Advocacy Center Website Accessibility

We are proud that our website meets the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Guidelines, as well as complies with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act.

Web Standards and WAI Guidelines

The content on AdvocacyCenter.org is structured using strict XHTML 1.0, and the layout utilizes CSS Level 2 stylesheets.

There are no tables used anywhere within the site.
All images on the site contain ALT tags, which contain a written description of the image.
All fonts used on the site are defined using relative sizes, which allows for easy enlargement of the text.
All foreground and background colors contrast at levels recommended by the W3C.
A hidden "Skip to Navigation" link enables site visitors that use screen readers to skip the navigation elements that appear at the top over every page and get right to the page's content.

By complying with these standards of web design, AdvocacyCenter.org is compatible with many devices used for accessibility, such as screen readers and braillers. It also enables the site to be viewed easily on many alternative browsers, such as those used in handheld devices and mobile phones.

Keyboard Access

The major sections of AdvocacyCenter.org can be opened using Accesskeys. This allows people who cannot use a mouse to navigate the site quickly and easily. To open a link using an Accesskey, hold down the Alt key (Command key for Macintosh users) and then press the Accesskey assigned to the link. Also, links with Accesskeys utilize TITLE tags that alert the user of the fact that there is an Accesskey option.

The Accesskeys for AdvocacyCenter.org are:

Home Page: H
About Us: A
Programs: P
Intake: I
News & Recent Publications: N
Employment Opportunities: E
Links: L
Contact Information: C
Email Us: M (for Mail)

Links without an Accesskey can be opened by using the Tab key to select the link, then pressing the Enter key. All pages on AdvocacyCenter.org have a logical tab order, starting with the links on the navigation bar, and continuing through the page following the logical reading order.

Acrobat (.PDF) File Accessibility

AdvocacyCenter.org features over 1200 pages of content in the form of Fact Sheets, newsletters, reports, and other publications. Most of these documents are in Adobe Acrobat format. These files end with the extension pdf.

While there have been many criticisms of the Acrobat format in regards to accessibility, Adobe has in recent years focused on ensuring that Acrobat files can be made fully accessible (primarily regarding screen reading software). Many of the more recent Acrobat files on this web site have been designed with accessibility in mind. Also, many older files have been tested for accessibility.

If you encounter an Acrobat file that does not read properly, please email the webmaster, and an accessible version will be sent to you (and the file's accessibility will be repaired).

To get the latest version of Adobe Reader, visit Adobe's website.