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

[Terry D. Eagle]

Thank you Joe for this wealth of usful information in one e-mail post.

To sum it up, the more things change, the more theings stay the same.

The most interesting things are, first, as Larry Posont has repeatedly
pointed out, this is not a problem with just the Republican administrations
or the Democrat administrations, as both parties have failed miserably in
the accessibility arena over years and years.  Secondly, this post shows the
same players have known about, been informed, been involved in, and have
done ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about the LACK OF ACCESSIBILITY TO INFORMATION AND
PROGRAMS within MICHIGAN GOVERNMENT!  This translates to, as Joe often
points out, total indifference to the accessibility needs of Michigan blind
citizens, potential and eligible program consumers.  And the problem is
getting worse rather than better, as I have pointed out with the now
inaccessible civil service job application portion of the updated MCSC
website, despite lip-service from Snyder Executive Directive 2014-1, and
media dog and pony show by the Lt. Governor Calley and Supreme Court Justice
Richard Bernstein going around the state on their
 Media blitz.

Then there are those whom are mandated to advocate and take action to
resolve and remove barriers, such as MPAS and the MSRC, and do ABSOLUTELY
NOTHING toward ACCESSIBILITY and NON-DISCRIMINATION.  This posting
demonstrates, for at LEAST FIVE YEARS, those entities have had knowledge of
the plight of blind citizens, and have failed in their duty to act in the
best interest of persons with disAbilities!  Where is the Justice for
Equality, Opportunity, and Security for blind persons?   
-----Original Message-----
From: nfbmi-talk [mailto:nfbmi-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of David
Robinson via nfbmi-talk
Sent: Thursday, June 04, 2015 1:05 PM
To: NFB of Michigan Internet Mailing List
Cc: David Robinson
Subject: [nfbmi-talk] Fw: Fw: web access difficult for people
withdisabilities inMichigan


----- 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
>>
>> *****
>>
>> The transmitted material is intended
>> only for the use of the addressee.
>> It may contain confidential, proprietary,
>> and/or legally privileged information.
>> If you are not the intended recipient,
>> please be aware that any review,
>> use, dissemination, distribution, or
>> copying of this communication, in
>> whole or in part, is prohibited.  If you
>> received this communication in error,
>> please notify us immediately by e-mail
>> reply or by phone (800-288-5923),
>> delete the communication and destroy
>> any copies.
>>
>>
>>>>> "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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