05 October 2000

U.S. Government Ensuring Access for Disabled to Information Technology

By Suzanne Dawkins and Michael J. Bandler
Washington File Staff Writers

Washington -- Disabled federal workers and selected members of the public are benefiting from recent legislation amending part of the Rehabilitation Act, according to a National Science Foundation expert on disability programs.

In opening remarks at a panel discussion October 4 at the State Department's NetDiplomacy 2000: Conference on the Internet and Diplomacy, Lawrence A. Scadden, senior program director of the National Science Foundation's program for persons with disabilities, cited the legislative activity as "bold steps" that will ensure access to federal electronic and information technology.

Scadden, who has been involved in various access initiatives for persons with disabilities for 15 years, was one of several experts on the panel at NetDiplomacy 2000. Others represented the U.S. Department of Defense and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The three-day conference, organized and sponsored by the State Department's Bureau of International Information Programs (IIP), focused generally on the impact of the Internet and the World Wide Web on global diplomacy.

More than 500 U.S. Government officials, academics, private sector representatives and foreign service nationals participated in the conference.

The amendments to Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, signed into law in August 1998, require that when U.S. Government agencies develop, procure, maintain or use electronic and information technology, federal employees and members of the general public with disabilities must have access to and use of the same information that people without disabilities enjoy.

Scadden, who has been blind since the age of five, said that owning his first computer in 1982 changed his life -- freeing him from the need to call upon many people to read and edit and retype his work. He has benefited further from the development, over the past decade, of such supportive technology as optical recognition machines that allow access to the Internet and the World Wide Web.

For the new legislation to work, Scadden suggested, there should be a collaborative effort between the public and private sector. The federal government should purchase equipment designed by private industry. He added that as the State Department selects software, it should keep in mind all users -- including those with disabilities -- and consider carefully products and designs suited for everyone. Future success lies in "intelligent designs" that, for instance, allow extra ports for hand-held devices to interact with the computer, in the manner of cell phones.

Speaking as a representative of the Department of Defense, Dinah F.B. Cohen, director of its computer electronic accommodations program (CAP), noted that the program has whatever resources are necessary to hire a person with disabilities, and to assist staffers who might become disabled during their tenure, to acquire "the tools they need to be as productive as possible." Equal access to the information environment is the mission of her office, she said.

CAP programs can provide computer input and output devices, telecommunication implements, special listening devices, alternative forms of documentation, captioning services, interpreters, readers and personal assistants for training services, as well as other technology and aids to access. Cohen invited other agencies to use the Defense Department's CAP Technology Evaluation Center (CAPTEC), where they can try out cutting edge technology that takes advantage of brain waves and slight facial movements.

In adhering to the requirements of the Section 508 amendments, Cohen explained that the computer electronic accommodations program, with its $26 million budget, has been used to fill more than 20,000 requests for accommodations to date -- in a cost effective manner and within eight days of the filing of each request.

Public standards for the implementation of Section 508 are to become effective on November 30, with compliance required 180 days afterwards. Cohen urged agencies to keep this timeframe and the legislation in mind, and, accordingly, begin selecting the new equipment and software now.

Patrick Sheehan, a computer specialist in Web accessibility for the Department of Veterans Affairs, told participants at the panel discussion that these days Section 508 issues center largely around the World Wide Web. He demonstrated, by using a screen reader, the difference between accessibility and inaccessibility -- and underscored the need for site developers to follow guidelines now available at the Web Accessibility Web site www.w3.org/WAI.

At the State Department, Charmaine Iversen manages the Bureau of Information Resource Management's Program for Accessible Computer/Communication Technology (IMPACT). She serves as an advocate for information resource management technology for clients in other countries as well as U.S. citizens traveling overseas. She advised audiences at home and abroad to review material on IMPACT's Web site: http://impact.state.gov

Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State.
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