Humboldt County has launched an enhanced website aimed at increasing access to its services for users with disabilities, both with and without access to assistive technology devices.
As government services move increasingly online, there is a fear among many officials, advocates and residents that some will be left behind, including those with disabilities. Although digitizing government services is the ideal, agencies strive to accommodate those with visual, hearing or other disabilities.
This is the situation that Humboldt County — home to more than 135,000 residents near the Oregon border — has sought to remedy. To make these enhancements, the county worked with Civic Plus’ CivicEngage Website design and hosting solution, as well as with AudioEye Inc., which is CivicPlus’ accessibility solution provider.
“IT has several goals,” said Jim Storm, Humboldt County’s IT division director, in a press release. “Strive to keep current with technology, ensure reliable systems and provide excellent customer service. With CivicPlus, our website is optimized for efficiency, and we have a collocated geographically diverse data center and 24/7/365 support. We also wanted to be a leader among California counties in Web accessibility.”
AudioEye is software that monitors websites as they grow or are modified in order to automatically fix certain issues to ensure accessibility for users of assistive technology for disabilities.
