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IT Accessibility Program Office - Government-wide Section 508 Assessment Criteria

IT Accessibility Program Office

This section asks about your agency's program management, reporting, benchmarking, risk management, continuous process improvement, and other business-related functions that align to the development, implementation, and maintenance of your agency's Section 508 program or equivalent.

Question 22

What is the status of your agency's Section 508 Program or equivalent? (*Required)

Select one:

  1. Agency does not have a formal Section 508 program or equivalent
  2. Agency's formal Section 508 program or equivalent is in development and has the ability to provide support on an ad hoc basis
  3. A Section 508 program or equivalent exists with defined organizational ownership
  4. The Section 508 program or equivalent is widely known and relied on to inform policies, practices and decision-making related to digital content, technology development, and acquisitions
  5. The Section 508 program or equivalent has actively measured and well-defined performance metrics as well as authority in decision-making processes related to ICT

Question 23

What is the status of your agency's Section 508 Program Manager or equivalent position? (*Required)

Select one:

  1. Agency does not have a formal position nor duties assigned to perform the role of a Section 508 Program Manager or equivalent
  2. Agency has defined a formal role and/or duties of a Section 508 Program Manager or equivalent, but the Section 508 Program Manager's duties are not consistently measured and/or the Section 508 Program Manager does not possess specialized training nor subject matter expertise in the area of ICT Accessibility
  3. Agency's Section 508 Program Manager or equivalent has clearly defined roles and responsibilities with well-aligned performance goals and measures
  4. Agency's Section 508 Program Manager or equivalent has clearly defined roles and responsibilities with well-aligned performance measures and has sufficient authority and time allowed to effectively manage and coordinate agency's efforts to promote and ensure its ICT is accessible
  5. Agency's Section 508 Program Manager or equivalent possesses expertise in the field of ICT accessibility, regularly meets and exceeds performance goals, and contributes to best practices in Section 508 Program Management across government

Question 24

Indicate your Section 508 program's (or equivalent) ability to provide support in response to ICT accessibility-related questions and support requests. (*Required)

Select one:

  1. The agency does not have a Section 508 program or equivalent
  2. The agency Section 508 Program or equivalent has little to no ability to provide support in response to ICT accessibility-related requests and questions
  3. Agency Section 508 Program or equivalent sometimes provides support in response to ICT accessibility-related requests and questions but generally occurs on an ad hoc basis
  4. Agency Section 508 Program or equivalent regularly provides support in response to ICT accessibility-related requests and questions
  5. Agency Section 508 Program or equivalent frequently provides support in response to ICT accessibility-related requests and questions
  6. Agency Section 508 Program or equivalent almost always provides support in response to ICT accessibility-related requests and questions and feedback loops are established to refine processes

Question 25

Indicate the extent to which Section 508 is integrated into ICT governance processes (e.g., milestone reviews, publication/deployment decisions, change control reviews). (*Required)

Select one:

  1. Agency never includes Section 508 requirements in ICT governance
  2. Agency sometimes includes Section 508 requirements in ICT governance, but inclusion is typically ad hoc
  3. Agency has formal policy requiring inclusion of Section 508 requirements, and agency regularly includes Section 508 requirements in ICT governance processes
  4. Agency has formal policy requiring inclusion of Section 508 requirements, and agency frequently includes Section 508 requirements in ICT governance processes
  5. Agency has formal policy requiring inclusion of Section 508 requirements, and agency almost always includes Section 508 requirements in ICT governance processes
  6. Unknown
  7. N/A - agency does not engage in any form of ICT governance

Question 26

Indicate the resources (not including staffing) available within your agency's Section 508 Program or equivalent (e.g., training, tools, staff support, etc.) (*Required)

Select one:

  1. Agency does not have a Section 508 Program or equivalent, or resource needs are not well defined and available only on an ad hoc basis
  2. Resource needs are identified, but the resources provided or available are insufficient to support the Section 508 program's (or equivalent) needs
  3. Resource needs are well defined, and my agency has a plan to provide resources to support the Section 508 program or equivalent and agency-wide implementation of Section 508 requirements
  4. Agency provides the appropriate amount and type of resources necessary to achieve Section 508 program or equivalent goals and objectives on an ongoing basis
  5. Agency provides resources to support research, innovation, process improvement, and development of new solutions and approaches while using feedback channels to inform adjustments in resource allocation to support Section 508 implementation
  6. Unknown

When answering this question, consider the level of resources (e.g., training, tools, time, support) your agency can provide to meet your agency’s Section 508 program needs.

For example, your agency 508 Program Manager requests and receives the following resources to support the agency Section 508 program:

  • time allocated for all Section 508 team staff to take relevant Section 508 training,
  • attendance to a bootcamp for accessible coding,
  • trainer led training on the agency-specific content management system for the Section 508 PM,
  • support and resources for automated testing tools approval and installation for enterprise use,
  • multiple vendor demonstrations of accessibility and assistive technology tools, and
  • leadership support to facilitate and enable communication with multiple stakeholders within the organization.

Reviewed/Updated: May 2023

Section508.gov

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