[nfbmi-talk] Fw: Fw: web access difficult for people with disabilities inMichigan

[David Robinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net>
To: "Mary Ann Robinson NFB MI" <brightsmile1953 at comcast.net>
Cc: "David Robinson NFB MI" <drob1946 at gmail.com>; "Georgia Kitchen FANFB" 
<gkitchen at samobile.net>; "Larry D Keeler" <lkeeler at comcast.net>; "Mary 
JacksonFANFB" <Joyce5188 at ymail.com>
Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2015 9:21 AM
Subject: Fw: Fw: web access difficult for people with disabilities 
inMichigan


>
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: "MARK MCWILLIAMS" <MMCWILL at mpas.org>
> To: "joe Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net>
> Sent: Tuesday, June 02, 2015 8:56 AM
> Subject: Re: Fw: web access difficult for people with disabilities 
> inMichigan
>
>
>> Thanks Joe. Here are the relevant Michigan excerpts from the 2010 report
>> in case you do not have the report itself. Since the report is now 5
>> years old, it is possible some of the issues have been resolved, but I
>> will check.
>>
>> Mark
>>
>> Page 3: "NCLEJ arranged for a team of law students from the
>> Northeastern University School of Law's Legal Skills in a Social
>> Context course to test the accessibility and usability of public
>> benefits agency web sites in California, Florida, Michigan, New York,
>> and Texas. These states were selected for several reasons, including the
>> fact that they have large numbers of TANF, Medicaid,
>> and Food Stamp recipients."
>>
>> Page 4: "The Michigan Department of Human Services (MDHS) online
>> application for SNAP benefits has missing text labels, as well as text
>> labels that were too far from the boxes they were intended to label. As
>> with the Florida application, individuals attempting to complete the
>> Michigan online application would not know which boxes to check or where
>> to enter the required information."
>>
>> Page 6: "The Michigan Department of Human Services (MDHS) and Michigan
>> Department of Community Health (MDCH) websites have a menu bar with
>> white text on a blue background that did not meet WCAG guidelines, or
>> Michigan's Accessibility policy, which has adopted WCAG guidelines."
>>
>> Page 7: "The Michigan DHS and DCH websites and the New York City Human
>> Resources Administration website use a three-column layout. Some of
>> these columns lack titles or headers, which poses problems for
>> individuals with disabilities using assistive technology because screen
>> readers and other assistive technology "read" the screen from left
>> to right and top to bottom. Unless boxes
>> are labeled, assistive technology does not know that these columns
>> exist and will "read" across each line on the page, from across
>> columns, making the information incomprehensible.  DOJ recommends that
>> state and local agency web sites "use titles, text, and other heading
>> structures to help users navigate complex pages or elements." The
>> Michigan DHS and DCH web sites had
>> text-only versions of their websites, but these also use a three-column
>> layout without headers."
>>
>> Page 9: "On the Michigan DCH website, a user who wants to apply for
>> benefits can click on "What is Medicaid," which takes the user to a
>> page with several links, many of which concern managed care contracts
>> and program data. There are no links to a Medicaid application or to
>> information on how to apply for benefits. The most promising link on the
>> page, "Health Care Program Eligibility," takes the user to a long
>> description of nineteen programs, none of which are called
>> "Medicaid." The list includes programs that do not pay for
>> health care (e.g., SSI) as well as Medicaid programs for specific
>> populations, which are referred to without using the word "Medicaid"
>> (e.g., "Group 2 Pregnant Women" and "Caretaker Relatives").
>> There are no links on the screen that take a user to an application or
>> information to apply for these programs."
>>
>> Page 10: "In Michigan, the MDCH and MDHS web site home pages are
>> extremely cluttered, making the web sites difficult to navigate. Some of
>> the information on these pages, such as links to Facebook, Twitter, and
>> podcasts, add to the clutter and are not sufficiently important to put
>> in the middle of the home page. There is so much information on these
>> page that finding anything is difficult."
>>
>> Mark McWilliams, Attorney
>> Director of Public Policy and Media Relations
>> Michigan Protection & Advocacy Service, Inc. (MPAS)
>> 4095 Legacy Parkway, Suite 500
>> Lansing, MI  48911
>> mmcwill at mpas.org
>> (517) 487-1755 or (800) 288-5923
>>
>> *****
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>>
>>>>> "joe harcz Comcast" <joeharcz at comcast.net> 6/2/2015 6:15 AM >>>
>> Dear Mr. McWilliams,
>>
>> This is the report I told you about yesterday. Though the report is no
>> longer on this linke you can see by the cc's that people knew about this
>> issue five years ago.
>>
>> Moreover, it is clear that there is deliberate indifference by the
>> State in these regards in my case alone as they fail over and over again
>> to make reasonable accommodations and remit any information in
>> accessible formats and a timely manner to me, or anyone else.
>>
>> Moreover, DHHS is relying more and more on its "kiosks" which are
>> totally inaccessible to the blind and visually impaired, as well as
>> others with physical disabilities.
>>
>> Joe Harcz
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- 
>> From: Wyeth, Duncan (DELEG)
>> To: joe harcz Comcast
>> Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 2:57 PM
>> Subject: FW: web access difficult for people with disabilities in
>> Michigan
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> Duncan O. Wyeth
>>
>> Executive Director
>>
>> Department of Energy, Labor and Economic Growth
>>
>> Michigan Commission on Disability Concerns
>>
>> Victor Center
>>
>> 201 N. Washington Square,  Suite 150
>>
>> Lansing, Michigan  48913
>>
>> TEL:  517  335-0103
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>> From: Elizabeth W. Bauer [mailto:ebauer7400 at aol.com]
>> Sent: Wednesday, September 08, 2010 11:19 AM
>> To: ECERANO at mpas.org; Cannon, Patrick (DELEG); Collins, Vendella;
>> Wyeth, Duncan (DELEG)
>> Cc: MCODY at mpas.org
>> Subject: Re: web access difficult for people with disabilities in
>> Michigan
>>
>>
>>
>> Thank you all. I find the entire state website difficult to navigate
>> myself. When I saw this report, I thought perhaps a win for PWD would
>> benefit us all.  Most of  the ADA accommodations do.
>>
>>
>>
>> Liz
>>
>> Elizabeth W. Bauer, Member
>> Michigan State Board of Education
>> 1355 Lake Park Drive
>> Birmingham, MI 48009-1089
>> 248 540 4656
>> www.michigan.gov/sbe
>>
>> "The secret of education is respecting the pupil."
>> Ralph Waldo Emerson
>>
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: ELMER CERANO <ECERANO at mpas.org>
>> To: Elizabeth Bauer <ebauer7400 at aol.com>; cannonp at michigan.gov;
>> collinsve at michigan.gov; wyethd2 at michigan.gov
>> Cc: MARK CODY <MCODY at mpas.org>
>> Sent: Wed, Sep 8, 2010 10:18 am
>> Subject: Re: web access difficult for people with disabilities in
>> Michigan
>>
>> we have been meeting with UCP/Michigan, Mich Disability Rights Network
>> and Jackie Doig re: DHS ADA compliance. Their I.T. access is also a
>> focus. Norm's group will look closer at the ADA compliance of the local
>> DHS offices's IT access. >>> "Elizabeth W. Bauer" <ebauer7400 at aol.com>
>> 9/6/2010 7:09 AM >>>  Hi Pat, Duncan, Vendella, Elmer, Are any of the
>> advocacy groups raising this issue with state officials? It seems
>> something that would benefit from a coordinated call for justice. What
>> are the incoming officials thinking about it, planning to do?  Liz  From
>> AAPD (9.1.10)Report Finds Five State Benefits' Websites Inaccessible to
>> People with Disabilitiesby Jenifer Simpson, AAPD Senior Director of
>> Government Affairs A June 22, 2010 report finds that state public
>> benefits agencies are relying more on their websites as a means of
>> providing information to the public, and as a means for applicants to
>> secure Medicaid, food stamps, and cash assistance. However, the report,
>> by the National Center for Law and Economic Justice (NCLEJ)  at
>> http://www.nclej.org/ , shows that at least five states * California,
>> Florida, Michigan, New York and Texas * have agency websites with
>> problems that make them inaccessible to people with disabilities who are
>> users of assistive technology, and many websites are difficult for
>> anyone to navigate. ...        Elizabeth W. Bauer, Member Michigan State
>> Board of Education 1355 Lake Park Drive Birmingham, MI 48009-1089 248
>> 540 4656 www.michigan.gov/sbe  "The secret of education is respecting
>> the pupil." Ralph Waldo Emerson
>
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