US Department of Homeland Security Creates 508 Compliance Office
Finally, the Department of Homeland Security has created a program to ensure that it complieswith section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. People with disabilities and business supporters of 508 have been waiting a long time for the department to take this action.
As of June 2001, section 508 requires federal agencies to ensure that the electronic and information technology (EIT) that they develop, procure, maintain and use is accessible to their employees and consumers with disabilities. Section 508 was enacted to eliminate barriers in information technology, to make new opportunities available for people with disabilities, and to encourage the development of technologies that will help achieve these goals.
The announcement was made during a press conference at the DHS headquarters in Washington, DC by DHS Chief Information Officer, Steve Cooper, and Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, Daniel Sutherland.
In making the announcement, Cooper recognized the value and importance of ensuring that federal employees have access to information technology. He said, “making electronic and information technology accessible for people with disabilities is a good business management strategy.” He added, “complying with Section 508 ensures our information technology will be more capable of responding to technology changes in future years. A strong accessibility program results in more flexibility, more portability, better designs and better websites.”
Ensuring that DHS Secretary Tom Ridge received credit for the initiative, Sutherland said, “This joint project further fulfills Secretary Ridge's commitment that Homeland Security will be a model federal agency, and particularly with regard to how this new agency relates to people with disabilities.”
Historically, Ridge has promoted employment opportunities for people with disabilities and placed a priority on integrating people with disabilities into the emergency preparedness effort. He has directed the Transportation Security Administration's innovative program for screening travelers with disabilities. “He is committed to providing access to the www.dhs.gov web page for all individuals with disabilities,” says Sutherland.
Sutherland believes the senior leadership of DHS looks outside the box in its efforts to create an agency that will meet the challenge given to it by President Bush and meets the expectations of the American public.
The office will be a part of the senior leadership of the Office of the Chief Information Officer, as well as having a reporting relationship to the Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. Two positions to staff the new office , including the Program Manager, were posted on the USA JOBS website (http://www.usajobs.opm.gov/). The two positions will be open until Oct. 27, and then the evaluation process begins. And Sutherland says, “ People with disabilities will be considered for the positions in this office.”
Reactions among federal employees were blissful regarding the 508 announcement, but met with guarded optimism and suspicion. Speaking on the condition of anonymity, some federal employees with disabilities are skeptical about the timing of the decision. “ I wonder what motivated DHS to make this announcement now. It's too close to election time for me to consider this seriously,” said a federal employee.
Other federal employees with disabilities aren't as skeptical and said, “DHS has now taken a major leap forward in accessibility compliance and its leadership with show it.”
This new program has the commitment of the top levels of DHS management. Most critically, the CIO will place the leader of the 508 program in his senior team, and the 508 program will also have a dotted line to the Officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties.
In developing the policy, DHS conducted a survey of all of the individuals who are 508 coordinators currently in the department, and surveyed several federal agencies whose 508 programs are reputed to be particularly strong. From the DHS 508 coordinators, DHS learned a great deal from their experiences and from their recommendations about how it should structure the new program.
Sutherland says, “From the other federal agencies, we appreciated their guidance on ‘lessons learned' – things that have worked well for them in the past. From both sources, we gathered a great deal of good counsel and advice as we put together our plans for DHS's new 508 program."
How will the government, business and consumer communities welcome the program. “We believe that DHS's emphasis on 508 will be welcomed by the IT industry, and will help accelerate that industry's commitment to accessible electronic and information technology,” says Sutherland.
The business community supports the policy. “ We are pleased that DHS is so committed to implementing Section 508. As agencies like DHS focus on solidifying their processes and procedures for consistent 508 implementation, there will be further incentive for the AT industry to continue to design and develop even more accessible and compatible E&IT. And, of course this will benefit federal employees and citizens with disabilities who use that AT,” said Laura Ruby, Microsoft Corp.
There are possible benefits to DHS implementing a 508 program. One is increasing the employment of people with disabilities with DHS and throughout the federal government. The employment of people with disabilities is the lowest since 1994 (http://www.nod.org/content.cfm?id=1559). The number of federal employees with disabilities is 25,531, compared to 31,680 in 1994.
Alan Reich, president of the National Organization on Disability (www.nod.org) said this on the employment possibilities, "This is a great policy decision that will benefit many. If the Department of Homeland Security shows it is dedicated to this outreach to employees with disabilities, many other government agencies will follow. That means more people with disabilities can be employed and empowered to do their jobs efficiently. Then there can be a trickle down effect to the private sector." NOD advocates for the inclusiveness of people with disabilities into all segments of society.
Another benefit is DHS may become a model agency in implementation of 508 for other federal agencies to follow. Long-time advocate of the federal government's section 508 compliance efforts, Michael Paciello (http://paciellogroup.com/about.html) says, “ The recent announcements and efforts put forth by the Department of Homeland Security are admirable and to be commended, in light of the significant events in recent years. However, the announcement of a 508-program office in and of itself is not the basis for a model. Only time will tell. Today, the model agencies who have established leadership roles in ensuring Section 508 compliance include SSA, DoED, the VA, and the FCC. Others, including the USPS, IRS, GSA and OMB have also made admirable efforts."
A third possible benefit is a trickle down effect to the consumer. Paciello says, "As the federal government moves to the E-GOV paradigm, consumers with disabilities will begin to experience the positive effects of the 508 mandate.”
For example, today anyone with a disability or is elderly, can easily use the Social Security Administration's web-based system to complete applications, interact with Social Security Services help desks, and research benefit information. The SSA web is compatible with assistive technology and user friendly. Similar efforts are being developed by the Internal Revenue Service, United States Postal Service, Health and Human Services, and Department of Education.
Pervasive E-Gov accessibility is only a short time away.
