Inside VA OIT’s Accessibility Comeback

I’ve previously talked about how important it is to “embrace the red” — creating an environment where we can openly acknowledge challenges, learn from our mistakes, and collectively work toward solutions. An important area in which we’ve had to embrace the red has been around compliance with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. This legislation mandates federal agencies ensure equal access to information and technology for individuals with disabilities.

Why Accessibility Matters for Veterans

In the spirit of embracing the red, the truth is that until recently VA struggled with complying with these guidelines, like most other government agencies. This has impacted both VA employees — 12% of whom use assistive technology — and the many Veterans who have disabilities due to their service. When you consider that most of us will become disabled at some point in our lives, accessibility is a challenge that directly impacts every single one of us. But perhaps no other government agency feels that as personally as we do here at VA. The Veterans we serve bear the scars of military service that often impact the way they consume information. That’s why accessibility has been such a priority for us as we continue creating an environment where people are comfortable embracing the red.

And that’s why VA is now a leading federal agency on accessibility and Section 508 compliance. While our website 508 compliance has jumped from 26% to 97%, our leadership in this area spans more than just the technical compliance of our websites.

How VA Became a Leader in Accessibility

To make such dramatic gains, we needed to be clear-eyed about where we were starting. We did this through two important core approaches. First, when it comes to static content such as documents and web pages, not all content is equal, and our compliance needs to reflect that. We focus on the most viewed content, and we measure ourselves based on the percentage of all documents a user views that are compliant, not the percentage of our complete document inventory that is compliant.  This nuanced difference is an important focusing tool and consistent with how much of the industry addresses the problem of static web content. Similarly, for applications, we established a grading system based on severity, from Critical down to Low. A Critical or High rating means that a product is entirely unusable for those with disabilities. Just a few years ago, most of our products used to receive failing grades. We strive for all our apps to receive strong marks, but we absolutely want them to receive passing marks and do so soon. We’ve prioritized the remediation of Veteran-facing products above all else. Next, we address high-use applications like timekeeping and learning systems, which employees with disabilities use on a regular basis.

Instead of focusing on perfection, we focus on continuous improvement. Now, we never deploy a product without a firm plan for remediation in place. VA’s website 508 compliance has jumped from 26% to 97% as a result of these efforts. When VA.gov launched, out of thousands of helpdesk calls, only one was related to an accessibility issue.

We’re making progress on heading off compliance shortcomings at the acquisition stage as well. The Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act (FITARA) was designed to give federal chief information officers more authority to manage IT investments and accountability in the contracts and procurement process. Every contract over $15 million needs to undergo FITARA review. As a result, I’m now able to review and require Section 508 compliance at the acquisition stage. This is a massive change from just a few years ago when digital products and services would be deployed without concern for accessibility standards. Developers are now coming to us and asking how they can better meet the needs of our customers.

Innovative Solutions Driving Accessibility

VA’s development process now involves Veterans at every stage. We gather input from users with disabilities through surveys, focus groups, and monthly meetings to ensure we meet the needs of all our customers. A quarter of our 1,000 beta testing sessions this year involved Veterans with disabilities. We work with Veterans using assistive technologies like zoom magnification, screen readers, and keyboard navigation to ensure our products work for them. Engineers sit in on feedback sessions, and there is nothing more powerful and motivating than witnessing firsthand a Veteran’s unique struggles to use a VA product in development.

We regularly connect with Veterans Service Organizations and advocacy groups like the Blinded Veterans Association, the National Association of the Deaf, and the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law to learn how their members are using our products. These collaborations help us both improve our designs and better advocate on our customers’ behalf to Congress. We also have a dedicated Teams chat in which employees with disabilities provide their personal insights into our products. This collaboration and outreach are critical to shaping digital experiences that meet the needs of our customers.

One of our biggest successes is our VA Health and Benefits mobile app. We engaged with 900 Veteran users of our website and asked about their experiences logging on and the primary reasons they used the website. Now, within just two or three taps on a phone, users can access about 90% of the most commonly accessed areas of the website. This makes health and benefits more accessible to those with disabilities while improving the end user experience for everyone.

Going Beyond Compliance: VA’s Vision for the Future

Despite so much progress, we’re not done embracing the red on accessibility. In fact, VA OIT just launched a new 508 Defect Tracker to monitor accessibility compliance across VA’s technology. The tracker fosters transparency, showing staff how seriously we take accessibility and where we can improve. Additionally, our 508 Roadshow connects us with facilities and helps leaders see the kind of difference accessible technology can make in the lives of Veterans who’ve been previously excluded from a product or service. We’re hoping to ultimately hardwire accessibility into the entire institution, from backend apps to end user apps. Innovative digital tools are helping us not only meet compliance requirements, but also unlock new possibilities for collaboration and productivity.

As we navigate the ever-evolving landscape of technology, one truth remains constant: Accessibility is not just a checkbox. It’s a cornerstone of making sure our government is accessible by the people we serve. Just as we are constantly seeking ways to innovate and improve the efficiency of our operations, we’re also seeking innovative ways to improve our accessibility. It’s not enough to simply add alt text to blog images or convert PDFs to web content, and we’re not satisfied with simply being compliant. At VA, we’re going beyond compliance. True accessibility requires a deliberate prioritization of our agency’s digital experience — one that is accessible to every Veteran, family member, caregiver, and fellow employee, regardless of ability. And as we continue leading the way in being the most accessible organization in the Federal Government, that is exactly what we intend to do.