:20

inclusivity as a key to success in

04:23

employing people and helping our

04:25

economic recovery

04:27

so i challenge you to take some specific

04:30

steps

04:31

number one

04:32

make sure our facilities are accessible

04:35

to individuals with disabilities that's

04:37

both for employees and for visitors

04:40

contact your facilities office if you

04:42

note any deficiencies

04:45

number two

04:47

use accessible technology and create

04:50

accessible content

04:53

number three

04:54

when hiring cast a wide net for hiring

04:57

and ensure that you are allowing

04:59

qualified people with disabilities to

05:02

apply

05:04

number four

05:06

use recruitment and referral programs

05:09

such as the workforce recruitment

05:11

program or wrp

05:13

that connects highly motivated college

05:16

students and recent graduates who are

05:18

interested in showing us their

05:20

capabilities in the workplace your human

05:22

resources office can provide further

05:24

information on that program

05:27

and then educate yourself on the

05:29

reasonable accommodation process

05:30

remember that disabilities can happen to

05:33

anybody at any time

05:35

it's really important that you

05:36

understand the process and you can talk

05:38

to your reasonable accommodation

05:39

coordinator to get more information

05:42

so without further ado

05:43

i'm going to turn the program over to

05:45

kara west home so she can talk about

05:47

facilities work within doc and thank

05:50

you

05:52

thank you lyle

05:54

hello everyone my name is kara westholm

05:56

and at the moment i'm the acting deputy

05:58

director

06:00

for the office of facilities

06:01

environmental quality working for lyell

06:04

my normal role is the associate director

06:07

for the office of space and building

06:08

management

06:09

i'm a registered architect and i'm a

06:12

co-lead of the equity council's

06:14

accessibility committee along with

06:16

jennifer jessup so these

06:18

these issues and concerns and and um

06:23

events like this are really important to

06:25

us

06:27

i'm going to start off by sharing a

06:28

video of the that the office of public

06:31

affairs graciously put together for this

06:34

event

06:34

the video begins with footage of the

06:36

world war ii memorial on the national

06:38

mall right across constitution avenue

06:40

from the hchb and then it moves on to

06:43

highlight various accessible features

06:45

throughout

06:46

hchb which i'll discuss in more detail

06:48

after the video

06:50

so if you'll bear with me for a moment i

06:52

will share my screen

07:43

accessibility at the hchb

07:49

so many details go into the design of a

07:52

building to make it accessible for

07:54

everyone

07:58

this footage is of the accessible ramp

08:01

at the 15th street courier entrance

08:03

building entrances requiring accessible

08:05

means for access and can include ramps

08:08

lifts and accessible doorways

08:12

the hchb's main lobby is staffed 24 7

08:16

should anyone ever need accessible

08:18

accessibility assistance including

08:20

access to motorized chairs

08:24

wayfinding in the form of accessible

08:26

signage is incorporated in hchb to help

08:30

occupants successfully navigate the

08:32

building

08:33

this footage is of a new accessible

08:35

bathroom in phase 4 of hchb

08:38

wall-mounted items are placed at certain

08:40

heights to make sure that everyone can

08:41

reach them

08:42

doors toilets and sinks are designed to

08:45

be operational by all

08:47

the video shows a hands-free toilet and

08:49

hands-free sink which we all benefit

08:51

from

08:57

different times in our lives we might

08:59

find ourselves in need of various

09:01

accessibility features

09:03

this could be due to a temporary or

09:05

permanent disability or declining

09:07

mobility as we age

09:09

or when we become a parent and have a

09:11

stroller and child in tow

09:14

at the hchb we recently completed

09:16

construction of a new lactation room for

09:19

nursing mothers

09:20

it provides them a private and

09:22

accessible space

09:30

this footage is of an accessible atm

09:32

machine located at the commerce credit

09:34

union on the basement level

09:39

accessible parking spaces are not only

09:42

needed to be near the door but they also

09:44

need to be large enough so that an

09:46

accessible

09:47

vehicle with accessible features can

09:49

park and its occupants safely exit

09:52

this footage is of an accessible parking

09:54

spot and ramp at the hchb south

09:57

courtyard

10:04

thank you again to the office of public

10:07

affairs for putting together this video

10:09

for us i'm now going to switch over to

10:14

a short powerpoint presentation

10:28

i want to discuss with everybody the

10:30

importance of accessibility in the built

10:33

environment

10:34

this photo shows a wheelchair friendly

10:38

series of ramps paving their way around

10:40

a garden

10:41

in a development in singapore called the

10:44

gardens by the bay which won a building

10:46

construction authority universal design

10:48

mark platinum rating

10:51

the reason i like this design is that

10:53

accessible pads weave through the lush

10:56

gardens so that the experience is equal

10:59

for all

11:01

when we think about accessibility our

11:03

minds often just go to what's obvious

11:05

like parking spots or restrooms that

11:08

have signage saying they're accessible

11:10

but accessibility goes really quite far

11:13

beyond that

11:14

beyond what's labeled and applies to

11:16

every aspect of our belt environment

11:19

it applies to our homes our public

11:21

transportation systems

11:23

our workplaces

11:25

recreation venues and where we get goods

11:28

and services

11:30

the goal of accessibility is to ensure

11:32

that those with differing abilities are

11:34

able to access everywhere they might

11:36

need or want to go on a day-to-day basis

11:39

with as little extra effort as possible

11:42

but how do we do that

11:44

architects engineers and interior

11:46

designers ensure that accessibility

11:48

requirements are incorporated into their

11:50

designs you've likely heard of the

11:52

architectural barriers act ada

11:55

and the american with disabilities act

11:57

ada

11:59

these accessible accessibility codes are

12:02

important and ensure that spaces are

12:04

designed so that someone in a wheelchair

12:07

with a visual impairment or any other

12:09

differing ability has equal access in a

12:11

building

12:14

but what if we could take this a step

12:16

further some of you might be familiar

12:18

with the term universal design

12:20

this photo is of the mary free bed ymca

12:23

in michigan

12:24

which received the world's first global

12:26

universal design certification for

12:29

features such as centrally this pictured

12:32

centrally located

12:34

brightly colored ramp with ample seating

12:36

located at its base

12:39

universal design is the design of

12:41

products and environments to be usable

12:44

by all people

12:45

to the greatest extent possible without

12:48

the need for adaptation or specialized

12:50

design universal design as its name

12:54

implies aims to meet the needs of all

12:56

people regardless of their age size

12:59

ability or disability

13:01

it incorporates accessible design

13:03

requirements but then it goes beyond

13:05

those by making spaces more inclusive

13:08

and more intuitive

13:10

universal design aims to avoid

13:12

segregating or stigmatizing users and

13:15

strives to foster independence and

13:17

dignity

13:22

this is a photo of a hand railing in

13:23

italy and it's a great example of

13:26

universal design

13:27

the photo shows a hand railing installed

13:29

on a scenic overlook on the castle st

13:32

elmo in naples from the overlook you can

13:35

see the homes and businesses of naples

13:36

with their red tiled roofs in the

13:38

forefront

13:39

behind them there's a sweeping view over

13:41

the terrainian sea

13:44

and mount vesuvius is visible in the

13:46

distance

13:47

what's special about the handrail is

13:49

that it has a braille inscription which

13:51

describes the view that i just described

13:53

to you

13:54

the braille description is written in

13:56

both written and

13:57

written in english and italian so that

13:59

tourists who are visually impaired know

14:01

what is visible from the overlook

14:04

the braille description of the view is

14:05

not required by any code

14:08

but by including it visually impaired

14:10

visitors have a more full and inclusive

14:12

experience when visiting the castle

14:17

now that we've covered some of the

14:18

concepts of access accessible design and

14:21

universal design i want to talk about

14:23

our headquarters building here at hchb

14:26

and all the great projects we're doing

14:28

as many of you know that hchb is

14:30

undergoing an eight-phase long-term

14:33

renovation of our huge 1.7 million

14:36

square foot facility

14:38

and the reason we're so excited about

14:40

this project is that it provides new

14:42

spaces new systems

14:45

that have

14:46

really everything improved in them

14:48

including energy efficiency

14:50

and of course accessibility

14:54

this is a photo of a quarter in phase

14:57

four

14:58

adequate quarter widths and door

15:01

clearances are designed into the spaces

15:03

which is so important to ensure

15:04

wheelchairs can successfully navigate

15:06

the spaces and make turns

15:10

this is a photo of six of our typical

15:13

phase four workstations

15:16

and within the workstations you'll find

15:18

adjustable height desks which we're so

15:21

excited about

15:23

they're ergonomically friendly you have

15:25

the choice to

15:27

adjust it to whatever level you'd like

15:30

to work at

15:31

and

15:32

they're easily adjustable adjustable

15:35

with these motorized

15:36

buttons

15:40

i mentioned

15:41

we have the major renovation project

15:43

which is about halfway complete

15:47

but that means that the other half of

15:49

our building has not been fully

15:50

renovated yet

15:52

but our office is continually doing

15:54

projects to improve the unrenovated

15:57

space for all sorts of things

15:59

um including accessibility

16:02

one of our more recent projects was we

16:04

replaced all the signage bathroom

16:06

signage on the unrenovated side so that

16:09

it was

16:10

ada compliant with raised letters and

16:13

braille

16:19

another project we're very excited about

16:22

is the recently completed lactation room

16:25

this was scheduled to be built out in a

16:27

later phase of the renovation but we

16:30

heard from a group of employees who

16:32

reached out to our office to see if we

16:34

could accelerate the project so we did

16:37

we found funding we found a space

16:40

we designed put together a design and we

16:43

were able to build out this much

16:46

improved lactation room for

16:48

nursing mothers

16:51

that includes a number of features that

16:54

they were missing in the the older one

16:56

including a sink

17:04

i'm going to conclude the presentation

17:05

by starting a short video from gsa which

17:09

discusses

17:11

accessibility excuse me in our federal

17:13

buildings it features the well-known

17:16

well-known architect many of you

17:18

probably are familiar with michael

17:19

graves who's a leader in excess

17:22

accessible design

17:26

bear with me just a moment

17:50

[Music]

17:57

michael graves 1934 to 2015 after

18:01

becoming paralyzed from an infection in

18:03

2003 michael graves became a particular

18:06

advocate for disabled people in the

18:07

design of public spaces

18:09

while physical accessibility has been a

18:12

federal requirement for decades he

18:14

gained newfound sensitivity to the

18:16

mobility and dignity of all buildings

18:18

and thanks to him today's architects are

18:20

pursuing accessibility to the fullest

18:22

letter and spirit of the mandates

18:32

well the way my life has changed in

18:34

terms of the wheelchair that i'm sitting

18:36

in i start to think about how i would

18:39

have done it

18:40

before and afterwards there are simple

18:43

things like tolerances of

18:45

getting through doorways and so on

18:48

one day in the chair you start to

18:50

realize how little is done and how

18:52

little is how much is backward

18:56

in particular

18:58

how you turn your chair around in a in a

19:00

public place

19:02

in small confines you're hitting your

19:05

head or whatever

19:06

all the way and turning 360 degrees

19:09

little things like that

19:12

you know the ada requirements are one

19:14

thing but

19:15

there's so much more we can do

19:18

but you know

19:20

it depends on a lot of factors and

19:22

and i hate for it to be part of the

19:24

budget

19:25

left out and do the minimal kind of

19:28

engagement with a wheelchair on the side

19:30

of the building please don't look and

19:31

all of that you know and just have the

19:35

ceremonial front door

19:37

that might be up one or two steps you're

19:39

gonna you have to find another way into

19:41

the building

19:42

because some of the apparatus that

19:44

paraplegics and quantum

19:46

quadroplegics

19:48

uh

19:49

experience is that the chair is very

19:50

heavy a smaller

19:53

disability such as a broken leg or

19:55

something like that

19:57

you can have a collapsible chair that's

20:00

actually pretty

20:01

pretty light and you can be turned

20:03

around by somebody and lift it up uh

20:06

wheel to wheel the wheel uh about up at

20:09

the risers and get into the building

20:11

but you got to be with somebody you

20:12

can't do it on your own

20:15

you don't want to necessarily chop the

20:17

steps away and make everything in ramp

20:19

but i think there are inventive ways to

20:21

get into a situation uh in into a

20:24

building fabric without

20:26

having to tear up the former one when

20:28

it's so significant

20:30

but find a way which is equally

20:32

interesting to get this disabled up to

20:36

let's say the floor of the church or

20:38

whatever

20:40

never seeing it as a compromise

20:48

so this concludes my portion of the

20:51

presentation um and

20:57

i'm sorry about that

21:00

um

21:01

so

21:02

um i'll open it up now for any questions

21:08

okay so if you have a question if you

21:10

would please um

21:12

you can either put your hand up and i

21:13

can call on you if you don't have if you

21:15

don't uh have an opportunity to put into

21:17

chat

21:18

um i did not get any questions

21:21

specifically related to

21:24

um

21:26

to your

21:27

to your side just yet

21:28

um

21:30

[Music]

21:31

okay so here's one question um for you

21:35

cara if we need an ada compliant door to

21:37

our office how do you request one

21:41

great

21:42

great question so um your

21:45

you can call the help desk um it's

21:49

202-482-1340

21:52

or you can contact

21:54

me directly and i'll put up my um

21:58

my contact information on the screen

22:01

right now so um and what we do is we

22:04

have each bureau each office has a

22:07

facilities liaison who we work with and

22:10

so i can if you reach out to me i can

22:12

give you the name of that person

22:14

and whoever your space facilities

22:16

liaison is very familiar with our

22:18

process um

22:20

and we are we'll we'll work with them to

22:24

get

22:25

figure out what kind of alterations

22:27

possible and as needed and

22:30

get what you need installed to make your

22:32

office accessible

22:35

thank you cara that that goes along with

22:38

the uh the other question i also see on

22:40

the screen right now is can the

22:42

panelists please discuss how

22:44

accessibility goals

22:45

interact with doc open office

22:48

requirements i've been working at my

22:50

agency for over a year to correct them

22:52

too narrow design for some aisles and

22:54

barely compliant with for others in an

22:57

open office design that is about to go

22:59

to procurement i have faith that this

23:01

small design issue will be addressed but

23:03

i have additional concerns that the

23:05

entire open office concept reduces

23:07

access to the space for people with

23:09

compromised immune systems so basically

23:12

can you answer that question

23:15

or

23:16

is that one of the questions that you

23:17

may have to speak to a person

23:19

individually

23:21

i am certainly available to speak

23:23

individually um

23:25

and i um

23:27

i

23:28

it mentioned the the

23:31

person mentioned clearances so i assume

23:34

that means there's a space that was

23:36

designed

23:38

perhaps not to code but what i can say

23:40

is that whether it's open office closed

23:43

office there's

23:44

ada and aba criteria that goes into the

23:48

design and

23:52

should never be messed up that doesn't

23:54

mean that it doesn't happen occasionally

23:56

but there's a series of design reviews

23:59

that

24:00

go go on and there's licensed architects

24:02

and interior designers who

24:05

make sure that the spacing requirements

24:08

meet the accessibility

24:11

codes so

24:12

in a perfect world what you described

24:14

should never happen it sounds like

24:16

perhaps it has on a project

24:18

but certainly if it's something you'd

24:20

like to

24:21

discuss further this is my contact

24:23

information

24:31

okay okay i see two hands up now cara

24:35

uh

24:36

i hope that answered the question and

24:38

again as as kara mentioned she has her

24:40

information on the screen so if you need

24:43

further clarification please feel free

24:45

to reach out to her um i see miss kelly

24:47

seidel

24:48

uh

24:49

she has a question

24:52

and

24:53

laura are you able to uh mute her too

24:56

i think the hand went down never mind

24:58

okay

25:02

all righty if anyone else has questions

25:04

please feel free to either put them in

25:06

the chat oh i see your hand back up

25:08

again okay so

25:10

what is happening is we are um there is

25:12

a a a thing in the system that

25:15

um we are able to control the uh cameras

25:19

and the mute now i'm not sure this is

25:22

kind of new for us if we're going to be

25:23

able to really unmute everybody uh laura

25:25

you can let us know is that something

25:26

you can do automatically are we going to

25:28

have to have them put the question in

25:30

the chat um i can unmute people

25:33

individually but it looks like the hands

25:35

have gone down so if you have a question

25:37

and put your hand up i can uh

25:38

individually unmute you

25:43

but it looks like the hands came down

25:45

okay

25:46

yeah

25:47

kelly's handbag is back up again you

25:49

want to try to unmute kelly because

25:51

maybe she's having some difficulty kelly

25:54

seidel you see her in hannah yes

25:56

okay there you go kelly you're unmuted

26:01

okay um

26:03

hi everybody um i actually um saw that

26:07

everybody was putting their questions in

26:08

the chat so um i put mine in the chat as

26:12

well so that's why i kept raising my

26:14

hand oh i see okay sorry about that

26:17

that's okay

26:21

you want to go ahead and ask questions

26:23

since you have the floor now

26:25

okay um

26:27

i'm low vision

26:29

and um

26:30

i'm just kind of curious and

26:33

working for space management division as

26:36

an interior designer i should know this

26:39

but i don't

26:40

i am low vision and

26:42

i notice

26:44

when accessing like the secretary's

26:46

entrance

26:48

um

26:49

the lighting in the lobby is really bad

26:52

as well as the elevators um

26:55

and i was just wondering

26:57

um because i know sometimes i go into an

27:00

elevator and i will literally mow

27:02

somebody over

27:05

without because i you know it's so dim

27:07

in there and i was just wondering are

27:09

there plans to address that and the

27:12

renovation of that

27:15

great question so um as we go through

27:18

and do the major renovation

27:21

everything including the electrical and

27:23

the lighting which there are certain

27:25

codes that that require certain minimum

27:29

light

27:30

levels in different locations

27:33

we ensure that those are met um it's

27:35

it's a big project as you know and so

27:38

um

27:39

it is being addressed via the renovation

27:42

however if there's any particular places

27:45

and i i know kelly so i'm going to

27:47

follow up with her after this

27:49

and kind of go through and see if

27:51

there's areas where we can improve

27:54

prior to the renovation

27:56

but certainly if anybody ever

28:00

notices any deficiencies like what

28:02

kelly's describing and a way that we

28:04

could make your life better please don't

28:06

hesitate to reach out

28:10

thank you cara we have a couple more

28:12

questions and

28:13

we can probably try to quickly get these

28:15

so i can turn it over to

28:17

our next panelists again if we don't get

28:19

to your question right now please put in

28:21

the chat and cara will definitely uh be

28:24

able to respond back as soon as possible

28:26

to your questions so the other one uh

28:28

the next one is about the bathrooms and

28:30

i know there's a little complication

28:32

with the bathrooms as far as especially

28:34

renovation you might want to talk to

28:35

that a little bit the question here is

28:37

um

28:38

the the closest bathroom to my office is

28:40

difficult to maneuver is there something

28:42

that can be done in the near term to

28:44

help with that

28:46

yeah if you could um message me offline

28:49

and

28:50

let me know which bathroom it is and we

28:52

will um

28:54

take a look at it and i am

28:56

i am sure that there's something we can

28:58

do so i will

29:00

if you tell me the door we will find out

29:03

thank you thank you so much and here's

29:05

our final question we can take at this

29:07

point is are there standards on ingress

29:10

egress

29:11

automatic doors they mostly open toward

29:14

you and others open away

29:16

seems like there should be directional

29:18

controls depending on the need for

29:20

accessibility like when you're carrying

29:22

items

29:23

yeah

29:24

so um

29:26

doors are

29:28

highly regulated um in terms of

29:30

clearances and um

29:33

and

29:34

those clearances do change depending on

29:36

if they are opening towards you or away

29:39

from you because um as anyone who's

29:41

tried to open a door in a wheelchair

29:43

knows the the it's it's very challenging

29:47

and there's minimum

29:48

space requirements now

29:50

those when there's an automatic door um

29:55

some of those

29:57

requirements are different so you to

30:00

answer your question i um

30:02

i'm fairly certain i can double check

30:04

and get back to you but that

30:06

both opening towards you and away from

30:09

you with an automatic door opening is

30:12

is allowed by code but obviously i i

30:14

think you're pointing out that some

30:16

methods are

30:18

preferable to others

30:23

okay

30:24

thank you very very much um

30:27

okay so we are going to and and cara

30:29

thank you so much for your presentation

30:31

we thank you for taking time out of your

30:33

busy schedule to be with us this

30:35

afternoon this morning actually this

30:37

morning still morning time to give that

30:39

wonderful presentation and really

30:41

highlight what we're doing in the

30:42

department of commerce in terms of

30:44

accessibility for all of our valued

30:46

employees with disabilities

30:48

now we're going to

30:50

also talk to the team from the office of

30:53

the chief information officer we have a

30:54

few questions already coming up in the

30:56

chat um for individuals who

31:00

have questions related to section 508

31:03

our information technology our websites

31:06

and so forth are

31:07

platforms for

31:08

um information so

31:10

we are going to turn this over now to ms

31:14

jennifer jessup and team and again i

31:16

will ask you to introduce yourselves

31:19

when you are on when you finally come up

31:21

on screen

31:22

and uh we will begin with uh i see mr

31:26

whittington is on the screen there's

31:28

jennifer here also

31:30

you're gonna mute yourself

31:32

if they don't meet yourself hi monique

31:34

yes i'm on i'm trying to share my

31:36

presentation now

31:37

okay and also is darwin on the screen

31:40

with you as well as darwin here because

31:41

we can turn your camera on now you feel

31:43

free to turn your camera back off but

31:45

i'd like to introduce everybody

31:51

darling are you there

31:58

hey there okay all right now you guys

32:01

are our presenter so all right

32:07

i'm turning okay i'll turn this over to

32:09

you

32:10

thank you thank you

32:11

wonderful monique thank you can you see

32:13

my presentation okay am i clear can you

32:15

hear me

32:18

yes yep we can hear you um

32:21

you can see the presentation we don't

32:22

see you so if you don't have your camera

32:24

on with you just let us know you don't

32:25

have your camera on just to be sure

32:28

sure i do not have my camera on i'm

32:30

having technical difficulties with my

32:31

computer um okay no problem

32:34

thank you

32:35

wonderful

32:38

well i just want to thank everybody for

32:39

joining us today section 508 is an

32:41

important topic

32:43

um and we just want to thank monique for

32:45

giving this opportunity

32:46

and this stage to be able to discuss

32:49

section 508 and bring it a little bit of

32:51

awareness to the department um i will be

32:53

presenting today and i will be joined by

32:55

dewan ginn who is a department of

32:57

commerce section 508 policy advisor as

33:00

well as david whittington from the

33:01

census bureau and he's a section

33:04

508 officer for

33:06

um this is bureau what we want you to

33:08

know today is accessibility is

33:10

everyone's business

33:14

and on

33:15

slide two here um this is the agenda

33:17

that we're going to

33:18

um

33:19

try to cover all these topics today um

33:23

i would like to take this time to hand

33:24

the first presentation off to dewan

33:26

again

33:27

um dewan will kick off her presentation

33:29

by providing you with an overview of the

33:31

section 508

33:33

and he will explain it's important to

33:35

you so and i'll kick it off to you

33:39

thank you jennifer good morning everyone

33:42

okay let's jump right in

33:44

so section 508 mission is to provide

33:47

individuals with disabilities access to

33:49

and use of information and data that's

33:52

comparable to that provided to federal

33:54

employees and the public who are not

33:56

individuals with disabilities

33:58

section 508 applies to all of the

34:01

federal government

34:03

section 508 applies to everyone

34:07

next slide please

34:11

in 1998 congress admitted the

34:13

rehabilitation act of 1973 to require

34:16

federal agencies to make their

34:18

electronic and information technology

34:20

accessible to people with disabilities

34:23

the law law was amended to eliminate

34:26

barriers and information technology

34:29

create new opportunities for people with

34:31

disabilities as well as to encourage the

34:34

development of technologies that will

34:36

help achieve these goals

34:41

next slide please

34:45

so section 508 ensures

34:49

all information and communication

34:50

technology ict that is procured

34:54

maintained developed as well as contract

34:57

vehicles and procurement actions

34:59

including micro purchases are 508

35:02

compliant

35:04

everyone is responsible to make sure

35:06

that all ict is in compliance with 508

35:10

especially those who are content

35:11

creators

35:13

document creators

35:14

training developers designers

35:17

testers and anyone involved in a

35:19

document and content creation

35:22

process

35:24

next slide please

35:31

so why is section 508 important

35:34

other than section 508 being the law

35:41

in 2018

35:42

the u.s access board issued a 508

35:45

refresh of the revised section 500

35:47

standards to reflect changes in the

35:49

techno technology as well as to better

35:52

reflect

35:53

web content accessibility guidelines wik

35:57

2.1 testing criteria

36:00

so the wig cag 2.1 was initiated with

36:02

the goal to improve accessibility

36:04

guidance for three major groups

36:08

users with cognitive or learning

36:09

disabilities

36:11

users with low vision

36:13

and users with disabilities on mobile

36:15

devices

36:16

the four major components of wik cag

36:19

the first

36:21

is the ict perceivable

36:23

an example would be

36:25

does the it have text alternatives

36:28

the second

36:29

is the ict operable

36:32

an example

36:33

is it it keyboard accessible

36:36

the third

36:38

is the ict understandable

36:40

an example

36:41

is the i.t readable

36:44

and lastly is the itrope ict robust

36:48

an example

36:49

is the i.t compatible so that it can be

36:52

interpreted by a wide variety of user

36:55

agents including excessive technology

36:58

a good way to remember the major

37:00

components is the acronym poor

37:03

p

37:04

o u r

37:06

perceivable operable understandable and

37:09

robust

37:11

section 508 allows plain language making

37:13

content usable for people with cognitive

37:16

and learning disabilities using simple

37:19

tense and voice benefits many people

37:21

such as people with language impaired

37:23

impairments

37:25

excuse me dyslexia or a memory

37:27

impairment

37:31

the last point

37:33

there are also consequences to agencies

37:35

for being non-compliant

37:36

departments and agencies can be

37:38

susceptible to litigation for not being

37:41

in compliance with section 508

37:45

next slide please

37:48

so why is accessibility important

37:51

more than a billion people are estimated

37:53

to live with some form of disability

37:56

which is about 15

37:57

of the world's population and growing

38:00

the number of people with disabilities

38:02

is growing as as national populations

38:05

grow older and global chronic

38:07

health conditions such as diabetes

38:09

increase

38:11

people are working longer

38:13

increasing the chance of having it

38:15

having a disability in the workplace

38:19

using digital technologies can be a

38:21

problem

38:22

not just for the visually impaired but a

38:25

much wider section of the community

38:27

hearing impairment dementia arthritis

38:30

attention deficit disorder and dyslexia

38:33

are just some of the conditions that can

38:34

make it hard for people to utilize the

38:36

web

38:38

by making websites and digital

38:40

technologies accessible

38:42

we help to create an inclusive

38:43

environment for people with disabilities

38:46

accessible websites enable people to

38:48

make independent decisions and and

38:50

provide greater opportunities for

38:52

participation

38:54

interaction education as well as

38:56

employment

38:57

next slide please

39:02

so the human side

39:03

why do 508 matters

39:06

plain language

39:08

section 508 is about doing the right

39:11

thing

39:13

an employee that is blind deaf or have

39:16

motor or cognitive disabilities can rely

39:18

on assistive technology as well as

39:21

as well as accessible web applications

39:23

to do his or her job

39:27

we also have our veterans section 508

39:30

benefits service disabled veterans who

39:32

are entering the federal workplace

39:35

in record numbers by providing job

39:37

opportunities in accessible environments

39:41

lastly

39:43

section 508 benefits persons with

39:45

disabilities who work for

39:47

or seeking employment with the federal

39:49

government by providing accessible

39:52

workplace

39:54

this concludes my propor my portion of

39:57

the presentation and i will be handing

39:59

the presentation over to dave winton

40:02

dave

40:04

thank you duan hello everyone i'm dave

40:07

whittington um let's start off with a

40:10

brief um

40:11

timeline in history of how we got here

40:14

so the rehabilitation act was originally

40:17

signed into law in 1973.

40:19

now this act required government

40:21

agencies to make their physical space

40:23

accessible to the disabled

40:25

in 1998 the rehabilitation act was

40:28

amended to make electronic and

40:30

information technology accessible

40:32

the goal was to eliminate barriers in

40:34

i.t and ensure all americans have equal

40:37

access to federal data and systems

40:40

now in 2017 the u.s access board issued

40:43

a final rule

40:44

that updated accessibility requirements

40:46

covered by section 508

40:48

the ruling went into effect in 2018 and

40:51

was created in response to market trends

40:54

new innovations and technology

40:57

the board also sought to align

40:59

accessibility requirements with

41:00

international standards and guidelines

41:03

such as the web website content

41:06

accessibility guide guidelines which we

41:09

affectionately refer to as ykk which

41:11

dewan actually explained a little

41:13

earlier

41:14

now over the years other regulations

41:16

such as

41:17

plain language and idea act have for

41:20

have further sought to improve the

41:22

digital experience for users of federal

41:25

systems

41:27

okay next

41:32

slide now the rehabilitation act

41:35

established both section 504 and section

41:38

508 but the two are different in nature

41:42

section 504 requires agencies to provide

41:45

people with disabilities and equal

41:47

opportunity to participate in programs

41:49

and services

41:51

agencies must provide accommodations to

41:54

ensure equitable

41:55

opportunities for its employees

41:58

section 508 however requires federal

42:01

agencies to make ict accessible

42:04

now this applies to all federal agencies

42:07

and the ict that we develop

42:09

procure use and maintain

42:14

next slide

42:18

you may ask

42:19

what are some examples of information

42:21

and communication technology

42:23

ict includes software and operating

42:27

systems

42:28

internal and external websites these

42:30

include our sharepoint sites that we all

42:33

use internally

42:35

telecommunications products

42:37

video audio and multimedia

42:41

official communications such as memos

42:43

and reports

42:45

um which a lot of the documentation that

42:47

all of our agencies put out

42:49

um training materials documents

42:52

tables

42:53

maps

42:54

um and also and finally products that

42:56

store process transmit convert duplicate

42:59

or receive electronic information

43:03

now i do want to make a distinction ict

43:05

does not differentiate between the

43:07

public and employees rather it applies

43:10

to both

43:12

next slide

43:19

next slide oh yeah thank you

43:21

now this is important because as you

43:23

heard earlier a significant portion of

43:26

the american population has some type of

43:28

disability

43:30

seventy percent of those disabilities

43:33

are not noticeable just by looking at

43:35

someone

43:36

so it's important that our icts are

43:39

inclusive of everyone

43:41

here we've listed the common types of

43:43

disabilities to consider when

43:45

implementing ict solutions

43:48

visual includes users with blindness

43:51

color blindness and low vision caused by

43:55

various eye conditions

43:57

these may also include users in bright

43:59

conditions

44:01

auditory includes users with difficulty

44:03

hearing deafness and hearing impairments

44:07

these could also include users working

44:09

in noisy environments or without or

44:11

without privacy

44:13

cognitive includes users with conditions

44:16

that affect the brain's memory attention

44:18

or ability to interpret information

44:22

and finally users with navigation or

44:24

mobility issues can lack motor control

44:28

these users may not use a mouse

44:31

rather they're going to use a keyboard a

44:33

touch screen or they may even use voice

44:35

or i commands to control the system

44:39

so just as we are bringing systems

44:42

online

44:43

please keep all of these users in mind

44:46

next slide

44:50

okay now we're going to show a video um

44:54

that shows testimonies um of

44:57

accommodations that have been provided

44:59

for employees

45:02

okay

45:17

we did not hear it were you able to um

45:20

when you turn this on did you also click

45:22

that little button to uh make sure the

45:24

sound is accessible to everyone so we

45:27

can all hear it

45:28

you may have to

45:31

take it off and put it back on

45:34

take it down and reach and share it

45:36

again

45:41

we might have to skip the video

45:45

okay jennifer

45:47

i'm you could go ahead and just skip

45:48

this one gaben

45:50

all right

45:52

okay no no from here

45:55

maybe we can put it up on our website

45:57

when we um because we're gonna post the

45:59

slides and everything up on the website

46:01

so for those who may want to access the

46:02

video they can still see it okay thank

46:05

you

46:06

you know what just to give everyone a

46:07

heads up what the video showed um was

46:10

um reasonable accommodations in the way

46:12

that we work with our employees to

46:14

ensure um that they have the tools to

46:17

perform their job so that was really

46:19

what the video was showing

46:22

okay um i will move on so now the

46:24

department of commerce

46:26

is committed to providing access to all

46:28

individuals with or without disabilities

46:31

seeking information on our websites

46:34

we have a lot of data to share and so

46:36

it's critical um that we make this all

46:39

of this data accessible

46:41

the dlc website is built to conform to

46:44

section 508

46:47

also the department has implemented a

46:49

section 508 checklist as part of its

46:51

acquisition process

46:53

this checklist was developed to ensure

46:55

that the acquisition of ict resources

46:58

complies with federal and dlc section

47:01

5-way requirements and to provide a

47:04

means for the section 5-way coordinator

47:06

to document compliance

47:10

all right

47:14

now let's talk about some of the common

47:16

accessibility issues we see across the

47:18

board with our ict products

47:22

okay first using non-standard scripting

47:25

languages and code can cause issues with

47:28

how assistive technology interacts with

47:30

objects so it's best to establish agency

47:33

standards and use industry best

47:35

practices during development

47:37

number two

47:38

alternative text should be used for all

47:40

non-text objects

47:42

not just images but you want to include

47:45

them for text

47:46

i'm sorry for charts tables and graphs

47:50

also text

47:51

used should convey a meaningful

47:53

description of the object to the end

47:55

user again think of the message that

47:57

you're getting across to the end user

48:00

third low color contrast can cause users

48:04

of low vision to miss important

48:05

information

48:07

now there are tools available that can

48:09

help identify if the contrast between

48:12

colors is sufficient

48:14

um and so this is very critical when

48:16

you're developing your presentations

48:19

you know any visualizations that you're

48:21

releasing your applications you want to

48:23

ensure you've got proper color contrast

48:27

four alerts are used to communicate

48:29

important information which could

48:31

include time sensitive messages that

48:33

require action

48:35

to the end user it's critical assistive

48:37

technology work with alerts and provide

48:40

usable information on how to resolve

48:42

issues i tell you a pet peeve of mine is

48:45

getting an error message or an alert and

48:48

it's not really readable or

48:49

understandable right it's like rocket

48:50

science so you know just keep in mind as

48:53

you're making these alerts

48:55

make them readable plain language

48:58

five page titles are important for

49:01

making every page uniquely identifiable

49:04

if the page title is missing a screen

49:06

reader would not convey that important

49:08

information to the user and that user

49:10

could become lost or confused while

49:12

navigating a site

49:14

so always set your page in document

49:16

titles

49:19

david i'm sorry this is laura we've lost

49:21

access to the powerpoint presentation

49:24

it's no longer up on the screen

49:28

oh okay

49:30

you know yeah no worries let me see can

49:33

i share

49:35

my screen

49:38

um

49:40

because i am following along and so

49:44

okay um can you all see my screen we can

49:48

yes yes thank you now let me see how i

49:50

can present okay there we go hey you all

49:53

have to be flexible these days right

49:55

you're doing good you're on track thank

49:57

you

49:58

okay um

50:00

i think where i ended off with is number

50:03

um

50:04

oh six okay so setting language okay

50:07

setting the language allows screen

50:09

readers to switch language profiles to

50:11

provide the correct pronunciation and

50:14

accent

50:15

this information helps search engines

50:17

return language specific results

50:20

number seven

50:21

users should be able to navigate using

50:24

the tab key to access all interactive

50:26

elements on a web page application form

50:29

or document

50:30

so the tabbing order must be logical

50:33

and it must be in order remember not

50:35

everyone uses a mouse um

50:38

folks with mobility issues um often use

50:41

a keyboard only right and so

50:44

you know it's important for them as they

50:45

tab through that you know that your that

50:48

your document or your application is in

50:51

logical

50:52

order um

50:55

number eight the reading and navigation

50:57

order must be logical and intuitive

51:00

as the user would logically expect when

51:02

using assistive technology the reading

51:04

order should not jump around the page so

51:07

again when you're designing your

51:08

application and

51:11

your documents you just want to make

51:12

sure that you have the reading order um

51:15

correct

51:16

number nine this is going to be

51:18

important for your videos and multimedia

51:20

captions and subtitles

51:22

are um are essential captions and

51:25

subtitles provide information to people

51:27

who are deaf and hard of hearing that

51:30

would have been missed

51:32

it must be used for all of your video

51:34

and audio media

51:36

and then finally because um a lot of our

51:40

bureaus are statistical agencies and we

51:42

release a lot of data um just wanted to

51:45

drive home this point data tables must

51:47

be properly marked up using the correct

51:49

table elements this ensures screen

51:52

readers announce sale content while

51:54

navigating through a data table

51:57

um so again we just wanted to just give

51:58

you a heads up on some common

52:00

accessibility issues that we often see

52:04

and i will now

52:05

hand things back over to jennifer thank

52:09

you

52:12

well thank you dave and i'm going to ask

52:13

you to continue to drive the

52:14

presentation for me if that's okay

52:23

interruption um that i'm back in now so

52:25

thank you very much

52:29

so now that you've learned all of this

52:30

information on section 508 you may be

52:32

wondering where you could go

52:38

offers information about section 508 and

52:41

the rehabilitation act

52:45

the u.s general services administration

52:47

or gsa is office that has been passed

52:49

under this law to provide technical

52:50

assistance to help federal agencies

52:52

comply with these requirements and

52:53

ensure that covered ict is accessible

52:56

and usable by individuals with

52:58

disabilities that's fine

53:07

if you visit section 508.gov you will

53:10

see that there is information on

53:13

policy management acquisition content

53:15

creation design

53:18

and development techniques for web

53:20

principles testing

53:24

those training

53:26

um

53:31

next slide please

53:34

for the average

53:36

um

53:36

i won before that

53:48

if you haven't visited the section 508

53:49

website i would like you encoura to

53:51

encourage you to do so

53:53

most specifically i didn't encourage you

53:55

to visit the create tab on the section

53:57

508 website

53:59

here you can learn how to create

54:01

accessible microsoft word excel

54:03

powerpoint pdf documents and even create

54:06

electronic signatures that conform to

54:08

the revised section 508 standards

54:11

you can learn how the revised standards

54:13

apply to software applications web

54:15

content operating systems synchronized

54:18

media and more

54:20

you could review the concepts of

54:21

universal design and learn how to apply

54:23

it to federal agencies and its products

54:26

you can learn

54:28

how to create accessible videos

54:30

and also social media posts

54:33

next slide

54:37

there are many other educational forums

54:40

available to learn about section 508 and

54:42

bringing their awareness to you in

54:43

general

54:45

some other resources are provided here

54:47

on this slide

54:50

the commerce learning center is

54:52

offers training courses to employees as

54:55

well in section 508 right now these

54:58

courses are only offered to census

55:00

employees however the department is in

55:02

the process of offering these courses

55:04

department-wide however also on section

55:07

508.gov there is other free training

55:09

that is offered that is available to all

55:12

un-federal employees

55:19

and that's high school

55:24

we want to thank you for joining us

55:25

today and we will um

55:28

offer some time for questions at the end

55:30

however if you have agency specific

55:32

questions or if you need additional help

55:34

and you don't know where to find it um

55:36

as i mentioned before section 508.gov is

55:38

an excellent resource but also your

55:40

section 508 officers and your bureaus um

55:43

are the next best contact for you to um

55:46

to reach out to we've listed the context

55:48

here on this library

55:50

and that will conclude my presentation

55:52

for today

55:55

well again thank you so much jennifer

55:58

darwin and david for being with us this

56:00

afternoon and for sharing this great

56:02

information with everyone um i've heard

56:04

i've had i have several questions for

56:06

you actually so uh again for the sake of

56:09

time i'm going to go ahead and jump

56:10

right into the questions but as jennifer

56:12

mentioned if you have questions that we

56:14

can't get to

56:15

today please reach out to your section

56:17

508 coordinator um the presentation will

56:20

be available on our website

56:22

um within the next week but if you need

56:25

a copy of the slide sooner please just

56:27

shoot me a quick email and i will send

56:29

them to you

56:30

um the one question we had earlier was

56:33

um

56:35

i'm curious what accommodations have

56:37

been extended to working from home

56:39

situation specifically accessibility

56:41

software and low bandwidth especially

56:44

with vpn vpn outside the building is

56:47

slower has this affected any colleagues

56:49

requiring heavy assistive technology on

56:52

their equipment so basically what have

56:54

you got any uh

56:56

updates on that or have you gotten any

56:58

concerns about that or anything they may

56:59

be trying to do in that area

57:03

anyone on the team can take that

57:04

question

57:18

are you able to hear me jennifer are you

57:19

there

57:25

i'm here monique i think i'm having some

57:27

um technical difficulties with my

57:28

computer today obviously um dave have

57:31

you had any episodes that you said

57:33

convey

57:35

actually related to vpn

57:39

i'm sorry could you repeat the question

57:41

again the question was really talking

57:42

about like accessibility software and

57:45

low bandwidth especially when using vpn

57:47

so has there been any talk about what

57:50

they're going to do or how how they can

57:51

address that because vpn is slower

57:53

outside the building especially for

57:55

people working at home

57:56

and who require heavy assistive

57:58

technology on their equipment

58:01

yeah i would say you know we reach out

58:03

to your 508 coordinator um i um

58:06

telephone equipment um is a part of ict

58:09

and so that would be covered um if an

58:12

accommodation is needed definitely work

58:14

with hr and your 508 coordinator um for

58:16

that um i've not seen anything specific

58:19

at census um with anyone reaching out um

58:22

with issues due to low bandwidth but

58:25

that's not to say it it doesn't happen

58:27

or it doesn't exist

58:29

okay

58:31

thank you

58:32

um so i want to give you a compliment

58:34

too your slides were great someone put

58:36

in they can read the flies with no

58:39

problem

58:40

um and so they wanted yeah they said

58:42

they're legally blind with low vision so

58:44

the slides were great and you were able

58:46

to read them one thing that was asked is

58:48

what are the most accessible font and

58:50

font sizes in our documents what do you

58:52

recommend

58:54

um and so that's a great question um you

58:57

know what

58:58

each agency often releases a style guide

59:01

and so you know you're going to want to

59:03

stick within that because a lot of times

59:05

they've already worked with um with the

59:07

508 offices to ensure

59:09

that you know your your templates are

59:11

compliant so that's going to be the

59:13

first starting point um

59:15

try not to deviate from those templates

59:18

um because a lot of times they are

59:19

compliant

59:21

um

59:22

so yes

59:23

okay great i'm gonna i also want to add

59:26

a point um about slides because i know

59:29

we didn't have a lot of pictures and a

59:30

lot of graphics in there

59:32

and it could have been you know boring

59:35

but a lot of times you know you do have

59:37

to you know it's all about you know

59:40

making stuff accessible and so sometimes

59:42

to do that you know you've got to remove

59:44

the sexiness or the prettiness from

59:47

things um

59:48

you know so just keep that in mind

59:50

everyone

59:51

keep up keep keep a nice balance there

59:54

like if you had one graphic it might be

59:56

okay but if you have a whole lot of

59:57

pictures you gotta like you mentioned

59:59

dave you gotta put all that alt text in

60:01

there you gotta make it accessible and

60:02

it takes a lot more work so

60:04

that's it

60:05

okay so what are the most uh so one of

60:08

the questions here because for the sake

60:09

of time i'm gonna make this the last

60:11

question is the doc planning to mandate

60:14

508 certifications

60:17

anybody know that question have an

60:19

answer to that question

60:22

this is this is the one speaking um

60:25

at this time no

60:27

i know other

60:29

other um

60:30

agency the other bureaus like you know

60:33

dave in the census they have a

60:34

certification process that they have

60:37

over there but um that could be a point

60:40

of

60:40

conversation at a later date as dlc has

60:44

a hold but right now we we do not have

60:47

um

60:48

that in place right now

60:50

okay

60:51

thank you dwan and i have to ask this

60:54

question and then i promise this is the

60:56

last one

60:57

any other questions we'll have to just

60:59

get back to them individually does

61:00

providing a transcript of a video for

61:03

example a single person speaking to the

61:05

camera provides sufficient access to the

61:08

video very important question

61:14

so you know what um for guidance i would

61:17

refer

61:18

people back to the y kid

61:20

guidelines because they are very

61:22

specific for instance if you've got a

61:24

video where it's video only um you

61:28

really need to

61:30

have some sort of um description of

61:32

what's taking place within that um video

61:35

and again if you've got something with

61:37

video and audio you've got to have

61:39

captions

61:40

so the ykk guidelines that dejuan

61:43

mentioned earlier are really going to be

61:45

your best reference point for

61:47

understanding how to meet the

61:48

requirements um they were written i

61:51

would say um it's very readable very

61:53

understandable um it's not gonna be

61:55

rocket science um you know and you can

61:59

go there to find out how to meet

62:01

requirements you know let's say if

62:03

you're designing an application and

62:05

you've got error messages in there um

62:07

it's going to have the retire it's going

62:09

to have the criteria of how to meet that

62:12

um if you've got timeouts within your

62:13

application um for color contrast that

62:16

we talked about earlier um how to ensure

62:19

your application is totally keyboard

62:21

accessible again y keg um 2.1 you can

62:25

easily google it that's really going to

62:27

be your first stop um shop um also

62:30

section 508.gov which is what jennifer

62:33

mentioned earlier there are a ton of

62:34

resources out there um and to really

62:37

understand how to make something

62:38

accessible it's not rocket science

62:40

nowadays um there are a ton of resources

62:43

out there um you know we've got agency

62:45

coordinators that will help and assist i

62:48

think we're we're all here working

62:50

together

62:51

that's right and actually um i put the

62:54

section 508 uh website in the chat so

62:58

definitely feel free to check that out i

63:00

also just added the y keg that he's just

63:02

talking about which is the web uh

63:05

consortium um accessibility guidelines

63:08

so you can definitely web content i'm

63:10

sorry uh web content is this

63:12

accessibility guidelines and it's very

63:14

it is a very useful website but if you

63:16

have questions like david mentioned

63:18

please reach out to your section 508

63:20

coordinator i'm also available monique

63:23

disney disability program manager for

63:25

the department if i don't know the

63:26

answer i'll point you to those experts

63:28

who have the answer like jennifer and

63:29

her team and the 508 coordinators

63:33

so we definitely want to make sure that

63:34

people have what they need in order to

63:36

have accessibility within the department

63:39

i am going to wrap this up now because

63:41

we are like about five minutes over and

63:43

i want to turn this over to the direct

63:45

acting director of the office of civil

63:47

rights

63:48

mr jerry beat

63:50

and he will give us some closing remarks

63:53

thank you jerry and thank you again uh

63:55

for the presenters who presented today

63:56

thank you for working with me for this

63:58

program

64:01

thank you mooney good morning everybody

64:03

as the acting director for the office of

64:05

civil rights i want to thank you all for

64:07

being here today and helping the

64:08

department of commerce commemorate

64:10

national disability employment awareness

64:13

month 2021

64:15

i hope you enjoyed our program and

64:16

learned something new about the ways the

64:18

department approaches success stability

64:20

we are too truly doing some exciting

64:22

important things relating to

64:23

accessibility from providing accessible

64:26

restrooms entrances and lactation rooms

64:29

to ensuring that our websites and work

64:31

products are accessible to all employees

64:34

and the public

64:36

i want to thank lyle hannah for opening

64:37

remarks

64:38

in kara west home from ofpq for her

64:41

overview on universal design and she's

64:44

introducing us to michael graves and i

64:46

also want to thank jennifer jessup from

64:47

ocio dejuan jen and dave whittington

64:50

uh for their overview of section 508 and

64:53

for providing an update on what the

64:54

department is doing to support digital

64:56

accessibility

64:58

i also want to thank you monique from

65:00

the office of civil rights because this

65:01

program would not have been possible

65:03

without your efforts

65:05

while nda

65:06

national disability employment awareness

65:08

month or nadim may be coming to a close

65:10

the department's focus on accessibility

65:12

will continue over the coming year and

65:14

in fact it will be elevated

65:16

as you know accessibility

65:19

is in is highlighted

65:22

in executive order 14035

65:26

advancing

65:28

diversity equity inclusion and

65:30

accessibility in the federal workplace

65:33

this is because the biden administration

65:35

knows that much more can be done by

65:38

agencies to improve accessibility

65:40

i can guarantee you that accessibility

65:42

will be an important part of the

65:44

department's deia plan which is to

65:48

strategic plan which is due to omb next

65:50

april

65:52

i want to close by announcing that ocr

65:54

is preparing for national native

65:56

american heritage month which starts

65:58

november 1st

65:59

i don't have the details on the event

66:01

just yet

66:02

but stay tuned for future broadcasts

66:06

and lastly i always have to get this

66:08

plug in for additional information about

66:09

the department of commerce special

66:11

emphasis programs and events like these

66:14

including information about

66:15

accessibility please visit ocr's webpage

66:18

at www.commerce.gov

66:22

forward slash cr

66:25

thank you again for joining us today and

66:26

we look forward to seeing you later this

66:28

month or next month rather at national

66:31

native american heritage month thank you

66:33

everybody have a good day

66:35

thank you jerry and thank you cisco for

66:38

wonderful signing as well thank you so

66:40

much that's right

66:46

that concludes today's program we will

66:47

now uh

66:49

hang up the program you may hang up now

66:51

thank you