Web Site Accessibility Statement

The First In Families of North Carolina Web site (www.fifnc.org) has been designed and developed to be Conformance Level "Triple-A", the highest level of conformance possible, as defined by the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 1.0.

These guidelines are in consideration of people who may not be able to see, hear or move, or may not be able to process some types of information easily or at all. They may be people who have difficulty reading or comprehending text, using a keyboard or mouse, or those using a text-only screen, a small screen, or a slow Internet connection. They may be people who do not speak or understand fluently the language in which the document is written. They also are in consideration of people who have an early version of a browser, a different browser entirely, a voice browser, or a different operating system.

This statement will include the guideline number, name and a description of conformance.

Following the Guideline statements, several related accessibility issues are addressed.

Guideline 1. Provide equivalent alternatives to auditory and visual content: Fully compliant

Provide content that, when presented to the user, conveys essentially the same function or purpose as auditory or visual content.

Each image on this Web site has a text alternative included in the xHTML markup and each active region of the image map has a text link.

Note: Visual visitors will see the text alternative when moving their mouse over the image.

Guideline 2. Don't rely on color alone: Fully compliant

Ensure that text and graphics are understandable when viewed without color.

Color alone is not used to convey information on this Web site. As a visual cue to sighted people who rely on color for understanding, color has been used to identify each section of this site. Also, foreground and background color combinations provide sufficient contrast when viewed by someone having color deficits or when viewed on a black and white screen.

Guideline 3. Use markup and style sheets and do so properly: Fully compliant

Mark up documents with the proper structural elements. Control presentation with style sheets rather than with presentation elements and attributes.

Markup (xHTML) and style sheets (CSS) have been used properly on every page of this Web site. Only CSS has been used for presentation. Markup has not been used for presentation and has been used for structure only.

Each page of this Web site used the xHTML 1.0 document type declaration and has been validated using validator.w3.org.

Header elements have been used throughout the site to convey document structure and have been used in accordance with specification. Mark up lists and list items have been used properly.

Guideline 4. Clarify natural language usage: Fully compliant

Use markup that facilitates pronunciation or interpretation of abbreviated or foreign text. Expansions of abbreviations and acronyms have been provided for both sighted users and speech users.

The natural language of the site has been declared on each page, including a declaration of Spanish on the Español section. Expansion of abbreviations and acronyms have been provided.

Note: When using a Web Standards compliant browser, when moving the mouse over an abbreviation or acronym, visual users will see an expansion of the term or phrase. For screen reader users, the use of the abbreviation tag in the HTML of a document will allow a phrase such as FIFNC to be read aloud one letter at a time instead of a best attempt of what a word spelled FIFNC would sound like.

The proper use of natural language markup allows search engines to find key words and identify documents in a desired language. Natural language markup also improves readability of the Web for all people, including those with learning disabilities, cognitive disabilities, or people who are deaf.

Guideline 5. Create tables that transform gracefully: Fully compliant

Ensure that tables have necessary markup to be transformed by accessible browsers and other user agents.

This Web site does not include tabular data so no tables were used in the development of this site.

Guideline 6. Ensure that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully: Fully compliant

Ensure that pages are accessible even when newer technologies are not supported or are turned off.

The only newer technology used in the build of this Web site is style sheets, or CSS. Each page on this Web site has been organized so that it may be read without style sheets on older browsers.

Guideline 7. Ensure user control of time-sensitive content changes: Fully compliant

Ensure that moving, blinking, scrolling, or auto-updating objects or pages may be paused or stopped.

Some people with cognitive or visual disabilities are unable to read moving text quickly enough or at all. Movement can also cause such a distraction that the rest of the page becomes unreadable for people with cognitive disabilities. Screen readers are unable to read moving text. People with physical disabilities might not be able to move quickly or accurately enough to interact with moving objects. This site has been developed without using these techniques in order to not exclude people with disabilities.

Guideline 8. Ensure direct accessibility of embedded user interfaces: Fully compliant

Ensure that the user interface follows principles of accessible design: device-independent access to functionality, keyboard operability, self-voicing, etc.

No scripts or applets that would render this Web site to be inaccessible or incompatible with assistive technologies were used.

Guideline 9. Design for device-independence: Fully compliant

Use features that enable activation of page elements via a variety of input devices.

This Web site has been developed to provide device-independent access, which means that the user may interact with the user agent or document with a preferred input (or output) device -- mouse, keyboard, voice, head wand, or other. In order to provide full compliance of this guideline, text equivalents for the client-side image map were used and the links make it possible for users to interact with them without a pointing device.

Guideline 10. Use interim solutions: Fully compliant

Use interim accessibility solutions so that assistive technologies and older browsers will operate correctly.

This Web site does not use the technique know as spawned windows (following a link that opens a new browser window), does not create pop-ups or other windows to appear and does not, in any way, change the current window or use the frames mark-up technique.

All text on this Web site is laid out naturally and flows logically so as to be interpreted and read easily by all screen readers. All adjacent links include non-link, printable characters in order to be rendered properly by all browsers and read correctly by screen readers.

Guideline 11. Use W3C technologies and guidelines: Fully compliant

Use W3C technologies (according to specification) and follow accessibility guidelines. Where it is not possible to use a W3C technology, or doing so results in material that does not transform gracefully, provide an alternative version of the content that is accessible.

The current guidelines recommending W3C technologies, including xHTML markup and CSS, have been followed in the build of this Web site. No non-W3C formats (e.g., Shockwave, etc.) which require viewing with either plug-ins or stand-alone applications have been used in the build of this Web site. All deprecated features of the W3C technologies have been avoided.

Guideline 12. Provide context and orientation information: Fully compliant

Provide context and orientation information to help users understand complex pages or elements.

Complex relationships between parts of a page may be difficult for people with cognitive disabilities and people with visual disabilities to interpret.

In order to provide context and orientation information all pages are titled in the browser page and at the top of each page. Titles are also used in links to allow the user to understand what will happen or where they will be sent if a link is followed or "clicked on".

Sentences are written in clear specific language and paragraphs are kept short and specific.

Guideline 13. Provide clear navigation mechanisms: Fully compliant

Provide clear and consistent navigation mechanisms - orientation information, navigation bars, a site map, etc. -- to increase the likelihood that a person will find what they are looking for at a site.

A site map, or table of contents, has been included to provide information about general layout of this Web site. A link from the home page provides a Web site map. All navigation has been provided consistently on each page of this Web site.

Clear and consistent navigation is important to people with cognitive disabilities or blindness, and benefits all users. The navigation bar is provided in the same location on each page with the target of each link clearly identified. A "jump-link" has been provided at the top of each page so that people who are using screen readers can jump over the page navigation and go directly to the main body of the content of the page.

Metadata is provided in the xHTML markup of all pages to add semantic information to pages and sites and to assist automated review of Web sites by search engines.

Each page has been marked up with semantically correct headers so that a person viewing the page can scan the page to understand the content provided in the same way that a screen reader can produce a list of the headers for its user to scan.

Guideline 14. Ensure that documents are clear and simple: Fully compliant

Ensure that documents are clear and simple so they may be more easily understood.

Consistent page layout, recognizable graphics, and easy to understand language benefit all users. In particular, they help people with cognitive disabilities or who have difficulty reading. To assist with this guideline, all images have text equivalents for people who are blind, have low vision, or for any user who cannot or has chosen not to view graphics.

Using clear and simple language promotes effective communication. Access to written information can be difficult for people who have cognitive or learning disabilities. Using clear and simple language also benefits people whose first language differs from your own, including those people who communicate primarily in sign language.

Validation

Validate accessibility with automatic tools and human review. Automated methods are generally rapid and convenient but cannot identify all accessibility issues. Human review can help ensure clarity of language and ease of navigation.

Along with the human review of each page on this Web site, the following is a list of tools and practices that were used and applied in order to ensure accessibility.

Automated accessibility tool Cynthia Says Report for accessibility and Section 508 compliance
xHTML syntax validated
Style sheets validated
Viewed in a text only browser
Viewed using multiple graphic browsers including old and new browsers
Used small display and zoomed browsers
Uses spell and grammar checkers.
Site reviewed for clarity and simplicity.
People with disabilities invited to review site

Note: In the past the sign of the Bobby validator was considered to be the gold standard for accessibility. The Bobby validator must be used by a person who is familiar with HTML mark up and cascading style sheets in order to properly interpret the results.

Screen Optimized

How browsers render a Web site depends on the browser used, such as Internet Explorer, FireFox or Opera as well as the operating system, such as Windows or Macintosh. A person using a computer to access the Internet can also set the screen resolution to size in accordance with the type of monitor in use. Sizing the resolution can make a Web site appear to be larger or smaller. These factors have been taken into account when this Web site was developed.

By viewing the web server reports we know that Internet Explorer on a Windows platform is the browser most widely used by visitors to this site. We have also developed the site to be easily viewed by screen resolutions as low as 800 x 600 and to be viewable in the largest possible resolutions created by zoom text software used by people with low vision.

Users Customized Browsers

All modern browsers allow users to adjust the default browser settings and select personal fonts, font size, link colors and other aspects of how a browser renders a Web site. These settings are especially useful for people with disabilities and are often built in to assistive technologies.

This Web site was developed with user options in mind and will allow any visitor to change the size and type of font used when viewing this site, change background and text colors and set the browser width to accommodate the visitors needs.

Reading Online

Most users scan the content quickly, read the headlines or titles, and only then decide whether to read the actual content. This Web site has been developed to be more scannable by including:

Headers: Headers and sub-headers have been employed in order to organize this Web site logically
Bulleted Lists have been employed to break out important information into bulleted lists with brief descriptions of each item. Visitors' eyes will naturally gravitate towards those sections.
Color and Contrast: Important statements have been highlighted using colored backgrounds or contrasting text colors and fonts

People Read 25 percent slower on the Web

Sun Microsystems states that users read 25 percent slower and 25 percent less on a computer screen than on paper. Because a reader's attention span is much shorter on the Web, the content of this Web site has been kept clear and concise and page lengths short.

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This statement has been provided by Nancy Massey of MasseyNet.com, Inc., an accessibility specialist. If you are experiencing any accessibility issues with this site, please email Nancy.