GOOD MORNING. WELCOME TO THE WEB CAST ON STATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY INITIATIVES. MY NAME IS MICHAEL MORRIS AND AS A REPRESENT OF ITTATC AND THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING CENTER AT THE GEORGIA I WILL SERVE AS YOUR HOST MODERATOR THIS MORNING. I'M JOINED HERE BY STEVE MENDELSOHN WHO REPRESENTS THE RESNA TEAM PROJECT. THIS WEB CAST HAS THREE COSPONSORS. ITTATC AT GEORGIA TECH, THE RESNA TA PROJECT, AND THE MID-ATLANTIC DISABILITY AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE CENTER. ITTATC IS FUNDED BY THE NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY AND REHABILITATION RESEARCH TO PROMOTE THE DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF ACCESSIBLE ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY THROUGH THE DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION, TRAINING, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES. ITTATC PARTNERS COLLABORATING WITH CATIA GEORGIA TECH, THE WORLD INSTITUTE ON DISABILITY, INCLUSIVE TECHNOLOGIES, THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ASSOCIATION OF AMERICA, THE ASSOCIATION FOR ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS, AND A NATIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL. TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ITTATC, PLEASE VISIT THEIR WEB SITE AT WWW.ITTATC.ORG. THE WEB SITE OFFERS A GREAT DEAL OF INFORMATION AND RELATED LINKS REGARDING SECTION OF THE TELECOMMUNICATIONS ACT AND SECTION OF THE REHABILITATION ACT. OUR SECOND COSPONSOR IS THE RESNA TA PROJECT THAT HAS BEEN FUNDED FOR OVER YEARS TO PROVIDE ASSISTANCE TO THE ASSISTIVE TECH ACT GRANTEES IN THEIR EFFORTS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY IN THE HOME, IN THE SDOOL SCHOOL, IN THE WORKPLACE, AND IN THE COMMUNITY. RESNA IS THE REHABILITATION ENGINEERING AND ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY SOCIETY OF NORTH AMERICA. IT IS AN INTERDISCIPLINARY ASSOCIATION OF PEOPLE WITH AN INTEREST IN TECHNOLOGY AND DISABILITY. STARTED OVER YEARS AGO, RESNA THROUGH EDUCATION, RESEARCH, AND ADVOCACY CONTINUES TO PROMOTE THE ADVANCEMENT OF AND ACCESS TO ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY. PLEASE VISIT THEIR WEB SITE AT WWW.RESNA.ORG/TAPROJECT. OUR THIRD COSPONSOR IS THE MIDATLANTA DISABILITY AND TECH #KAL ASSISTANCE CENTER. THE MIDATLANTA DPTACK PROVIDES TRAINING, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ON THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT, TO BUSINESSES, CONSUMERS AND STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT. THE MIDATLANTIC REGION INCLUDES PENNSYLVANIA, DELAWARE, MARYLAND, VIRGINIA, WEST VIRGINIA, AND WASHINGTON, D.C. IF YOU ARE IN THE MIDAT LAPTIC REGION, YOU CAN VISIT THEIR WEB SITE AT WWW.ADATA.ORG WHICH WILL LINK YOU TO DPTACS ALL ACROSS THE COUNTRY. BEFORE WE BEGIN OUR FIRST PRESENTATION, LET ME SHARE WITH YOU THE E-MAIL ADDRESS TO THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE PARTICIPATING FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO CAN E-MAIL QUESTIONS IN TO OUR PRESENTERS. THE E-MAIL ADDRESS IS INFO@TVWORLDWIDE.COM. ANY PROBLEMS YOU MAY HAVE DURING THIS WEB CAST, PLEASE CALL IN TO -NIN - EXTENSION OR E-MAIL RAGAN@TVWORLDWIDE.COM. I ALSO WANT TO ALSO WELCOME THOSE OF YOU WHO ARE HERE AT THE RENAISSANCE HOTEL WITH US. WE'RE LOOKING FORWARD TO EXCELLENT PRESENTATIONS AND ALSO AN INTERACTIVE DISCUSSION THAT WILL INVOLVE QUESTIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT ARE E-MAILED IN AS WELL AS YOU WILL HAVE AN OPPORTUNITY TO ASK QUESTIONS OF OUR PANELISTS. OUR FIRST PRESENTATION WILL BE ON PRELIMINARY FINDINGS FROM A SURVEY OF STATE IT INITIATIVES. OUR PRESENTER IS DEP DEBORAH BUCK WHO IS THE ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM MANAGER IN THE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY FOR NEW YORK STATE. DEBORAH HAS BEEN THE PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER CONDUCTING PHONE INTERVIEWS WITH KEY STAKEHOLDERS AT A STATE LEVEL AS PART OF A CONTRACT BETWEEN ITTATC AND IIERXS ACP. THANKS, MICHAEL. GOOD MORNING, EVERYONE. I WANT TO GIVE YOU AN OVERVIEW OF THE PROCESS WE'RE USING TO CONDUCT THE SURVEY AND THEN GET INTO SOME PRELIMINARY RESULTS. I KNOW WE'VE ALLOWED SOME TIME AT THE END FOR QUESTIONS, AND I'M GOING TO TRY NOT TO SPEAK WITH SPECIFICITY TODAY IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING SPECIFIC STATES OR REALLY GIVING OUT HARD NUMBERS IN TERMS OF THE RESPONSES. BASED ON THE SPVENLSS WE HAVE TO DATE, IT IS PRELIMINARY AND I REALLY DON'T WANT TO SKEW THE FINDINGS AT ANY POINT. FIRST OF ALL, IN TERMS OF DOING THE NEEDS ASSESSMENT OF STATES IN TERMS OF THEIR IT ACCESSIBILITY INITIATIVES, THIS PARTICULAR SURVEY INITIATIVE IS BEING COSPONSORED BY UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE GEORGIA TECH INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING CENTER IN COLLABORATION WITH COMMUNITY OPTIONS, RESNA, AND THE ASSOCIATION OF TECH AC PROJECTS. THOSE ENTITIES HAVE SUBCONTRACTED WITH THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY WHICH IS THE OFFICE OF THE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER IN THE STATE OF NEW YORK AND WE'RE ACTUALLY DOING THE A LOT THE SURVEY. THE ULTIMATE PURPOSE OF THE SURVEY IS TO GET A SENSE WHAT OF STATES ARE DOING IN TERMS OF IT ACCESSIBILITY, TO GIVE US A FRAMEWORK AND A BASELINE OF WHAT IS GOING ON, TO LOOK AT WHAT KINDS OF LAWS AND POLICIES HAVE BEEN PASSED OR ARE BEING EXAMINED, AND TO LOOK AT WHAT KIND OF TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING INITIATIVES ARE GOING ON. IT'S ALSO BEING USED TO IDENTIFY BARRIERS AND SPECIFICALLY FROM THE STATES' PERSPECTIVE, WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE. IT IS NOT, AND I REASSURE EVERYONE, LITTLE NOT A REPORT CARD ON STATES' COMPLIANCE WITH . THE PURPOSE OF IT IS TO SEE WHAT STATES ARE DOING ON A VOLUNTARY MEASURE IN TERMS OF IT ACCESSIBILITY. OUR TARGETED SURVEY RESPONDENTS ARE EECHT STATE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGIES IN THE NATION, AND STATE PROCUREMENT OFFICES. WE'RE CURRENTLY WORKING WITH THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATIONS IN TERMS OF THE CIO OFFICES AND THE STATE PROCUREMENT OFFICES TO IDENTIFY THE BEST METHODOLOGY IN WHICH TO SOLICIT THE FEEDBACK AND INCORPORATE THE OPINIONS OF THOSE AUDIENCES. AS MICHAEL SAID, THE SURVEY IS ACTUALLY CONDUCTED BY TELEPHONE. AND YOU MIGHT BE THINKING WITH A TECHNOLOGY PROJECT, WHAT ARE THEY DOING DOING A SURVEY BY TELEPHONE? WHY AREN'T THEY DOING IT AS A WEB-BASED SURVEY? AND I CAN TELL YOU EACH SURVEY TAKES ABOUT AN HOUR. AND AS ANYONE IN A FIELD PERHAPS IN DOING INFORMATION AND REFERRAL CALLS AND BEING ABLE TO TALK TO PEOPLE, YOU REALIZE VERY CLEARLY THAT ONCE YOU START TALKING TO SOMEONE, THINGS AREN'T NECESSARILY BLACK AND WHITE. AND BEING ABLE TO TALK WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL PERSON FROM THE STATE HAS REALLY BEEN INCREDIBLY BENEFICIAL BECAUSE WE HAVE THE FRAMEWORK OF THE SURVEY, BUT THROUGH DISCUSSIONS IT REALLY SOLICITS MORE DISCUSSIONS AND YOU'RE ABLE TO GET A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF WHAT IS REALLY GOING ON IN THE STATE. THE DATA THAT'S CULLED FROM THE SURVEY WILL BE MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE GEORGIA TECH WEB SITE WE'RE IDENTIFYING SPECIFICALLY THE WEB LINKS THAT EACH THE STATES HAVE IN TERMS OF RECORDING THEIR POLICIES AND LAWS ET CETERA. AND THOSE WILL BE AVAILABLE. WHAT WE HOPE TO DO IS AN ANALYSIS OF EACH OF THOSE POLICIES TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THE STATES AND OTHER INTERESTED PERSONS A BETTER PERSPECTIVE OF WHAT ARE THE COMPONENTS OF THE POLICIES, WHAT'S WORKED IN SOME STATES, WHAT HASN'T IN OTHERS. THE STATUS OF THE SIR VAY SO FAR IS THAT WE HAVE SURVEYED STATE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROJECTS AND WE'VE BEEN ABLE TO ELICIT FEEDBACK FROM REPRESENTATIVES FROM FIVE OF THE STATE STATE. OUR TARGET DATE IS THE END OF JANUARY. WE HAVE A NUMBER OF SFWRUS SCHEDULED IN THE FORTHCOMING WEEKS BEING ABLE TO SPEAK TO THE REMAINING AT SERVICES. ONE OF THE BASELINE QUESTIONS THAT WE ASK IS JUST TO GET A SENSE IN EACH STATE AS TO HOW THEY ARE COORDINATING INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY IN GENERAL. IT IS A GIVEN THAT EVERY STATE IN THE NATION IS VERY, VERY DIFFERENT. EACH ONE OPERATES DIFFERENTLY, THEY HAVE DIFFERENT CULTURES, AND WE COULD NOT ENTER INTO THE SURVEY WITH THE ASSUMPTION THAT EVERY STATE IS DOING IT THE SAME WAY BECAUSE THE SURVEY IS ALREADY DOCUMENTING THAT THEY'RE NOT. EACH STATE IS SETTING UP THINGS VERY INDIVIDUALLY. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE HAVE DISCOVERED SO FAR IS THAT IN MOST CASES IN MOST STATES THE STATE -- IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY POLICIES AND SERVICES, THERE'S REALLY A COMBINATION OF HOW THEY APPROACH THAT. IN MOST CASE THERE IS IS A CENTRALIZED COORDINATING AGENCY BUT THERE'S ALSO INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTAL RESPONSIBILITY IN TERMS OF IMPLEMENTING THE POLICIES THAT ARE DEVELOPED AT A CENTRALIZED AREA. THIS IS IN FACT A RESULT THAT IN MANY STATES ACTUALLY THEY DIDN'T EVEN HAVE A CENTRALIZED FOCUS ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY; PERHAPS UNTIL JUST THE LAST FIVE YEARS. SO PRIOR TO THAT TIME MANY, MANY STATES OPERATED ON AN INDIVIDUAL DEPARTMENTAL LEVEL BEING ABLE TO DEVELOP THEIR OWN POLICIES AND IMPLEMENT THEM. AND WITHIN THE LAST DECADE THERE REALLY HAS BEEN A FOCUS ON TRYING TO CONSOLIDATE AND THEN COORDINATE AND CENTRALIZE SOME OF THOSE INITIATIVES.WHAT WE'VE ALSO DISCOVERED THAT IN SOME STATES THE PROCUREMENT OFFICE IS ACTUALLY A COUNTERPART OF THE STATE CIO OFFICE AND THEY MIGHT BE UNDER AN UMBRELLA AGENCY. IN OTHER STATES, THEY ARE VERY DISTINCTIVE GROUPS. SO UNDER A WHOLE SEPARATE AGENCY AND THEY COMMUNICATE BUT THEY MAY NOT IN FACT BEING UNDER THE SAME ADMINISTERING AGENCY AND THAT HAS SOME IMPLICATIONS FOR IT. ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE BEEN TRYING TO LOOK AT IN TERMS OF SOLICITING FEEDBACK IS AGAIN A RECOGNITION THAT EVERY STATE IS VERY DIFFERENT AND A TAX ISSUES VERY, VERY DIFFERENTLY. ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE ASKED THEM IS DO THEY HAVE A GLOBAL OVERARCHING POLICY ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY. BEARING INFORMATION FROM THAT WE THEN QUERY THEM IN TERMS OF VERY SPECIFIC CATEGORIES. WE ALL KNOW BEING IN THE AREA OF HUMAN SERVICES OR SYSTEMS CHANGE OR SYSTEM ADVOCACY, YOU MAY HAVE AN AREA WHERE YOU WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SEE CHANGE OCCUR BUT THAT MAY NOT BE THE BEST TIME TO PURSUE THAT AND OFTEN OPPORTUNITY IS REALLY WHAT DRIVES THE PROGRESS THAT YOU'RE ABLE TO MAKE. AND SO WHAT WE'VE DONE IS TRY TO CHUNK THE DIFFERENT COMPONENTS IN TERMS OF POLICY ISSUES TO IDENTIFY HOW STATES ARE REALLY ADDRESSING THAT. AND SOME OF THE AREAS WE'RE SMFK SPECIFICALLY QUERYING STATES ON WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN TERMS OF WEB DESIGN, WEB ACCESSIBILITY. WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN TERMS OF ACCESSIBLE SOFTWARE DEVELOPMENT. WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN TERMS OF E-COMMERCE, E-GOVERNMENT. THAT'S A HUGE AREA THAT HAS REALLY COME TO THE FOREFRONT IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS AND THAT'S ONE OF THE OPPORTUNITIES I'M SPEAKING OF. THAT HAS BEEN A VIABLE OPPORTUNITY FOR MANY STATES TO LATCH ONTO BECAUSE THEIR GOVERNMENTS ARE LOOKING AT A DIFFERENT WAY OF DOING BUSINESS, MAKING THEM MORE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL KINDS OF CUSTOMERS, NOT ONLY STATE EMPLOYEES BUT CITIZENS IN THE COMMUNITY AND THE BUSINESS INDUSTRY. AND SO THIS HAS BEEN AN OPPORTUNITY TO INFUSE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY POLICIES WITHIN THAT FRAMEWORK. THE OTHER THING WE'RE LOOKING AT ARE CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS, NOT ONLY CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS FOR THE PROCUREMENT OF EQUIPMENT, BUT THE CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS FOR WEB DESIGN OR THE DEVELOPMENT OF APPLICATIONS.THE LAST AREA THAT WE'RE ASKING PEOPLE ABOUT IS PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY. THAT IS IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT HOW DOES THE STATE LOOK AT ENSURING PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY TO ALL CITIZENS THROUGH THEIR LIBRARIES, THROUGH THEIR ONE-STOP CENTERS, THROUGH THEIR KIOSKS. IN TERMS OF GLOBAL APPROACH, AND AGAIN I WANT TO REITERATE THERE ARE SOME NUMBERS IN HERE BUT THEY SUMMER ARE NOT GOING TO BE REFLECTIVE OF THE LONG-TERM RESULTS SO PLEASE KEEP THAT IN MIND. FROM THE ACTUAL STATES WE'VE SURVEYED SO FAR, HAVE REPORTED THAT THEY HAVE A GLOBAL OVERARCHING POLICY ON IT ACCESSIBILITY. FOR SEVEN STATES THEY'VE ACTUALLY IMPLEMENTED THAT VIA LEGISLATION AND STATUTORY APPROACH. OTHERS HAVE DONE IT ON A POLICY APPROACH. IN MOST CASES THEY HAVE AN OVERARCHING POLICY BUT THERE ARE FEW STATES THAT ACTUALLY HAVE STANDARDS YET TO OPERATIONALLIZE THAT POLICY. IN MANY CASES THEY MAY REFERENCE A STANDARD SUCH AS ; IN OTHER STATES WHAT THEY'VE DONE IS INCLUDED A DIRECTIVE OR CLAUSE GIVING AN ENTITY WITHIN THE STATE THE AUTHORITY TO DEVELOP THE REGULATIONS TO IMPLEMENT THAT POLICY OR LAW. MANY STATES NOTED THAT THEY, UNDER THE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY ACT THE STATE AS A RECIPIENT OF FEDERAL DOLLARS IS REQUIRED TO GIVE AN ASSURANCE TO THE U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION REGARDING . MANY STATES REFERENCE THIS ASSURANCE LETTER THAT WAS SUBMITTED PERHAPS SEVERAL YEARS AGO AS THEIR OVERARCHING IT POLICY. HOWEVER, IN MANY CASES THEY ALSO ADMIT THAT IT'S NOT A VERY STRONG ASSURANCE LETTER, AND IT'S OFTEN FORGOTTEN ABOUT. IT'S THERE BUT IT'S NOT NECESSARILY UTILIZED AND WHEN IT'S -- WHEN THEY GO BACK TO REVIEW IT, IT DOESN'T HAVE MUCH SUBSTANCE. SOME OF THE COMMON FACTORS WE'VE IDENTIFIED ACROSS THE BOARD IS THAT MOST OF THE STATES ARE LOOKING TO TAKE A UNIVERSAL APPROACH TO IT ACCESSIBILITY. THEY'RE NOT LOOKING AT IDENTIFYING AND ACCOMMODATING INDIVIDUALS OR SERVICES ON A CASE BY CASE BASIS; THEY ARE LOOKING AT BUILDING INTO THEIR SYSTEMS AT THE FRONT END SO THAT IT BECOMES A SEAMLESS APPROACH. THE OTHER THING THAT WE'VE NOTED IS THAT IN MOST CASES THE STATES ARE ALSO ASSURING AND IN DEVELOPING THEIR POLICIES OR LAWS, THEY ARE ASSURING ACCESS FOR ALL PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. SOME STATES HAVE USED A PREVIOUSLY DEVELOPED MODEL LEGISLATION THAT IS TARGETED TOWARDS PERSONS WHO ARE BLIND OR WHO HAVE OTHER VISUAL DISABILITIES. THAT IS ACTUALLY A STANDARD OR CLAUSE THAT'S USED IN MANY STATES BUT THE STATES HAVE INDICATED THAT IT'S THEIR INTENT TO EXPAND THAT AND IDEALISTICALLY THEIR PHILOSOPHY IS THAT WHILE ON PAPER IT SAYS PERSONS WHO ARE BLIND OR HAVE OTHER VISUAL DISABILITIES, LITTLE THEIR INTENT THAT ALL PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES HAVE ACCESS. IN THE AREA OF WEB ACCESSIBILITY, THAT IS THE AREA THAT CLEARLY MOST STATES HAVE MADE THE MOST PROGRESS N. THEY ARE LOOKING AT -- MANY STATES HAVE ISSUED POLICIES IN THAT AREA OR THEY'VE USED EXECUTIVE LAWS OR EXECUTIVE -- LAWS OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS. SOME STATES HAVE ACTUALLY DEVELOPED A WHOLE STATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ARCHITECTURE WITHIN THEIR CIO'S OFFICE AND WITHIN THAT THE ISSUE OF ACCESSIBILITY FOR WEB SITES APPLICATIONS IS AN INCLUSIVE PART OF THAT STATE ARCHITECTURE. WEB SITE ACCESSIBILITY HAS OFTEN BEEN CHOSEN BY STATES AS THE FIRST AREA TO HIT BECAUSE THERE ARE SOME STANDARDS OUT THERE. THAT IS REALLY THE ONLY AREA WHERE THERE'S SOMEWHAT OF A CHOICE OF STANDARDS AS WELL. THERE'S CURRENTLY THE STANDARDS AND THE WC STANDARDS.MOST OF THE STATES HAVE IDENTIFIED THAT THEY'VE ADOPTED THE WORLD WIDE WEB CONSORTIUM WEB CONFENT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES. MANY OF THEM HAVE ADOPTED THE PRIORITY LEVEL S WHILE SOME HAVE ALSO ADOPTED PRIORITY LEVEL AND . FOUR STATES INDICATED THAT THEY'VE ADOPTED THE STANDARDS AND ANOTHER FOUR STATES HAVE INDICATED THEY'VE TAKEN A HYBRID. THEY'VE DONE A COMBINATION, A REVIEW OF AND THE WC AND HAVE DEVELOPED THEIR POLICY BASED ON THAT. A NUMBER OF AGENCIES, YOU MIGHT BE AWARE THAT THE WORLD WIDE WEB CONSORTIUM IS DEVELOPING ANOTHER REITERATION OF THE WEB CONTENT ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES AND THEY'RE IN DRAFT FORM NOW AND A NUMBER OF STATES ARE REVIEWING THOSE TO SEE WHAT COMPONENTS THEY CAN INCORPORATE. OVERALL, PROBABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT THING IS WE NEED TO RECOGNIZE THAT THERE HAS BEEN STATE CUSTOM SAILGZ. EVERY STATE EVEN THOUGH ON PAPER THEY'RE SAYING THEY'RE ADOPTING THE W C AND IT, THEY'RE STILL ADDING ADDENDUMS TO THOSE POLICIES AND CUSTOMIZING IT FOR THEIR STATE. SO TO MAKE AN ASSUMPTION THAT ONE POLICY OR APPROACH IS GOING TO APPLY TO EVERY STATE IS A VERY ERRONEOUS STATEMENT FOR ANYONE TO MAKE. IT'S ALSO IMPORTANT TO RECOGNIZE THAT IN EVERY STATE THERE IS DIFFERENT STATUTORY AUTHORITY IN TERMS OF POLICY DEVELOPMENT AND ON WHO IT APPLIES TO. IN MANY, MANY CASES THE OFFICE OF THE CIO MAY BE ISSUING THE POLICY AND IN REALITY THAT ENTITY MAY ONLY HAVE AUTHORITY OVER EXECUTIVE BRANCH AGENCIES. THERE MIGHT BE OTHER ELECTED OFFICIALS OR UNIVERSITIES THAT DO NOT FALL UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE EXECUTIVE BRANCH AND SO THEIR COMPLIANCE IS ABSOLUTELY VOLUNTARY. AND WHILE AGAIN, YOU CAN'T MAKE THE ASSUMPTION THAT EVERY STATE AGENCY HAS TO COMPLY AND EVERY UNIVERSITY. ONE OF THE STATES I SPOKE TO ACTUALLY WAS ABLE TO DELINEATE THAT COMMUNITY COLLEGES HAD TO COMPLY BUT NOT THE ONE STATE UNIVERSITY IN THE STATE. THEY WERE EXEMPT JUST BECAUSE OF THE AUTHORITY THAT EXISTS. SO IT CAN BE VERY CONFUSING. SOME OF THE STATES INDICATED ADMITTEDLY THAT THEY HAVE DONE NOTHING AT THIS POINT, THAT THEY ARE LOOKING AT -- THEY'RE XNG THE ISSUES, THEY'RE BUILDING THEIR RELATIONSHIPS. SOME OF THEM HAVE SOME POLICIES THAT ARE IN DRAFT, BUT THEY'RE NOT FINALIZED AT THIS POINT. ANOTHER STATE INDICATED AND I THOUGHT THIS WAS A UNIQUE APPROACH, AND THEY REVEALED THAT THEY IN THEIR OPINION IT WORKS VERY SUCCESSFULLY FOR THEM IS THAT EVERYTHING IS VOLUNTARY COMPLIANCE. THEY ISSUE INFORMATION AND THEY SHARE IT WITH THE STATE AGENCIES BUT THEIR COMPLIANCE IN TERMS OF COMPLYING WITH THE WC GUIDELINES HAS ALL BEEN VOLUNTARY AND THEY INDICATE THAT IN THEIR OPINION THAT HAS BEEN A SUCCESSFUL APPROACH FOR THEIR STATE. IN TERMS OF THE POLICY THALS PEOPLE HAVE, THERE ARE COMPLIANCE CLAUSES IN TERMS OF DEADLINES WHEN EACH OF THE AGENCIES ARE EXPECTED TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE WITH THE POLICY THAT'S ISSUED. AGAIN IT'S VERY, VERY DIFFERENT IN EVERY STATE AND IN FACT SOME STATES DO A VERY STAGGERED IMPLEMENTATION. FOR SOME STATES PARTICULARLY THAT ARE USING PRIORITY LEVEL ONE IN COMBINATION WITH PRIORITY LEVEL TWO AND THREE, THEY'RE GIVING WITHIN SIX MONTHS YOU HAVE TO COMPLY WITH PRIORITY LEVEL ONE FOR YOUR HIGH TRAFFIC AREAS. WITHIN A YEAR YOU HAVE TO COMPLY WITH LEVEL TWO AND THREE FOR THAT AREA, SO YOU NEED A LITTLE CHEAT SHEET TO FOLLOW ALL OF THE AREAS AND THE TIME FRAMES THAT ARE THERE.ONE OF THE REASONS THEY SHARED WITH ME THAT THEY DID THAT IS THAT IT WAS THEIR HOPE THAT AGENCIES WOULD BE ABLE TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE STATE BUDGETING PROCESS AND THAT AS THE YEARS MOVED ON THEY COULD BUILD IN SOME RESOURCES, REQUEST RESOURCE THROUGH THEIR STATE BUDGET PROCESS TO BE ABLE TO ASSIST THEM IN ACTUALLY DOING FULL ROLL-OUT BUT IN A STAGGERED WAY. UNFORTUNATELY, WHAT THEY ALSO SHARED IS THAT THE STATE BUDGETS AS IN MANY STATES RIGHT NOW HAS CHANGED DRAMATICALLY. AND ALTHOUGH THAT WAS THE INTENT OF HAVING A STAGGERED ROLL-OUT, IT'S NOT REALLY PANNED OUT AND BEEN OF USE TO THEM JUST BECAUSE OF THE OTHER OVERRIDING FISCAL IMPLICATIONS. MOST OF THE STATES ACTUALLY ADDRESS WEB ACCESSIBILITY IN TERMS OF ITS -- THEY DON'T MAKE A DISTINCTION BETWEEN CONTRACTUAL RELATIONSHIPS IN WHICH THEY MIGHT CONTRACT FOR WEB SITE DESIGN OR IF IT'S BUILT IN-HOUSE. REGARDLESS OF HOW IT'S COMPLETED, THEY STILL HAVE TO COME INTO COMPLIANCE. ONE STATE DID SHARE THAT ALL OF THEIR WEB DEVELOPMENT IS DONE VIA CONSULTANTS. THE WHOLE AREA OF WEB DEVELOPMENT IS A CHALLENGE BECAUSE IN MOST CASES MOST OF THE PEOPLE WHO ARE DOING WEB DEVELOPMENT GOT INTO IT UNDER THAT CLAUSE IN YOUR JOB DESCRIPTION AS OTHER DUTIES AS REQUIRED. FIVE, YEARS AGO THERE WAS NOT A JOB DESCRIPTION FOR WEB DEVELOPERS AND PEOPLE EVOLVED INTO THAT AND GOT TRAINING AND IT WAS REALLY INTEREST DRIVEN. SO IT'S BEEN A REAL CHALLENGE TO TARGET -- THERE'S NOT NECESSARILY EVEN A JOB TITLE YOU COULD TARGET IN EVERY STATE TO SAY YOU WANT TO HIT EVERY WEB DEVELOPER BECAUSE THEY HAVE ALL DIFFERENT KINDS OF JOB TITLES. FIVE OF THE STATES WE TALKED TO OUT OF THE CIO OFFICES ACTUALLY HAVE STAFF COMMITTED WITHIN THEIR CIO OFFICE THAT LOOK AT EITHER COORDINATE IT ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES OR WHO ARE BUILDING AN EXPERTISE IN THAT AREA. IN MOST CASES IT'S A PART-TIME POSITION, THEY HAVE OTHER DUTIES AS WELL, BUT I THOUGHT THAT THAT WAS PRETTY DISTINCTIVE THAT THAT MANY STATES IN THE SURVEY SO FAR HAVE THAT. IN TERMS OF TESTING SERVICES, A NUMBER OF STATES ARE ACTUALLY DOING INTERNAL TESTING OF THEIR WEB SITES. SOME ARE USING EXTERNAL TESTING, AND THEIR INTENT WITHIN THE TESTING SERVICES IS TO NOT TAKE A PUNITIVE APPROACH WITH AGENCIES BUT TAKE A RECOGNITION THAT THEY NEED TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT AND IT'S REALLY AN AWARENESS ISSUE.AND SO THEY'RE THERE, THEY REVIEWING THE SITES. TWO STATES DID SPEAK OF THE FACT THAT THEY HAVE DEVELOPED THEIR OWN LITTLE LOGO. MANY, MANY STATES ARE USING THE BOBBY LOGO AS ADOPTING THAT AS REQUESTING THEIR AGENCIES TO POST THAT ON THEIR WEB SITES. OTHER STATES HAVE DEVELOPED THEIR OWN LOGO AND ARE USING THAT. THE MAJORITY OF STATES DID REPORT THAT THEY HAVE AN INTERAGENCY WORK GROUP THAT IS LOOKING AT IT ACCESSIBILITY. IN SOME CASES THAT WORK GROUP IS BUILT INTO AN EXISTING WORK GROUP. IN MANY CASES THERE IS ALREADY AN IT ADVISORY BOARD WITHIN THE CIO'S OFFICE OR OTHER MECHANISMS THAT ARE USED AND THEY FALL UNDER THAT UMBRELLA AND IT MIGHT BE A SUBCOMMITTEE. IN OTHER STATES THEY'VE DEVELOPED SEPARATE AND DISTINCT IT ACCESSIBILITY WORK GROUPS WHOSE ROLE IN MOST CASES IS TO ADVISE AND GIVE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE POLICY MAKERS AND PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND SUPPORT. THE KEY THING THAT HAS COME UP THROUGH THIS DISCUSSION IS THAT THERE IS AN INCREDIBLE NEED FOR A TEAM APPROACH IN TERMS OF IT ACCESSIBILITY, AND I WILL SHARE AMY GOLDMAN'S RESPONSE TO ME. THERE IS ONLY ONE LINK KASDE WHO WORKED FOR PENNSYLVANIA WHO WAS THE EPITOME OF THE KINDS OF SKILLS YOU NEED TO PROMOTE IT ACCESSIBILITY. AND IT'S VERY, VERY CHALLENGING. AMY'S BEEN TRYING TO LOOK FOR A REPLACEMENT FOR LYNN BECAUSE IT'S HARD TO FIND SKILLS PEOPLE WITH THE SKILLS TO ATTACK IT ACCESSIBILITY. IN THAT APPROACH, YOU NEED TO THINK OF A TEAM APPROACH. #PEEM WHO HAVE COMMUNICATION SKILLS NOT ONLY TO BE ABLE TO TALK TECHNOLOGY TO OTHER TECHNOLOGISTS TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND IT, BUT TO BE ABLE TO TALK TECHNOLOGY TO PEOPLE WHO DON'T UNDERSTAND TECHNOLOGY AND TO HELP THEM TO BE ABLE TO UNDERSTAND IT. YOU ALSO NEED PEOPLE WHO HAVE AN UNDERSTANDING OF DISABILITY POLICY AND LAWS AND JUST AN IDEA OF DISABILITY CONDITIONS AND SOME OF THE ADAPTATIONS THAT CAN BE USED TO ASSIST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. IN TERMS OF PROCUREMENT, THIS WAS A VERY CHALLENGING AREA IN TERMS OF SURVEYING STATES. SOME OF THE STATES DID REPORT THAT THEY HAVE ADOPTED THE STANDARDS. BUT WHEN QUERIED FURTHER, THEY INDICATE THAT WITHIN THEIR PROCUREMENT LAW, THEY MAY HAVE INCLUDED WHAT'S CALLED A TECHNOLOGY ACCESS CLAUSE. IT MIGHT BE SOMETHING THAT NEEDS TO BE DEVELOPED OR IS CURRENTLY DEVELOPED AND THEY USE THAT WITHIN THEIR PROCUREMENT OR CONTRACTUAL LANGUAGE TO ACQUIRE HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE SERVICES. AND THE BOTTOM LINE IS, IS THAT TECHNOLOGY ACCESS CLAUSE OFTEN SHIFTS THE BURDEN TO THE INDUSTRY AND THE VENDOR, MAKING THEM RESPONSIBLE FOR ASSURING THAT THE EQUIPMENT ACTUALLY COMPLIES AND IS ACCESSIBLE. WHEN QUERIED AS TO WHAT KINDS OF STANDARDS THOSE VENDORS ARE ASKED TO MAKE THAT ASSURANCE BASED ON, IN MOST CASES THEY DON'T EXIST. IT'S SOMETHING THAT STATES RECOGNIZE IS A REAL CHALLENGE. SOME STATES HAVE REPORTED, HOWEVER, THAT THIS APPROACH HAS WORKED FOR THEM SUCCESSFULLY SO FAR. THEY HAVE NOT ENCOUNTERED DIFFICULTIES IN TERMS OF EQUIPMENT NOT BEING ACCESSIBLE WHILE OTHERS RECOGNIZE THAT IT'S PERHAPS A RISKY APPROACH. IN TERMS OF APPLICATION, ACCESSIBLE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT, MOST OF THE POLICIES RELATED TO SUCCESSFUL APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT ARE REALLY DRIVEN BY STATES' WEB ACCESSIBILITY POLICIES. AGAIN THIS IS THE HOOK WITH THE E-COMMERCE GOVERNMENT INITIATIVE.MANY STATES AS THEY ARE LOOKING TO MAKE THEIR SERVICE AVAILABLE HOURS ARE LOOKING TOWARD THEIR STATE PORTALS AND WEB SITES TO ALLOW PEOPLE TO RENEW THE REGISTRATION OF THEIR CAR ON-LINE, APPLY FOR THE EASY PASS. THOSE APPLICATIONS BECAUSE THEY'RE MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH STATE WEB SITES NEED TO COMPLY WITH THE STATES' WEB ACCESSIBILITY POLICY. VERY FEW STATE VS DISTINCT SOFTWARE ACCESSIBILITY GUIDELINES. AND AGAIN, THE ONE STATE APPROACH IN TERMS OF IT ARCHITECTURE, THAT SEAMLESS APPROACH SEEMS TO BE WORKING EFFECTIVELY FOR THEM. PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY, THAT IS A REAL CHALLENGE AND WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT NEEDS FOR STATES, THAT WAS AN ACROSS THE BOARD CLEARLY IDENTIFIED NEED. MANY STATES INDICATING THAT THERE ARE FEW TO NO STANDARDS CURRENTLY IN TERMS ASSURING PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY. THIS ISSUE HAS REALLY BEEN RAISED IN THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS WITH THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE WORK FORCE INVESTMENT ACT IN TERMS OF CONSOLIDATING THE ONE-STOP CENTERS AND MAKING ASSURANCE THAT THOSE ONE-STOP CENTERS ARE ACCESSIBLE TO ALL PERSONS WHO WANT TO USE THEM.THAT HAS BEEN MAKING STATES EXAMINE HOW DO THEY REALLY DO THAT. SOME STATES HAVE BEEN MORE SUCCESSFUL IN THAT AND HAVE REALLY NOT IN A FORMAL BASIS ISSUED GUIDELINES BUT INFORMALLY ISSUED GUIDELINES FOR THOSE CENTERS TO BE ABLE TO UTILIZE . EVERYONE DID RECOGNIZE THAT THE ISSUE -- WE LOOKED AT PUBLIC ACCESS IN TERMS OF VOTER ACCESS AS WELL, AND WHILE THIS GOT A LOT OF ATTENTION A YEAR AGO, PEOPLE RECOGNIZED THAT IT'S STILL AN ISSUE AND IT HASN'T -- IT DOESN'T SEEM TO BE TAKING THE FOREFRONT IN TERMS OF WHAT STATES ARE EXAMINING RIGHT NOW OF THE ONES WE'VE SURVEYED, LET ME REITERATE THAT. AND WITH THE STATES WE'VE SURVEYED SO FAR, THERE WAS REALLY LITTLE RESPONSE TO KIOSKS. ONE OF THE STATES I SPOKE TO ACTUALLY SAID THAT THEIR STATE DISCOVERS THAT NOBODY USED THE KIOSKS. THE ONLY PEOPLE USING THEM ARE KIDS. THEY'RE GOING UP AND PLAYING WITH THEM SO THEY'RE IDENTIFYING THAT IT'S NOT A GOOD INFORMATION TO GET INFORMATION OUT TO CITIZENS AND CUSTOMERS SO THEY'RE RETHINKING THEIR APPROACH TO THAT. WHAT WE'RE DOING IS TALKING WITH STATES IN TERMS OF WHAT BARRIERS EXIST IN THEIR STATE IN TERMS OF A LACK OF KNOWLEDGE, A LACK OF OR INCONSISTENCY OF STANDARDS, A LACK OF TRAINING, A QUALITY OF TRAINING. THIS IS THE -- THE QUALITY OF TRAINING ISSUE COMES IN WHERE PERHAPS CONSULTANTS OR PEOPLE TRYING TO GET YOUR STATE TO PURCHASE SOME TRAINING SERVICES AND IT BECOMES VERY CLEAR AT THE FRONT END THAT THEY DON'T HAVE A GOOD UNDERSTANDING OF IT ACCESSIBILITY PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO YOUR STATE. OFTEN A BIG KEY -- AN EASY WAY TO IDENTIFY THAT IS THERE ARE SOME SALES APPROACHS IN TRYING TO GET YOUR STATE TO COME INTO FULL COMPLIANCE WITH THE ADA STANDARDS AND IT ACCESSIBILITY. AND THE REALITY IS THAT AT THIS JUNCTURE THERE ARE NO STANDARDS FOR THE ADA IN TERMS OF IT ACCESSIBILITY. SO THAT SHOULD RAISE A RED FLAG AND THAT IS AN ISSUE THAT IS COMING UP. THE ISSUE OF TIME CONSUMING, IN TERMS OF LOOKING AT IT ACCESSIBILITY, WE'RE ASKING STATES HOW IS THIS PERCEIVED, WHETHER IT'S REAL OR PERCEPTION. IT IS SOMETHING THAT STATES HAVE TO DEAL WITH. THE ISSUE OF COSTS ASK WHERE STATES ARE FISCALLY AT THIS TIME, THEY ARE EXAMINING THAT. AND A LOT OF IT IS IT LOOKING AT THE BIG PICTURE. LOOKING AT YOUR FRONT-END ROLL-OUT COSTS VERSUS YOUR COSTS IN THE LONG-TERM TO REMEDY SOMETHING THAT PERHAPS WAS NOT DEVELOPED CORRECTLY IN THE FIRST PLACE. THE LAST CATEGORY WE'RE ASKING STATES ABOUT ARE HUMAN NATURE, BASIC RESISTANCE. AND BOTTOM LINE, I CAN SHARE THAT WHAT MOST OF THE STATES HAVE SAID TO ME IS THAT IF WE HAVE CLEAR STANDARDS, IF WE HAVE A CLEAR POLICY FWE'RE ABLE TO PROVIDE THE TRAINING, THERE'S VERY LITTLE RESISTANCE. PEOPLE HAVE IN MOST CASES IN THE STATES REALLY EMBRACED THE ISSUE, BUT THE RESISTANCE COMES IN WHEN LOOSE POLICIES ARE ISSUED AND THERE'S NOT A LOT OF THOSE SUPPORT SERVICES THAT ARE AVAILABLE. THE LAST AREA THAT WE'RE ASKING STATES ABOUT IS IN TERMS OF THEIR NEEDS. AND WE'VE ASKED THEM TO FOCUS ON WEB ACCESSIBILITY, ACCESSIBLE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT, PROCUREMENT AND PUBLIC ACCESSIBILITY. WE'RE ASKING THEM SPECIFICALLY WHAT THEIR NEEDS ARE IN TERMS OF GENERAL KNOWLEDGE INFORMATION, STANDARDS AND CRITERIA, TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE, AND RESOURCES. THE RESPONSES THAT WE'VE GOTTEN SO FAR IS THAT IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER ONE NEED, WEB ACCESSIBILITY AND PUBLIC ACCESS IS THE NUMBER ONE NEED THAT STATES ARE IDENTIFYING THAT THEY WANT, THEY NEED SOME ASSISTANCE. THERE ARE A NUMBER OF STATES THAT HAVE MADE INCREDIBLE PROGRESS IN TERMS OF WEB ACCESSIBILITY, BUT THERE'S A RECOGNITION THAT WITHIN THE STATE SYSTEM THERE'S CONSTANT CHANGE AND CONSTANTLY NEW PEOPLE JOINING. AND SO IT'S NOT A -- IT'S NOT AN AREA THAT YOU CAN DO ONCE AND YOU'RE DONE AND IT'S OVER AND YOU MOVE ON TO THE NEXT THING; IT HAS TO BE AN ONGOING TARGETED INITIATIVES TO ENSURE THAT YOUR STATE CAN DO THIS. THE OTHER AREA, THE NUMBER TWO AREA THAT PEOPLE WERE LOOKING AT IS IN TERMS OF PROCUREMENT. THEY RECOGNIZE THAT THEY REALLY -- THE STATES ARE INTERESTED IN DOING IT RIGHT, BUT THEY'RE STILL STRUGGLING WITH WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO DO THAT. AND WE'RE GOING, AS I SAID BEFORE, WE'RE GOING TO BE FINISHING OFF THE SURVEY THROUGH JANUARY AND WE'LL BE ANALYZING THE RESULTS AND WE'LL HOPEFULLY HAVE OTHER OPPORTUNITYS TO SHARE THIS INFORMATION. AND I THINK WE'LL OPEN IT FOR QUESTIONS. DEBORAH, LET ME PERHAPS POSE THE FIRST QUESTION OR TWO AND ASK THOSE IN THE AUDIENCE THAT ARE HERE IF YOU HAVE A QUESTION THAT YOU'D LIKE TO ASK DEBORAH, RAISE YOUR HAND OR GET THE ATTENTION OF NEL BAILEY WHO IS AT THE BACK OF THE SXROOM HAS A MICROPHONE. DEBORAH, THE ISSUE OF SELF-CERTIFICATION IS A CHALLENGING ONE FOR VENDORS, CONTRACTORS AT THE FEDERAL LEVEL AND AS WELL AT THE STATE LEVEL. DID YOU FIND IN TERMS OF THE STATES THAT YOU'VE SURVEYED SO FAR ANY UNIFORM APPROACH IN TERMS OF STATES EITHER SETTING UP TESTING LABS OR STANDARDS OR EVEN STATES WORKING TOGETHER ON TRYING TO PULL RESOURCES AND EXPERTISE? THE WITNESS: SOME OF. SOME OF THE STATES ARE SETTING UP TESTING LABS AND PREDOMINANTLY THEY'RE -- SOME OF THEM ARE TO TEST ACCESSIBILITY OF EQUIPMENT BUT IN TERMS OF A STANDARDIZED APPROACH, WE WEREN'T ABLE TO SOLICIT ANYTHING AT THIS POINT, AND NONE OF THE STATES THAT I SURVEYED INDICATED ANY EFFORTS TO COORDINATE RESOURCES AND DO LIKE REGIONAL KINDS OF TESTING CENTERS TO CERTIFY EQUIPMENT. OKAY. STWICH TO FROM A CONSUMER'S PERSPECTIVE TO END USER. WITHIN ITTATC WE CERTAINLY GET CALLS FROM INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO FACE ISSUES OF WEB ACCESSIBILITY. ALSO AS YOU MENTIONED ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES IN TERMS OF PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTS. IS THERE ANY PARTICULAR ADVICE THAT YOU WOULD PROVIDE BASED ON AT LEAST THE INTERVIEWS AND THE DISCUSSIONS YOU'VE HAD WITH PEOPLE WITHIN THE STATES, IS THERE A SINGLE POINT OF CONTACT THAT STATES HAVE SET UP, OR IS THERE A WAY OR STRATEGY THAT YOU MIGHT SUGGEST FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES WHO ARE ENCOUNTERING IT ACCESSIBILITY CHALLENGES? I'D SAY THAT THERE'S PROBABLY A COUPLE OF POINTS OF ENTRY. IN MANY CASES IN TERMS OF LIKE WEB ACCESSIBILITY, PROBABLY YOUR FIRST POINT OF ENTRY AS CONSUMER IS MOST WEB SITES HAVE A CONTACT PERSON AND THAT'S THE FIRST PLACE YOU SHOULD START BECAUSE THAT PERSON WHO HAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR DOING THAT WEB SITE NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT'S WORKING AND WHAT DOESN'T WORK BECAUSE THEY MIGHT BE UNDER THE ASSUMPTION THAT HOW THEY'VE ROLLED IT OUT IS REALLY WORKING AND AS A USER YOU MIGHT BE ABLE TO GIVE THEM DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE AS TO WHAT IT DOESN'T WORK OR WHAT ELSE NEEDS TO HAPPEN. IN TERMS OF OTHER IT ACCESSIBILITY, I THINK CERTAINLY THE STATE IT PROJECTS OR THE STATE CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER. BY LOOKING AND MAKING THAT CONTACT AND GIVING FEEDBACK IS A WAY TO GET INVOLVED IN LOOKING AT THE CHANGES THAT NEED TO TAKE PLACE. AND AS A FINAL QUESTION BEFORE WE TURN TO OTHERS, IF YOU WERE TO LOOK AHEAD OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS, WHAT ASPECT OF ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY DO YOU SEE STATES MAKING THE MOST PROGRESS. I SEE STATES MAKING THE MOST PROGRESS IN TERMS OF THE WEB ISSUES AND THE E-PROCUREMENT AND MAKING BUSINESS AND SERVICES AVAILABLE ON-LINE HOURS A DAY. THAT IS GOING TO BE A VEHICLE THAT EVERYONE IS ACCESSING AND THERE ARE A NUMBER OF GOOD THINGS IN PLACE AS A BASELINE FOR STATES TO WORK FROM. WHAT'S HELPFUL IS TO BE ABLE TO SHARE THAT INFORMATION INSTEAD OF -- AND RATHER THAN HAVING STATES EXPEND RESOURCES THAT THEY DON'T NEED TO, TRY TO COLLABORATE AND LOOK AND BUILD UPON WHAT OTHERS HAVE DONE SO FAR. BUT I THINK IN TERMS OF THE E-COMMERCE, THAT'S GOING TO BE A MAJOR VEHICLE AND PLAY A MAJOR ROLE. OKAY. THANK YOU. ARE THERE ANY QUESTIONS HERE FROM THE AUDIENCE? OKAY. THANK YOU, DEBORAH. ON BEHALF ATA C WILL CONTINUE TO WORK WITH YOU. A LOT OF INFORMATION IS STILL TO BE GATHERED AND ULTIMATELY AS WE'VE TALKED ABOUT IT, THERE WILL BE A DATA BASE CREATED THAT WILL BE AVAILABLE FROM THE ITTATC WEB SITE WITH LINKS, WITH IT PROJECTS NATIONWIDE AS WELL AS HOPEFULLY WITH CIOS ACROSS THE COUNTRY. WE'RE NOW GOING TO GO TO OUR FIRST PANEL WHICH IS TO MOVE FROM THIS GENERAL DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS FROM THE SURVEY TO LEARN MORE FROM SEVERAL STATES' PERSPECTIVE AND WE'RE GOING TO HAVE JOINING DEBORAH JUDIE LEE WHO IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE NORTH DAKOTA INTERAGENCY PROGRAM FOR ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY AND MARIA WHO IS THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ANALYST FOR THE STATE OF MAINE. I'M GOING TO TURN BRIEFLY TO STEVE MENDELSOHN WHO IS GOING TO SHARE MODERATING DUTIES WITH THIS NEXT PANEL. LET ME SHARE WITH YOU IF YOU ARE NOT FAMILIAR WITH STEVE'S WORK THAT STEVE IS AN ATTORNEY, AUTHOR, AND ADVOCATE WHO SPECIALIZES IN DISABILITY AND CIVIL RIGHTS ISSUES. FOR THE PAST YEARS HE'S WORKED IN MANY, MANY WAYS ON ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY FUNDING AND THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY AS A TOOL FOR THE ACHIEVEMENT OF FULL PAIMGZ OF PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES IN OUR SOCIETY. HE SERVES ON THE STAFF OF THE RESNA TA PROJECT AND I KNOW FOR MANY OF US WE LOOK TO STEVE FOR THE VERY CHALLENGING ISSUES OF POTENTIAL CHANGES IN TAX POLICY AND HOW IT CAN SUPPORT ACCESS TO TECHNOLOGY FOR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. STEVE, LET ME TURN IT OVER TO YOU, AND SOME OF YOUR THOUGHTS IN TERMS OF INTRODUCING THE FRAMEWORK FOR THIS NEXT PANEL. THANK YOU, MICHAEL. AND GOOD MORNING EVERYONE. WE APPRECIATE ALL OF YOU BEING WITH US TODAY. THOSE WHO ARE HERE IN PERSON AND THOSE WHO ARE JOINING US FROM AROUND THE NATION THROUGH THE WEB CAST. THE NEXT PANEL WILL SORT OF CONCRETIZE THE WONDERFUL OVERVIEW AND PERSPECTIVE THAT DEBORAH BUCK HAS PREVIOUSLY JUST GIVEN US. AND IT INVOLVE SAID EXAMPLES WILL BE DRAWN FROM THREE VERY DIVERSE STATES ABOUT THE APPROACHES THEY ARE TAKING TO THE ACHIEVEMENT OF GREATER INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY ON BEHALF OF THE CITIZENS WITH DISABILITIES AND NOT COINCIDENTLY THROUGH THAT EFFORT ON BEHALF OF ALL THEIR CITIZENS AND IT WILL REFLECT THE DIFFERENCES IN THE LOCAL CONDITIONS FACING EACH OF THEM AND THE VARIETY OF METHODS THEY'VE ADOPTED. INTERESTINGLY ENOUGH, OUR PANELISTS AS YOU'LL LEARN IN A FEW MOMENTS ALSO REFLECT AS INDIVIDUALS A VARIETY OF DIFFERENT BACKGROUNDS. THEY COME RESPECTIVELY FROM ADVOCACY BACKGROUND, FROM A TECHNOLOGY BACKGROUND, AND FROM INFORMATION MANAGEMENT BACKGROUNDS, AND SO THEY BLEND MANY OF THE STRANDS THAT GO INTO THIS MOVEMENT FOR GREATER ACCESSIBILITY. DEBORAH BUCK HAS ALREADY MADE IT VERY CLEAR THAT THE MOVEMENT FOR AND THE MOMENTUM BEHIND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY REALLY CAN'T BE UNDERSTOOD EXCEPT AS AN ELEMENT OF A VARIETY OF FORCES THAT ARE SHAPING OUR VIEWS TOWARD THE WAY WE EXERCISE OUR DEMOCRACY AND THE WAY WE ACHIEVE GREATER INCLUSIVENESS IN PUBLIC INFORMATION. I THINK IT'S PROPERTY TO NOTE THOUGH THAT SINCE YOU'VE HEARD THE NAMES OF A NUMBER OF ORGANIZATIONS AND STATUTES, IT CAN EASILY BE INTIMIDATING TO THOSE OF US WHO ARE NOT NECESSARILY FAMILIAR WITH ALL OF THEM OR WHO DON'T NECESSARILY HAVE THE BACKGROUND IN THE ACRONYM AND THE LINGO OF THIS SUBCULTURE WHICH IS ACCESSIBILITY. SO I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT BEFORE WE GO ON TO STRIP AWAY SOME OF THAT MYSTERY AND MAKE CERTAIN THAT WE ALL UNDERSTAND THAT WHAT INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY IS ABOUT IS REALLY SOMETHING VERY SIMPLE AND VERY STRAIGHTFORWARD. IT'S ABOUT MAKING THAT TECHNOLOGY WHICH WE ALL USE IN WHAT WE CALL OUR INFORMATION SOCIETY MORE AVAILABLE TO, MORE USABLE TO, MORE ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE IRRESPECTIVE OF WHETHER OR NOT THEY HAVE A DISABILITY, AND IN THE SERVICE OF GOALS WHICH I BELIEVE THAT WE ALL SHARE AND BELIEVE IN. NOW, RIGHT NOW WE COME TO THIS DISCUSSION UNDER OBVIOUSLY NEW AND DIFFICULT CONSTRAINTS, ONE OF WHICH IS OF COURSE THE CONSIDERABLE FISCAL STRESS THAT IS OPERATING UPON THE BUDGETS OF MANY STATES AT THIS TIME. AND I SUPPOSE THERE ARE MANY PEOPLE ASKING THE QUESTION WHETHER IN LIGHT OF THESE CONSTRAINTS STATES SHOULD PULL BACK, DO LESS, WAIT, BE MORE PATIENCE. OR WHETHER INDEED BECAUSE OFFICIALS AND LEADERS ARE UNDERSTANDABLY AND NECESSARILY PREOCCUPIED WITH OTHER ISSUES IS THIS REALLY THE TIME TO PUSH FORWARD OR CONTINUE STRONGLY TO ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF ACCESSIBILITY. INDEED I THINK THAT IS A FAIR QUESTION AND BECAUSE OF THAT QUESTION IT'S IMPORTANT TO SAY THAT WE REALLY HAVE NO OTHER CHOICE BUT TO ADVANCE THE CAUSE OF ACCESSIBILITY BECAUSE WE NEED TO DO EVERYTHING WE CAN TO INCREASE THE INCLUSIVENESS AND THE DEMOCRACY OF OUR PUBLIC INSTITUTIONS AT THIS TIME AND BECAUSE FRANKLY ACCESSIBILITY IS NOT NECESSARILY VERY EXPENSIVE, NOT NECESSARILY VERY DIFFICULT. ONCE YOU UNDERSTAND IT AS A PRINCIPLE AND BEGIN TO APPLY IT IN YOUR WORK, IN YOUR DAILY LIVES, IN YOUR ROLES AS TECHNOLOGY PROVIDERS, AS TECHNOLOGY USERS, AS PURCHASERS OR CUSTOMER IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR SETTINGS OR OTHERWISE OF WEB SERVICES, YOU BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THERE ARE MANY, MANY WAYS IN WHICH EACH OF YOU AS INDIVIDUALS CAN ALMOST ON A DAILY BASIS IN EVERY INTERACTION YOU HAVE, IN EVERY DECISION YOU MAKE HAVE A POSITIVE IMPACT UPON THE CAUSE OF ACCESSIBILITY. THIS IS AN AREA WHICH PERHAPS AS ANY OTHER IS ONE IN WHICH EACH OF YOU AS AN INDIVIDUAL CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE. WITH THAT I'M GOING TO TURN IT BACK TO MICHAEL WHO IS GOING TO INTRODUCE OUR EXCELLENT PANELISTS WHO WE ARE PRIVILEGEED TO HAVE WITH US TODAY. THANK YOU, STEVE. OUR FIRST PANELIST IS MARY SILVA, WHO IS INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT ANALYST WITH THE STATE GOVERNMENT IN MAINE. MARY COMES TO THE STATE WITH EXTENSIVE IT BACKGROUND. SHE RETURNED TO HER HOME STATE OF MAINE IN AFTER LEAVING HER POSITION WITH DIGITAL EQUIPMENT IN NEW HAMPSHIRE WHERE SHE WAS AN MANAGEMENT SERVING SITES AND OVER CUSTOMERS WITHIN THE STATE. UPON RELOCATING MARY TOOK A POSITION WITH THE STATE AS A SYSTEMS GIGZ MANAGER WITHIN THE BUREAU OF INFORMATION SERVICES. THE CENTRAL IT ORGANIZATION FOR THE STATE. SHE LEFT THE STATE AND MOVED INTO THE PRIVATE SECTOR AS THE IT DIRECTOR FOR A SMALL CENTRAL MAINE BUSINESS BUT SOON RETURNED TO THE PUBLIC SECTOR AS IN THE OFFICE OF THE CIO. HER CURRENT RESPONSIBILITIES INCLUDE E-GOVERNMENT INITIATIVES, IT TRAINING FOR STATE EMPLOYEES, AS WELL AS ALL CITIZENS OF THE STATE AND RESEARCH OF NEW TECHNOLOGIES. PERCENT OF HER TIME IS DEDICATED TO IT ACCESSIBILITY. THIS INCLUDES WORKING WITH THE CIO TO APPROVE APPROPRIATE POLICY, ENSURE CORRECT LANGUAGE IS INCLUDED IN ALL IT RFPS, SERVING AS STAFF ON ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE, AND SOLICITING RESOURCES FOR TESTING AND DEVELOPING AND MAINTAINING ACCESSIBLE WEB SITES MANAGED BY THE STATE GOVERNMENT. MARY, YOU'RE OUR FIRST PANELIST. I'M THE FIRST PANELIST. I'M THE NEW KID ON THE BLOCK. I'VE BEEN IN THIS POSITION PROBABLY SIX MONTHS WHICH IS WHY I THINK I DREW THE SHORT DRAW. I'M FIRST AND I HAVE TO FOLLOW DEB AND STEVE. SO BEAR WITH ME. AND THERE'S NO PRESSURE HERE. (LAUGHTER) AND BASICALLY AS IT'S OUTLINED MY BACKGROUND IS FROM THE IT MANAGEMENT PERSPECTIVE AND PERSONALLY I ALWAYS THOUGHT -- AND I WAS. I'M GOOD IN THAT FIELD. AND WHEN I INTERVIEWED FOR THIS POSITION, PART OF IT WAS ACCESSIBILITY AND I WAS QUESTIONED, YOU KNOW, WHAT ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY? DO YOU UNDERSTAND THAT CONCEPT? AND OF COURSE I SAID YES. ADA, REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS, I UNDERSTAND THAT WHOLE CONCEPT. BUT I MEAN FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AT THAT TIME THAT WAS ALWAYS, YOU KNOW, IF YOU HAVE AN ISSUE, YOU BRING IT TO ME AND I GIVE YOU A TOOL TO USE OR MAYBE I MOVE THIS PART OF YOUR WORK TO SOMEONE ELSE. THAT'S REASONABLE ACCOMMODATION AND EVERYTHING IS GOOD. I WASN'T AT THE STATE TOO LONG WHEN I -- PART OF THE ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE WHICH IS OUR CENTRAL GROUP FOR THE STATE, AND I WAS TESTING OUT SOME, I WAS WORKING WITH JAWS AND SOME OTHER TOOLS TO MAKE SURE FOR MY PERSPECTIVE AGAIN THAT THESE WERE THE RIGHT TOOLS THAT WE SHOULD ALLOW PEOPLE TO USE IF THAT'S WHAT THEY NEEDED. AND I WAS LOOKING AT SOME WEB SITES AND I HAD JUST REALLY -- I WAS FAMILIAR WITH JAWS BUT I REALLY HADN'T WORKED WITH IT PERSONALLY AND THAT'S WHAT I WAS DOING. AND I CONTACTED ONE OF OUR MEMBERS FROM THE ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE WHO WE ALL OUR SHERIFF, AND WE LOVE HIM DEARLY, AND HE HAS LOW VISION. I WAS WORKING WITH HIM ON ONE OF THE WEB SITES AND I SAID, WOW, I HAVE JAWS, THIS IS WHAT I'M DOORXS THIS IS WHAT I'M SEEING FROM THE SITE. AND I WENT ON AND LOOKING BACK I WAS REALLY ASSESSING JAWS AND SAYING SOME OF THE FUNCTIONALITY ISSUES THAT I HAD VERSUS REALLY WHAT WAS THE WEB SITE AND ALL OF A SUDDEN HE SAID TO ME, MARY, WHEN YOU'RE DOING THIS, ARE YOU -- IS YOUR MONITOR SHUT OFF? HAVE YOU UNPLUGGED YOUR MOUSE? I WAS LIKE, NO, THAT WOULD BE REALLY HARD. WHY WOULD I DO THAT? (LAUGHTER). BUT I TOOK HIS CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM AND I SHUT OFF MY MONITOR LATER AND UNPLUGGED THE MOUSE AND IT WAS LIKE IT CLICKED. FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE BECAUSE WHEN I WAS VIEWING IT AND LISTENING, I -- WELL, MAYBE I DIDN'T KNOW WHAT THESE GRAPHICS WERE. WHEN I DIDN'T HAVE THAT VISUAL AID, I MISSED THE WHOLE POINT OF THE SITE. SO THAT FOR ME WAS AWARENESS THAT IT JUST CLICKED AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT AS A COMMITTEE WE HOPE TO DO. I MEAN, THERE ARE MANY FACETS OF THE COMMITTEE, BUT REALLY TO BRING THAT TYPE OF PERSPECTIVE WHERE YOU'RE NOT DOING SOMETHING BECAUSE IT'S A POLICY OR SOMEONE SAYS YOU HAVE TO DO IT OR MAYBE THERE ARE LEGAL RAMIFICATIONS, YOU'RE DOING IT BECAUSE YOU UNDERSTAND AT LEAST ONE LITTLE PIECE OF THIS THAT THIS IS A REAL, YOU KNOW, LIFE-AFFECTING THING. IT'S HOW YOU DO YOUR JOB. SO AFTER THAT AWAKENING, I TOOK A DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE INTO MY SPECULATES INTO THE ACCESSIBILITY WORLD. AND FROM A STRUCTURAL POINT OF VIEW FROM THE STATE OF MAINE, WE HAVE THE ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE WHICH HAS BEEN STANDING I THINK SINCE ' AND THEY REALLY DRIVE A LOT OF ISSUES, VERY, VERY VALUABLE. FROM THAT PERSPECTIVE WE HAVE THAT COMMITTEE, WE HAVE GREAT&ADMINISTRATIVE SUPPORT, WE HAVE A NEW CIO'S OFFICE WHICH I'M PART OF SO I CAN EFFECT POLICY AND A LARGE POLICY OF MY POSITION IS ACCESSIBILITY SO THAT'S GOOD SUPPORT. WE HAVE MULTIPLE TECHNOLOGY AGENCIES THAT CAN FEED US DATA FROM THE WEB PERSPEBLTHIFF APPLICATION HARDWARE, SO WE HAVE THAT INPUT COMING TO US. SO WE HAVE GOOD SUPPORT THERE. IN FACT, WE JUST DID AN IT PLAN FOR THE STATE AND OUT OF THIS WE HAD ENDEAVORS THAT WERE STATE-WIDE. WE EVALUATED AGENCY POLICIES AND PROJECTS AND ALL OF THAT, BUT STATE-WIDE, WE HAD ENDEAVORS THAT TOUCHED EVERYBODY. AND WE UTILIZED A TOOL WHERE WE FED IT DATA TO RATE THOSE ENDEAVORS AND OUT OF THAT ACCESSIBILITY RATED . IT'S THIRD ON OUR LIST AND I JUST THINK WE'LL BE DEALING WITH A NEW GOVERNOR NEXT YEAR THAT'S EXCELLENT FOR US TO HAVE AS A STATE AND NOT BECAUSE POLITICALLY SOMEONE THOUGHT THAT WAS A GOOD THING TO SAY, BUT THE DATA SUPPORTED THAT ACCESSIBILITY WAS NUMBER THREE FOR OUR STATE. SO I THINK THAT'S JUST CRITICAL TO THE SUCCESS. BUT THE COMMITTEE AND WE TOUCH A LOT OF PEOPLE, WE TRY TO DO A LOT OF THINGS, PROBABLY WITH TOO LITTLE RESOURCES. BUT PART OF WHAT WE'VE DONE IS IDENTIFIED A TWO-YEAR PLAN. WHAT DO WE NEED TO EFFECT? WHAT DO WE NEED TO CHANGE? PART OF IT WAS PROCUREMENT. AND I'M DEALING WITH IT BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE VOLUNTEERED TO DEAL WITH IT, BUT THAT'S ANOTHER ISSUE. WE DON'T HAVE AN ANSWER, BUT I THINK WE'VE MADE SOME GOOD STRIDES. WE HAVE STANDARDS IN PLACE FOR WEB, FOR SOFTWARE, AND THOSE CURRENTLY ARE PART OF OUR RFP'S. HERE ARE OUR STANDARDS, DO YOU COMPLY? AND THE PROCEDURE IS YES. AND THAT'S KIND OF HOW IT GOES. IT'S A CHECK AND WHERE DO WE CATCH THOSE, OR DO WE CATCH THOSE. BASICALLY IT COMES DOWN TO WHO'S DOING THE REVIEW OF A PARTICULAR BID. DO YOU HAVE THE TECHNICAL EXPERTISE SITTING AT THE TABLE TO REALLY SAY YES THEY COMPLY OR YES THEY DON'T? FRANKLY BY SOME GROUPS COME TO US FOR ASSISTANCE, THE ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE, OR THEY COME TO OUR CENTRAL IT GROUP WHICH IS FABULOUS AND THEY REALLY SET A DIRECTION IN THE STATE AS FAR AS DEVELOPING ACCESSIBLE PRODUCTS AND REVIEWING THEM. BUT SOMETIMES FRANKLY WE'RE THERE BY ACCIDENT. IN OTHER PRODUCTS, ALL THE BIDS COME THROUGH THE CIO'S OFFICE BUT WE DON'T SEE THE RESULT NECESSARILY. SO WHAT WE SAID IS HOW DO WE CHANGE THAT? SO WE'VE TAKEN SOME STEPS AND PART OF IT I THINK THE BIGGEST PIECE IS FOR THOSE WHO ARE FAMILIAR WITH SOME OF THE , THE FEDERAL GUIDELINES FOR SELF-ASSESSMENT FOR THE VENDORS, THEY HAVE LANGUAGE OUT THERE WHERE IT DOESN'T SAY DO YOU COMPLY TO OUR STANDARDS, PLEASE CHECK; IT SAYS HOW DO YOU COMPLY? HOW DO YOU COMPLY TO THIS PIECE, TO THIS PIECE, TO THIS PIECE? IT'S REALLY VERY SPECIFIC. AND WHAT WE'VE DONE IS WE'RE TAKING THAT AS PART OF OUR RFP PROCESS. WE'RE BORROWING A LOT OF THAT LANGUAGE. WE MAY TWEAK IT AND WE'RE STILL LOOKING AT IT, BUT THE POINT IS WE WANT TO MAKE IT CLEAR THAT YOU CAN'T CHECK A BOX. THERE IS ACCOUNTABILITY AND EVEN IF YOUR ANSWER IS VAGUE, THERE'S SOME ACCOUNTABILITY THAT YOU WROTE AN ANSWER.YOU WROTE THAT ANSWER, WHAT DOES THAT MEAN, AS A VENDOR WE'RE PUTTING YOUR FEET TO THE FIRE JUST A LITTLE BIT MORE. THAT'S A BIG PIECE OF WHAT WE WANT TO DO. WE'RE ALSO IN OUR POLICIES WE HAVEN'T REALLY INCLUDED HARDWARE. AND THAT WAS A MISTAKE. AND A LOT OF TIMES YOU CATCH IT ANYWAYS, THAT'S NOT SOMEWHERE WHERE WE FALL AS MUCH, BUT WE HAD A PROJECT FAIRLY RECENTLY WHERE I WASN'T PROUD OF IT BUT THE ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE WAS AND THEY DID A GREAT JOB, THE SOFTWARE COMPLIANT A LOT OF THINGS WENT VERY SMOOTHLY, AND WE HAVE TOUCH SCREENS. WE MISSED A LITTLE PIECE. SOWORK IN THAT PERSPECTIVE, WE'RE ADDING THAT. WE'RE ALSO WORK ON A DATA BASE IN THE CIO'S OFFICE THAT WILL ALLOW US JUST TO TRACK ALL THE RFP'S THAT COME IN THE OFFICE. WE DON'T SEE IT ALL, THERE MAY BE FEDERAL FUNDS THAT DON'T COME THROUGH THE OFFICE. CERTAINLY PEOPLE THAT ARE COMING THROUGH TODAY AS POLICIES GO, WE DON'T SEE THAT. SO AS FAR AS THE DATA BASE OF WHAT WE DO SEE, IS THERE REALLY ANYTHING OUT HERE THAT WE SHOULD LOOK TWICE AT? THERE RECENTLY WAS AN EXAMPLE WHERE THERE WAS A PROJECT AND THANKFULLY HR ASKED OUR GROUP IN TO REVIEW THAT PRODUCT. AND THE NAME OF THE PRODUCT WAS CLICK TO LEARN. THAT SET OFF A FEW BELLS RIGHT THERE. IT WAS FABULOUS BECAUSE WE HAD OUR SHERIFF, AGAIN, FROM THE ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE COME IN TO HELP REVIEW THIS AND BECAUSE -- AND HE DEALS WITH LOW VISION; HE DEALS WITH THIS DAY TO DAY. HE'S A DEVELOPER AND HE KNOWS THE RIGHT QUESTIONS TO ASK. THE VENDOR ACTUALLY WHEN INITIALLY QUESTIONED WASN'T SURE HOW TO ADDRESS THIS . THEY WENT AWAY, THEY CAME BACK, AND I WAS INVITED TO THE SECOND DEMO AND IT WAS FABULOUS! THE VENDOR PRESENTED IT WITHOUT HIS MONITOR, WITHOUT HIS MOUTH. SOSTUFF LIKE THAT IS JUST SO IMPRESSIVE AND I WISH WE COULD TAKE FULL CREDIT FOR IT BUT IT REALLY WAS KIND OF AN ACCIDENT. WE WERE IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. SO THAT'S WHAT WE'RE TRYING TO ADDRESS WITH BETTER TRACKING, BETTER LANGUAGE. AND THAT ALL SOUNDS GOOD AND I'M LIKE WELL, THIS SHOULD BE EASY, WE SHOULD GET THIS DONE. AND NOW WE COME TO THE CHALLENGES WHICH IS WHAT I SAID TO STEVE AND SOME OF THESE FOLKS WHEN WE TALKED ABOUT THIS, IF THE GOAL IS HERE JUST TO SAY, WOW, WE'RE REALLY DOING THINGS GOOD AND LIFE IS GOOD AND WANDER OFF, DON'T WASTE OUR TIME. THERE ARE REAL CHALLENGES HERE AND I HOPE THAT SOME OTHER STATES CAN HELP US AND MAYBE VICE VERSA. BUT PURCHASING, THE DIRECTOR OF PURCHASING SITS ON THE ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE, WHICH IS FABULOUS. HE LOOKED OVER SOME OF THIS LANGUAGE THAT WE WERE LOOKING AT AND HE'S LIKE THIS IS GOOD. THIS IS ALL GOOD. I WAS LIKE, WELL, EASY WIN, WE'RE THERE! AND THEN WE CAME DOWN TO THE REAL ISSUES. HOW DO WE QUANTIFY THE VENDORS' RESPONSES? IS THERE A SCORING SYSTEM? HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THAT? SO WE REALLY HAVE TO LOOK AT THAT. ADDITIONALLY WHAT DO WE DOLL FOR NONCOMPLIANCE? THERE'S SOME OF IT THAT WE CAN PROBABLY WRITE LANGUAGE THAT IF WE'RE SUED, WELL, THE VENDOR HAS TO DEAL WITH IT. BUT WHAT IF THE VENDOR SAYS WE'VE GOT ALL OF THESE PIECES AND WE'RE A GOOD SOLUTION AND WE'LL HAVE THIS PIECE IN VERSION , WHICH I KNOW WE'VE ALL HEARD BEFORE, WHAT DO YOU DO IF IT'S NOT THERE IN VERSION ? HOW DO YOU EVEN FOLLOW IF IT IS THERE IN VERSION ? PEOPLE CHANGE. SO HOW DO WE TRACK THAT? ANDWHAT IS THE PROCESS? AND IS THE REAL VALUE ADDED IN TRACKING THAT? . AND I THINK THE MOST CRITICAL PART FOR ME PERSONALLY WAS WHEN HE SAID MARRY, WHERE DO YOU DRAW YOUR LINE IN THE SAND? WHERE IS IT THAT YOU SAY, YEAH, THIS PRODUCT IS PERCENT THERE. WHAT IS THAT PERCENT THAT WE'LL ACCEPT? HOW DO WE DEAL WITH THAT? AND FOR ME PERSONALLY, THOSE CHALLENGES WE'RE WORKING ON, WE'RE DEVELOPING SUBCOMMITTEES TO TRY TO ADDRESS THOSE ISSUES, BUT I ISSUE THERE WAS ONE ANSWER, AND I THINK THAT'S WHAT SOME OF THE FOLKS IN PURCHASING WANT. THEY WANT THIS IS A , THIS IS A , THIS IS A . I DON'T THINK THERE IS THAT ANSWER. I THINK IT'S REALLY GOING TO DEPEND UPON THE PRODUCT, THE DEPLOYMENT, THE AUDIENCE. I THINK THAT'S HOW IT'S GOING TO GO. AND THEN OF COURSE ALL OF THAT ASIDE, WE DEAL WITH RESOURCES AS MENTIONED HERE. I'M NOT ALONE, BUT MAINE DOESN'T HAVE A LOT OF DOLLARS TO THROW AT THIS. WHAT WE'RE CURRENTLY DOING WITH THE HELP OF THE COMMITTEE IS WE'RE WORKING WITH GROUPS TO BORROW RESOURCES. THEY'LL HAVE A TECHNICAL RESOURCE THAT WE CAN BORROW A FEW HOURS A MONTH TO DO TRAINING ON WEB ACCESSIBILITY. THERE'S A RESOURCE WE CAN BORROW MAYBE TO REVIEW RFP'S A COUPLE OF TIMES A MONTH. IN ADDITION TO THE COMMITTEE ITSELF. SO WE'RE LOOKING AT THOSE RESOURCES, BUT OVERALL THE GOAL IS TO FOR A PROCUREMENT I THINK WE HAVE OUR MARCHING ORDERS AND WHERE WE WANT GO. IT'S GOING TO BE TOUGH TO MAKE THOSE FINAL DEFINITIONS BUT AS A COMMITTEE OURSELVES, THAT'S REALLY WHAT WE WANT TO PROMOTE. WE WANT TO PROMOTE THE AWARENESS AND IMPLEMENT THE PROCESSES SO A COMMITTEE LIKE OURS DOESN'T HAVE TO EXIST. ACCESSIBILITY IS JUST PART OF THE CULTURE OF THE STATE. IT'S JUST ASSUMED THAT WHEN YOU GO TO WORK FOR THE STATE OF MAINE THAT YOU'LL HAVE THE TOOLS IN FRONT OF YOU AND NOT HAVE TO BE SOMEHOW MADE SPECIAL. SO THAT'S OUR OVERALL DPOEL AND WE'RE WORKING WITH A LOT OF CHALLENGES AND I GUESS WHAT I HOPE TODAY IS TO THROW OUT THIS: THIS IS WHAT WE'RE ATTEMPTING TO DO, THIS IS SOME PROGRESS WE'VE MADE. I CAN'T TAKE CREDIT FOR WHAT THE ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE HAS DONE BECAUSE LIKE I SAID, I'M NEW HERE. BUT I REALLY -- I THINK IT'S IMPRESSIVE ALL I HAVE ACCOMPLISHED WITH LIMITED RESOURCES AND I'M HOPING THAT STATES AND WORKING WITH DEB AND THE SURVEY THAT WE CAN LOOK AT BEST PRACTICES AND REALLY COME UP COLLECTIVELY WITH ANSWERS THAT DON'T NECESSARILY BREAK THE BANK WHICH WE DON'T HAVE. AND I GUESS SOMEHOW I'D LIKE TO SUMMARIZE THAT REALLY NICELY, BUT I THINK I'M THROUGH. THANK YOU, MARY. ONE FOLLOW-UP QUESTION: IN TERMS OF ACCESSIBILITY COMMITTEE WHICH SEEMS TO BE PLAYING SUCH A ITAL ROLE IN MAINE, CAN YOU TALK ABOUT THE MEMBERSHIP? IS IT JUST MEMBERS OF STATE GOVERNMENT EMPLOYEES, DOES IT ALSO INCLUDE PEOPLE FROM OUTSIDE GOVERNMENT? DOES IT INCLUDE VENDORS OR PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES? []. WE HAVE A BROAD RANGE, IN FACT, WE RECENTLY HAD A COMMITTEE WHICH KATHY CHAIRED WHICH I MAY HAVE KATHY ANSWER THIS, BUT IT IS, IT'S NOT ENTIRELY STATE; IT'S ACROSS DEPARTMENTS, DIFFERENT STABILITIES AND COMMUNITILESS, UNIVERSITIES ARE PRESENT. KATHY POWERS IS MY PARTNER HERE AND SHE PROMISED ME SHE WOULD HELP OUT. MAYBE IF YOU WOULD SPEAK IF THERE'S A MICROPHONE, JUST TO THE NEW SUGGESTIONS THAT YOUR SUBCOMMITTEE MADE AS FAR AS THE MEMBERSHIP. I FEEL SO GOOD I GHOT TO DO THIS. I'M CHAIR OF THE MEMBERSHIP'S SUBCOMMITTEE FOR THE GROUP. IS IT ON NOW? YES? I'M CHAIR OF THE MEMBERSHIP SUBCOMMITTEE. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE DO WANT TO DO IS REALLY BROADEN AND DEEPEN THE MEMBERSHIP OF THE GROUP. CURRENTLY WE HAVE CORE FOLKS FROM ACROSS STATE GOVERNMENT, PEOPLE REPRESENTING DIFFERENT DISABILITIES. UNIVERSITY IS REPRESENTED. WE DID HAVE FOLKS FROM THE COMMUNITY. THEY HAVE SINCE MOVED. SO WHAT WE REALLY WANT TO DO IS LOOK AT -- WE ACTUALLY HAVE SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGES THAT WE FEEL ARE IMPORTANT. SO WE'RE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE TECHNICAL ABILITY, WE'RE LOOKING FOR PEOPLE WHO HAVE KNOWLEDGE OF HUMAN RESOURCES. WE ALSO HOPE TO BREAK INTO SUBCOMMITTEES REPRESENTING AGAIN DIFFERENT SKILLS AND KNOWLEDGES TO WORK ON DIFFERENT ISSUES. SO ACTUALLY IT'S A TWO-YEAR PLAN AND WE WILL INCLUDE VENDORS, WE WILL INCLUDE MORE PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES. THANK YOU, KATHY. ONE OTHER QUESTION AND THEN WE'LL MOVE TO OUR NEXT PANELIST. IS MAINE LOOKING AT ALL AT PROVIDING SOME TYPE OF TOASTING TESTING STANDARDS OR LAB THAT WOULD ACTUALLY HELP VENDORS OR PROVIDE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO VENDORS AS THEY STRUGGLE AS YOU SAID WITH THE CHALLENGES OF WHETHER OR NOT IS THEIR PRODUCT ACCESSIBLE, IS IT MEETING THE STANDARDS THAT THE STATE HAS PROPOSED. AND I SHOULD HAVE ADDRESSED THAT, MIKE. WHAT WE'RE DOING AND AGAIN IT'S BASED ON RESOURCE OR LACK THEREOF. WE HAVE INDIVIDUALS THAT ARE ABLE TO TEST SOFTWARE IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS.BUT THESE ARE PEOPLE WITH FULL-TIME POSITIONS AND THEY WORK THIS SEPARATELY. WHAT WE'VE DONE FROM THE CIO'S OFFICE AND WE'RE PUTTING OUT FEELERS TO TRY TO SEE IS THERE SOMEONE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR THAT MAY HAVE SUCH A LAB, A HUMAN FACTORS LAB, BECAUSE WE DID WHEN I FIRST CAME ON THE FIRST FEW MONTHS, WE LOOKED INTO THE COST OF WHAT WOULD IT COST TO DO A HUMAN FACTORS LAB. AND WE WERE LOOKING, WELL, MAYBE WE COULD SELL TIME TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR AND IT JUST WASN'T FEASIBLE FOR US. SO WHAT WE'RE DOING IS WE'RE KIND OF PUTTING OUT FEELERS AS TO MAYBE WE CAN DEAL WITH SOMEONE IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, BUT CURRENTLY TODAY WE DEAL WITH WITH /* -- WE HAVE COMPUTER OPERATORS IN OUR CENTRAL GROUP AND DEVELOPERS AND OTHER FOLKS WHO TEST APPLICATIONS AS WE ASK THEM TO. GREAT. THANK YOU. LET ME GO NOW TO OUR SECOND PANELIST. JUDIE LEE IS THE DIRECTOR OF THE NORTH DAKOTA INTERAGENCY PROGRAM FOR ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY. SHE BECAME THE DIRECTOR OF THE PROGRAM BACK AT ITS BEGINNING IN . SHE'S RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION OF STATE-WIDE AT INITIATIVES IN THE AREAS OF PUBLIC AWARENESS, INTERAGENCY COORDINATION, TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING. SHE'S A MEMBER OF STATE AND NATIONAL TASK FORCES MANY OF WHICH ARE CHARGED WITH DEVELOPING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES THAT PROMOTE TECHNOLOGY ACCESS FOR ALL INDIVIDUALS. SHE'S A MEMBER OF THE NORTH DAKOTA STATE ADA WORK GROUP WHOSE MISSION IS TO IDENTIFY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES AND DEVELOP NECESSARY POLICIES. SHE HOLDS AN MS DEGREE FROM JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY IN TECHNOLOGY FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION. HER PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE SERVED AS A UNIVERSITY INSTRUCTOR AND ALSO BACKGROUND AS A SPEECH AND LANGUAGE PATHOLOGIST. JUDIE, WELCOME. THANK YOU,. I PLAN TO SHARE WITH YOU SOME OF THE STRATEGIES USED IN NORTH DAKOTA TO ADDRESS ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES OF ELECTRONIC AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY AND STATE GOVERNMENT. NORTH DAKOTA IS ADDRESSING ACCESSIBILITY OF EAND IT AND STATE GOVERNMENT BY DEVELOPING POLICY AND LOOKING TO ADOPT STANDARDS.I THINK IT MIGHT BE HELPFUL TO UNDERSTAND A BIT ABOUT THE AGENCY THAT DEVELOPS THE STANDARDS, POLICIES AND GUIDELINES FOR IT AND OVERSEES AGENCY INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY PLANS. THIS ROLE BELONGS TO THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT. AND THE ROLE OF ITD WITH STATE AGENCIES AS ONE OF THEM TOLD ME, FOUR YEARS AGO WAS BASICALLY TELL US WHAT YOUR COMPUTER NEEDS ARE AND WE'LL PROVIDE THEM, KIND OF WHAT DEB REFERENCES EARLIER ON. TODAY AFTER SIGNIFICANT LEGISLATIVE CHANGES IN NORTH DAKOTA, ITD IS A SEPARATE AGENCY UNDER THE OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR. AND THE ITD DIRECTOR IS THE NORTH DAKOTA CHIEF INFORMATION OFFICER AND A MEMBER OF THE GOVERNOR'S CABINET. SO ITD IS EXPECTED TO BE THE NORTH DAKOTA TECHNOLOGY LEADER AND THEY'RE THE ONES THAT CAN MAKE THINGS HAPPEN IN THIS EREINA IN NORTH DAKOTA. AND THEY'RE CHARGED TO DO THIS WITH INPUT FROM STATE AGENCIES. DURING A CONFERENCE IN THE SUMMER OF , A COLLEGE PROFESSOR ASKED SOMEONE FROM THE ITD DEPARTMENT WHAT IS ITD DOING ABOUT ADA REQUIREMENTS AND ACCESSIBILITY OF STATE WEB SITES?AND HE ALSO PRESENTED A BRIEF SURVEY THAT HE HAD CONDUCTED OF STATE WEB SITES WHICH SHOWED NO STATE SITE WAS ACCESSIBLE OR WHAT HE CONSIDERED ADA COMPLIANT. SO THAT DEFINITELY SPARKED SOME INTEREST IN ITD PLANNING DIVISION. AND THEIR INITIAL RESEARCH FOUND THAT STATE WEB SITES DO INDEED NEED TO MEET ADA ACCESSIBILITY REQUIREMENTS. AND ABOUT THE SAME TIME ITD WAS IN THE PROCESS OF DEVELOPING A STATE WEB POLICY WHICH WAS TO ESTABLISH SOME OF THE PARAMETERS AND RULES FOR THE CONSISTENT DEVELOPMENT OF STATE WEB SITES. SO THEY INCLUDED A REFERENCE HE SAID TO THE ADA #KOM PLIANCE IN A DRAFT POLICY BY REFERRING TO WDLEEC AND THE USE OF ALT TAGS. AGENCIES RESPONDED FAVORABLY AND WERE REALLY QUITE EXCITED THAT THEY REALLY STARTED TO ADDRESS T. SO THEY STARTED TO GET SOME FEEDBACK AND WITH INPUT AND THEY ALSO BEGAN TO REALIZE AT THAT TIME THAT ADA COMPLIANCE WOULD MEAN MORE THAN WEB ACCESSIBILITY. IT WAS AT THIS TIME THAT THEY DECIDED THEY NEEDED ASSISTANCE WITH IDENTIFYING WHAT THE ISSUES WERE AND UNDERSTANDING THE ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES AND DECIDED TO ORGANIZE WHAT THEY CALL THE ADA TECHNOLOGY WORK GROUP. AND THE MISSION OF THE GROUP IS TO IDENTIFY ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES AS THEY PERTAIN TO TECHNOLOGY AND DEVELOP NECESSARY ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY POLICY. THE CHAIR OF THIS COMMUNITY IS DENNIS KLIPFAL AND HE IS THE IT BUSINESS ANALYST. AND DENNIS THEN MET WITH AN ATTORNEY FROM PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY AND HE SAID SHE GAVE ME A REAL QUICK LESSON ON ADA AND SECTION . AND HEARING THAT THEY THEN DISCUSSED WHO THEY SHOULD PUT TOGETHER ON THIS WORK COMMITTEE. AND REPRESENTED ON THAT COMMITTEE IS THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT OF COURSE AND DENNIS IS CHAIRING THAT. THE SELECTED CONSUMER, SOMEONE WHO IS VERY CONNECTED TO A LOT OF THE DISABILITY ISSUES AND OTHER ADVOCACY GROUPS WITHIN THE STATE, THEY ASKED MYSELF TO BE A PART OF IT REPRESENTING THE INTERAGENCY PROGRAM FOR ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY, THE /* THEY HAVE A REPRESENTATIVE, A LAWYER FROM THE PROTECTION AND ADVOCACY. THEY ASKED THE ADA COORDINATOR FROM OUR STATE WHO IS UNDER THE DISABILITY SERVICES UNDER THE UMBRELLA OF DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES, THEY ASKED SOMEBODY FROM CENTRAL PERSONNEL TO BE A PART OF THAT AND THIS PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL WAS RESPONSIBILITY FOR A LOT OF THE TRAINING OF STATE PERSONNEL WITH REGARDS TO ADA IN EARLIER YEARS. AND THE LAST PERSON IS SOMEBODY REPRESENTING HIGHER EDUCATION. AND I THINK THAT THE PEOPLE THEY INVITED TO THE TABLE HAVE REAL STRONG INTERESTS AND ALSO RESPONSIBILITIES TO ENSURE THAT TECHNOLOGY IS ACCESSIBLE FOR ALL AND I THINK THIS IS ONE OF THE KEY FACTORS AS IT AFFECTS THE ATTITUDE AND THE ENERGY OF THE GROUP. THE ITD REPRESENTATIVE OF COURSE, THEY HAVE THE AUTHORITY AND THEY HAVE THE LEADERSHIP AND THE RESOURCES TO DEVELOP AND ESTABLISH POLICY. THE CONSUMER REPRESENTATIVE IS REALLY CONNECTED TO A NUMBER OF CONSUMER GROUPS AND IS REALLY A CRITICAL COMPONENT TO IDENTIFYING THE ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES AS THEY RELATE TO DISABILITY. ITTATC BRINGS TO THE TABLE SOME OF THE ISSUES REGARDING TECHNOLOGY AND POLICY, AND WE ALSO HAVE THIS WONDERFUL NETWORK AT THE NATIONAL LEVEL AND RESOURCES WITHIN THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROJECTS AND ALL OF MY COLLEAGUES AND ALL OF YOU OUT THERE. P SDP A BRINGS FORTH THE LEGAL SUPPORT AND RESOURCES. THE ADA COORDINATOR PROVIDES THE ADA INFORMATION AND ALSO HAS A LOT OF CONNECTIONS TO THE ADA AFFILIATES THROUGHOUT THE STATE WHICH AFFECTS LOCAL GOVERNMENT. THE REPRESENTATIVES FROM CENTRAL PERSONNEL I THINK THEY DID ANTICIPATE THE NEED FOR TRAINING OF STATE PERSONNEL AND SO SHE BRINGS THAT PIECE TO IT AS PART OF THE PIECE FROM CENTRAL PERSONNEL. ANDHIGHER ED IN NORTH DAKOTA IS PART OF STATE GOVERNMENT AND THEY PROVIDE A CONSIDERABLE INSIGHT TO A VERY HUGE POPULATION AND ALSO THEY'VE BEEN REAL RESOURCEFUL AS HAVING A LOT OF MANPOWER IN STUDENTS TO DO RESEARCH AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS FOR US. SO THIS STANDING ADA TECHNOLOGY WORK GROUP MEETS MONTHLY. SOME OF THE MEMBERS WERE LOCATED THROUGHOUT THE STATE. IF YOU'RE IN YOU KNOW NORTH DAKOTA THAT INCLUDES SOME DISTANCE. SO SOMETIMES WE MEET VIA CONFERENCE CALL. NOW THAT WINTER HAS SET IN WE'RE LOOKING AT INNERACTIVE NETWORK TO HOLD OUR MEETINGS. OUR MEETINGS ARE LASTING TWO TO THREE HOURS WHEN WE GET TOGETHER. THE FIRST THE THING THE GROUP DID WAS IDENTIFY THE STATUTORY REQUIREMENT. AND I CAME IN WITH AND THINKING ABOUT AND ON ALL OF OUR PROJECTS BUT THEY WERE REALLY LOOKING AT IT THROUGH TITLE AND OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT WHICH REQUIRE ELECTRONIC ACCESSIBILITY BE AVAILABLE TO ALL INDIVIDUALS. ANDTHEY ALSO TOOK A LOOK AT THE NORTH DAKOTA HUMAN RIGHTS STATUTE DEFINES AS DISCRIMINATORY ANY ACTIONS THAT WOULD PREVENT INDIVIDUALS WITH DISABILITIES ACCESS TO BENEFITS ENJOYED BY ANY PERSON. THAT'S WITHIN ARTICLE -. THE NORTH DAKOTA COURT FOR THOEFZ YOU WHO WANT TO LOOK AT THAT. AND LOOKING AT SECTION , ALTHOUGH IT DOES NOT SPECIFICALLY AFFECT GOVERNMENT ENTITIES, IT DID START IDENTIFYING SOME OF THE STANDARDS AND GIVE SOME GUIDELINES FOR STATES TO LOOK AT AND HOPEFULLY AS ONE OF THE PANELISTS MENTIONED YESTERDAY, IT'S GOING TO DRIVE PROCUREMENT AND BECOME THE LEVERAGING PIECE FOR UNIVERSAL DESIGN. AS WE LOOK WOULD AT THAT THEY REVIEWED STATE POLICY SXLS FOUND IS THERE WEREN'T, AND BASICALLY TO ADDRESS IT ACCESSIBILITY. SO THE AREAS THEY IDENTIFIED AS ISSUES THAT REQUIRE POLICY OR TO BE LOOKED AT WERE WEB DEVELOPMENT, TELECOMMUNICATIONS, SOFTWARE AND HARDWARE, PROCUREMENT ISSUES, AND THEN THE TRAINING EDUCATION AND SUPPORT RESOURCES THAT WOULD BE PROVIDED.SO THOSE ARE THE BASIC COMPONENTS OF WHAT THIS GROUP IS LOOKING AT. ANDSURPRISE, SURPRISE, WE DECIDED TO LOOK AT WEB DEVELOPMENT AS THE FIRST POLICY INITIATIVE. IT SEEMED TO BE THE MOST PRESSING. IT WAS ALSO THE TOPIC THAT WAS UNDERSTOOD THE BEST AND SEEMED THE MOST MANAGEABLE. IT WAS SOMETHING WE COULD GET OUR HANDS AROUND. ALSO CONSIDERABLE WORK HAS BEEN DONE REGARDING WEB SITE STANDARDS. AND SO IT'S THE EASIEST TO RESEARCH AND TO PICK AND CHOOSE SOME POLICIES AND PUT A POLICY TOGETHER WITHOUT HAVING TO REINVENT THAT WHEEL. THE TECHNICAL FOLKS WERE BROUGHT -- THAT WORK FOR IT WERE BROUGHT INTO SEVERAL OF THE DISCUSSIONS AND I HAVE TO SAY THEY WERE REALLY VERY ENTHUSIASTIC. AND SEEMED TO ENJOY THE CHALLENGE. WHAT THEY LACKED PROBABLY WAS THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE DISABILITY AND THE REASON FOR THE NEED FOR THE DIFFERENT SPECIFICATIONS. IT HELPED ME AS THE AT PERSON TO REALIZE THAT WE HAVE ANOTHER WHOLE POPULATION THAT NEEDS AT AWARENESS TRAINING. IT HELPS THEM TO DO THEIR JOB IF THEY UNDERSTAND THE VARIOUS TYPES OF ALTERNATIVE COMPUTER ACCESS LIKE MARRY WAS REFERENCING AND HOW THE END USER'S COMPUTER ACCESS METHOD IMPACTS HOW THEY'RE ABLE TO ACCESS THE WEB SITES THAT THESE PEOPLE ARE DEVELOPING. OUR GROUP FOUND THAT ONCE THE TECHNICAL PEOPLE FOUND OUT WHAT THE ISSUES REALLY WERE, THEY WERE QUITE ENTHUSIASTIC AND EMBRACED THE IDEAS ABOUT ADDRESSING THEM. WHEN THE LEVELFUL WC GUIDELINES WAS EXPRESSED TO THEM, THEY DID NOT WANT TO START WITH LEVEL ; THEY JUST SAID LET'S START WITH LEVEL . I WAS REALLY EXCITE ABOUT THAT SITTING LISTENING TO THESE FOLKS. THEY WERE ENTHUSIASTIC AND HAD A VERY GOOD ATTITUDE IF THEY UNDERSTOOD WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS. THE ADOPTED POLICY AND I THINK YOU HAVE A COPY OF THAT IN YOUR FOLDERS, AND THAT WAS APPROVED ON SEPTEMBER , . ALL NEW WEB SITES NOW DEVELOPED WITHIN STATE GOVERNMENT IN NORTH DAKOTA THAT WERE IMPLEMENTED AFTER SEPTEMBER HAVE TO BE COMPLIANT. THE MAINTENANCE OF AGENCIES THAT HAVE EXISTING WEB SITES, THEY HAVE A COMPLIANCE DATE OF JUNE , . A LETTER FROM THE CIO WENT OUT TO ALL AGENCY CEO'S IN ALL AGENCIES AND YOU ALSO HAVE A COPY OF THAT LETTER IN YOUR PACKET.WE'VE ALSO PROVIDED A ONE-DAY TRAINING ON ACCESSIBLE WEB SITE IT'S ONE OF THOSE THINGS THAT JUST KIND OF FELL INTO PLACE. IPAT HAD ALREADY PLANNED ON IT TRAINING TO DO SOME POLICY AND SOME SPECIFICS ON TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE WITH WEB SITE DEVELOPMENT EARLIER ON AND IT WAS SCHEDULED TO TAKE PLACE IN AUGUST. WELL ALL OF THESE POLICY THINGS STARTED TO TAKE PLACE AT THE SAME TIME. WE WERE WONDERING HOW WE WERE GOING TO RECRUIT IT PEOPLE TO GET THEM INTERESTED IN COMING TO TRAINING, THIS POLICY WAS TAKING SHAPE. SO THE CIO'S LETTER WENT OUT AND SO WE HAD EVERY AGENCY REPRESENTED I THINK AT THAT TRAINING. SO IT JUST ALL KIND OF FIT TOGETHER. BUT THAT BRINGS UP SOME OF THE CHALLENGES. I THINK WE HAVE A LOT TO DO IN AWARENESS, WE HAVE A LOT OF TRAINING THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE AND SOME UNDERSTANDING. THE TRAINING THAT WE'VE PUT FORTH IS WE NEED MORE TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES AND I THINK IT HAS TO BE MORE TIMELY. IT'S NOT READILY AVAILABLE RIGHT NOW. THERE'S BEING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PROVIDED BY THE E-TEAM AND THINGS OUT OF ITD BUT IT'S NOT AS QUICK OR ACCESSIBLE AND AS WEB SITES ARE DEVELOPED ON AN ONGOING BASIS THOSE PROBLEMS ARE CONSISTENTLY COMING UP. OUR GROUP IS LOOKING AT WHAT KIND OF TRAINING CAN BE SUPPORTED AND WE'RE LOOKING AT TYPICAL THINGS, PRESENTATIONS AND PACKETS, AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND ON-LINE KINDS OF TRAINING. ONE OTHER THING -- ANOTHER THING THAT I THINK IS A CHALLENGE, WE NEED TO PROMOTE IT, WE'RE BACK TO THE MARKETING PIECE AGAIN. AGENCIES NEED TO UNDERSTAND, PEOPLE NEED TO UNDERSTAND, AND SO WE HAVE TO ATTEND TO THAT PUBLIC RELATIONS COMPONENT. WE'VE TALKED ABOUT MONITORING COMPLIANCE, HOW WE'RE GOING TO DO THAT. MARY CERTAINLY DISCUSSED THAT IN MORE DETAIL, BUT YOU KNOW HOW WELL WE MONITOR IT AT THIS POINT WE'RE USING THAT STUDENT LABOR RIGHT NOW TO CHECK ALL THE SITES AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, BUT ARE WE LOOKING AT FREQUENCY OF SIX MONTHS? WE'RE STILL DETERMINING WHAT LEVEL OF REVIEWS, FOR EXAMPLE, WE'RE GOING TO CHECK ALL AGENCIES, ARE WE DOING IT AT RANDOM? LOOKING AT ALL PAGES THAT THE AGENCIES CITE ARE ONLY PRIMARY PAGES, COST AND MANPOWER, ALL THOSE KINDS OF THINGS BECOME KEY FACTORS IN THAT. AS WE FINISHED UP, WE'RE VERY EXCITED THAT WE HAVE A WEB SITE POLICY IN PLACE AND WE'RE REAL PLEASED AT HOW SMOOTHLY THAT WENT. WE NOW ARE LOOKING AT SOME OF THE ISSUES THAT PHASES OUR TELECOMMUNICATION. AND WITHIN THAT AREIN AF TELEPHONE SYSTEMS AND ALL THAT KIND OF PIECE. AND WE'RE HOPING PROCUREMENT CAN TAKE THAT -- TAKE CARE OF SOME OF THOSE ISSUES BUT IN THE MEANTIME IT'S NOT. AND THE REALITY IS IT'S A VERY BROAD AREA AND IT'S A VERY HARD ONE FOR US TO GET OUR HANDS AROUND. WE STARTED BY A DISCUSSION OF WHAT IS PROBABLY ONE OF THE GREATEST BARRIERS TO THE CITIZENS OF NORTH DAKOTA AND I KNOW MANY OF THE CONSUMERS AND I MYSELF INCLUDED BELIEVE ONE OF IT IS THE INTERACTIVE VOICE RESPONSE PHONE SYSTEMS. THEY'RE TOUGH FOR ANYBODY, YOU KNOW? AND WHEN YOU'RE STARTING TO USE DIFFERENT KINDS OF DEVICES AT THE END AND THINGS TO ACCESS THOSE, IT'S VERY DIFFICULT. IT'S ALSO VERY DIFFICULT FOR THE FOLKS IN OUR AREA OF DEMOGRAPHICS OF AGING POPULATION AND THINGS. SOTHOSE KINDS OF THINGS PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND.WE MAYBE AREN'T GETTING SOME OF THE UNDERSTANDING OF THE WEB SITE BECAUSE OF ALL OF THE PUBLICITY AND THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF THINGS THAT'S HAPPENING, BUT PEOPLE DON'T UNDERSTAND WHAT THE PROBLEM IS WITH THE PHONE SYSTEMS UNTIL THEY SEE SOMEONE TRYING TO USE A TTY AND ACCESS ONE OF THOSE IV I SYSTEMS OR SOMETHING. SO WHEN THEY SEE WHAT HAPPENS, THEY UNDERSTAND IT AND I GUESS I THINK -- I FEEL LIKE WE'RE BACK IN THAT SAME POSITION THAT IF THERE'S AN UNDERSTANDING OUT THERE THEY'LL DEAL WITH THE PROBLEM AND HELP US SOLVE THOSE PROBLEMS. I'D LOVE TO SEE OUR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE GRANTS PROVIDE US SOME OF THOSE KINDS OF AWARENESS MATERIALS THAT WE CAN DO A VIDEO AND SHOW THE FOLKS OUT THERE THAT DON'T HAVE ANY ACCESS TO THAT IT WOULD BE A GREAT TRAINING TOOL THAT WOULD TAKE MINUTES. SO FOR US THAT WOULD BE VERY HELPFUL. TELECOMMUNICATIONS WILL MORE THAN LIKELY BE EXPENSIVE AND ONCE AGAIN VERY BROAD. I THINK SOME OF THE THING THAT HAVE REALLY WORKED IN THAT ADA TECHNOLOGY WORK GROUP IS THE POSITIVE ATTITUDE OF THE LEAD AGENCY WHICH WE DISCUSSED. IT ISN'T BECAUSE -- IT'S A VERY POSITIVE ATTITUDE THAT THEY'RE APPROACHING BUT THEY ALSO HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO DO SOMETHING WITH IT. AND THAT'S A REAL BIG PIECE; IT'S REAL FUN TO SIT ON A COMMITTEE THAT HAS THE AUTHORITY TO IMPLEMENT THE POLICY. THE BACKGROUNDS THAT THEY BROUGHT TO THE TABLE ARE REALLY CLOSE TO THE PROBABLES AND CAN IDENTIFY THOSE. AND I THINK THE OTHER PIECE THAT'S GOING TO BE VERY IMPORTANT IS LOOKING AT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO IMPLEMENT THE POLICIES WHICH INCLUDE SUPPORT STRATEGIES FOR TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING. THE CHALLENGES WILL CONTINUE TO BE AWARENESS, TRAINING, MARKETING, MONITORING COMPLIANCE, COST, THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, AND GETTING A HANDLE ON A VERY BROAD AND COMPLEX ISSUE. IT'S HARD FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO DO IT AND WANT TO DO IT RIGHT. AND I THINK WITH THAT I'LL CLOSE. THANK YOU, JUDIE. WE DID RECEIVE ONE QUESTION IN FROM PARTICIPANT IN NORTH CAROLINA WHO TOUCHES ON THE SUBJECT OF TRAINING. HE ASKS THAT HAS YOUR STATE DEVELOPED OR PERHAPS ANY OF THE STATES WE CAN HEAR FROM THE OTHERS A LITTLE BIT LATER, DEVELOPED ANY CONSORTIA FOR SHARING RESOURCES OR BUILDING A KIND OF TRAIN OR TRAINER COURSES? SO RATHER THAN EACH STATE DEVELOPING THE SAME OR SIMILAR TYPES OF MATERIALS, WORK TOGETHER. BUT I GUESS FIRST IN TERMS OF SOME OF THE TRAINING MATERIALS THAT YOU'VE MENTIONED, WOULD THOSE BE AVAILABLE TO THIS PARTICULAR INDIVIDUAL IN STATE GOVERNMENT IN NORTH CAROLINA? WHAT WE'RE DOING RIGHT NOW, WE'RE JUST IN THAT EARLY STAGE OF DEVELOPING THOSE KINDS OF THINGS, BUT I WOULD HOPE THAT THAT WOULD BE TRUE THAT WE COULD BE SHARING THOSE AND I CALL UPON THE OTHER STATES TO DO THE SAME BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S AN EXCELLENT AVENUE TO BE ABLE TO DO THAT AND SHARE THEM ON LINE AND THOSE KINDS OF THINGS. SO AS WE DEVELOP THEM, MAYBE YOU AS A TECHNICAL ASSIST ANCE PROJECT, WE'LL HAVE TO IDENTIFY WHO CAN BE A LEAD AS FAR AS A FOCUS POINT WHERE WE CAN SEND THEM OUR ONE CONTACT POINT OR SOMETHING. SO THAT'S A GREAT DISCUSSION PIECE. I WOULD AGREE THAT PART OF THE ROLE OF ITTATC OVER FIVE YEARS WOULD BE TO BECOME THAT TYPE OF FOCAL POINT WORKING WITH THE STATE AT PROJECTS AND THE WORK THAT DEBORAH STARTED. BUT CLEARLY THERE'S A NEED NATIONWIDE. ALL RIGHT.LET'S GO BACK TO DEBORAH WHO IS THIS TIME GOING TO SHARE WITH US INFORMATION ABOUT NEW YORK STATE. LET ME SHARE WITH YOU A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND INFORMATION ABOUT DEBORAH BUCK IS THE ACCESSIBILITY PROGRAM MANAGER AT THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND SERVES AS THE COCHAIR OF THE NEW YORK STATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY STEERING COMMITTEE. SHE HAS OVER YEARS OF EXPERIENCE IN ADVOCACY ON BEHALF OF PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. PRIOR TO JOINING THE OFFICE OF TECHNOLOGY IN NEW YORK STATE, DEB RAFS THE DIRECTOR OF THE NEW YORK STATE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY PROJECT AND COORDINATOR OF THE GOVERNOR'S TASK FORCE ON ADVOCACY WITHIN THE NEW YORK STATE OFFICE OF ADVOCATE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES. DURING HER TENURE IN STATE GOVERNMENT SHE'S BEEN A MEMBER OF THE GOVERNOR'S TELECOMMUNICATIONS CHANGE, THE VERIZON UNIVERSAL DESIGN COMMITTEE, THE NEW YORK STATE ADVANCED TELECOMMUNICATIONS PROJECT, AND AT LEAST ANOTHER HALF DOZEN TASK FORCES WITHIN GOVERNMENT. DEBORAH HAS A BS DEGREE IN SOCIOLOGY FROM BISHOPS UNIVERSITY IN CANADA AND A MASTER'S IN REHABILITATION COUNSELING FROM THE UNIVERSITY YFRT AT ALBANY.DEBORAH? THANKS, MICHAEL. A LOT OF THOSE THINGS DO FALL UNDER THE OTHER DUTIES AS REQUIRED. WHAT I WANT TO DO IS GIVE YOU KIND OF A SENSE OF THE STRUCTURE IN NEW YORK AND THEN FOCUS ON A COUPLE OF THE ACTIVITIES WE HAVE GOING ON NOW THAT I THINK HAVE BROUGHT REAL VALUE TO THE STATE AND REALLY HAVE INCREDIBLE POTENTIAL. NEW YORK WAS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF ONE OF THE STATES I SPOKE OF EARLIER WHEN I SAID THAT PRIOR TO PROBABLY FIVE, YEERXS, MANY STATES DID NOT HAVE A CENTRALIZED COORDINATING ENTITY IN TERMS OF INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. NEW YORK, EACH AGENCY REALLY HAD AUTHORITY AND JUST FOCUSED ON IT WITHIN THEIR OWN REALM. WHEN A NEW ADMINISTRATION CAME ON BOARD IN , GOVERNOR PATAKI ESTABLISHED AN INFORMATION TASK FORCE -- A TASK FORCE ON INFORMATION RESOURCE MANAGEMENT. THIS SAN EXAMPLE OF AN OPPORTUNITY THAT I WAS TALKING ABOUT EARLIER BECAUSE AT THAT TIME I WAS WITH THE AT PROJECT AND WE KNEW THAT THE STATE, WE HAD BEEN WORKING WITH DIFFERENT GROUPS THROUGHOUT THE STATE TRYING TO LOOK AT IT ACCESSIBILITY POLICIES AND REMEMBER REALLY JUST KIND OF MUDLING ALONG, NOT MAKING MUCH PROGRESS, HAD ENCOUNTERED SOME GOOD PEOPLE, BUT NOT THE PEOPLE WHO COULD DO WHAT NEED TO BE DONE. AND WHEN THE TASK FORCE WAS CONVENED, WE BY CHANCE ON A LARK CONTACTED THEM AND GOT TO THE RIGHT PERSON. AND THAT IS ONE OF THE THINGS I REALLY WANT TO FOCUS ON TODAY IS THAT IT'S PEOPLE AND IN MANY CASES YOU HAVE TO GET TO THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN ORDER TO GET DONE WHAT IT IS YOU WANT TO GET DONE AND TAKE ADVANTAGE OF OPPORTUNITIES. WE WERE ABLE TO WORK CLOSELY WITH THE GOVERN'S TASK FORCE AND WE ISSUED A POLICY IN WHICH IS KIND OF OUR GLOBAL OVERARCHING POLICY ON IT ACCESSIBILITY. UNFORTUNATELY, AS ANOTHER GOOD EXAMPLE OF THE SURVEY RESULTS, THAT POLICY REALLY DIDN'T HAVE ANY GOOD SUBSTANCE IN TERMS OF STANDARDS, AND SO WHILE IT WAS OUT FROM, IT REALLY SET THE TONE, THERE WASN'T A LOT OF HARD INFORMATION THAT COULD HELP PEOPLE IN IMPLEMENTING IT. THE ISSUE WAS KIND OF BUMPED UP THE LINE A LITTLE FASTER AND HARDER WHEN THE STATE ROLLED OUT SOME APPLICATIONS THAT AS IT TURNED OUT WERE NOT ACCESSIBLE TO SOME OF OUR EMPLOYEES. AND THE ISSUE BECAME AN ISSUE PRETTY QUICKLY. AND WE AS AN ADVOCACY AGENCY, AS THE ADADICACY OFFICE AND SOME OF THE INFORMATION THAT WERE DEALING WITH IT REALLY HAD TO KIND OF COLLABORATE AND SAY, FIRST OF ALL, IT WAS LIKE OH, MY GOD, HOW DID THIS HAPPEN? AND THEN IT WAS THE STEP OF WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO TO FIX IT? AND PEOPLE WORKED VERY HARD ON IT AND THE SOLUTION, WHILE THERE IS A SOLUTION, IT WAS NOT THAT BUILT-IN FRONT-END KIND OF SOLUTION. SO IT WAS A REAL LEARNING EXPERIENCE FOR US. BUT AS A RESULT, WE USED THAT EXPERIENCE TO WORK WITH THE OFFICE FOR TECHNOLOGY WHICH SUBSEQUENTLY BECOME A FORMAL OFFICE IN THE STATE BY STATUTE. ANDWE'RE INDICATING, WE NEED TO FOCUS ON THIS ISSUE, EITHER THERE NEEDS TO BE A COORDINATED EFRLT. AND QUITE FRANKLY WE KIND OF WENT BACK ASK FORTH AS TO WHO SHOULD BE THE LEAD ON, THIS THE STATE AT PROJECT OR THE GOVERNOR'S CIO OFFICE. AND WITHIN THE STATE AT PROJECT AT THAT POINT, WE, THE STATE ADVOCATE FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES IS A SYSTEMS CHANGE AGENCY. THEY REALLY DON'T HAVE AUTHORITY TO ISSUE POLICIES. THEIR ROLE IS TO ASSIST OTHER AGENCIES IN DOING WHAT THEY'RE SUPPOSED TO BE DOING AND HELP THEM TO DO IT. SO WITHIN THAT FRAMEWORK WE ADVOCATED VERY HEAVILY THAT THE OFFICE FOR TECHNOLOGY SHOULD REALLY BE BE THE LEAD AND THAT WAS THE MOST APPROPRIATE APPROACH TO LOOKING AT IT ACCESSIBILITY. THEY WERE TAKING ON THE FRAMEWORK, THE RESPONSIBILITY FOR POLICIES OF THE STATE AND IT WAS MORE APPROPRIATE HOW WAS WITHIN THAT AGENCY. AS A RESULT OF THAT, THE DPFR'S OFFICE FOR TECHNOLOGY CONVENEDA I TASK FORCE WHICH HAS SINCE BUILDING OUR NEW YORK STATE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ACCESSIBILITY STEERING COMMITTEE. ALL THOSE MORE ACRONYMS. THIS IS COCHAIRED BY THE OFFICE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND THE DRERKTS OF THE STATE AT PROJECT. WE CURRENTLY HAVE STATE AGENCIES WITH REPRESENTATION OF STATE EMPLOYEES THAT HAVE DISABILITIES AS WELL. AND THEY REALLY ADVISE AND PROVIDE RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE OFFICE FOR TECHNOLOGY IN TERMS OF POLICIES AND INITIATIVES. WHEN WE FIRST CONVENED THE GROUP, MICHAEL ASKED THE QUESTION EARLIER ON WHAT WAS THE ROLE OF INDUSTRY AND OTHER GROUPS WITHIN YOUR TASK FORCE. AND WHEN WE FIRST CONVENED OUR GROUP BACK IN , WE DID HAVE SOME INDUSTRY REPRESENTATIVES. WE HAD MULTIPLE SUBCOMMITTEES AND ONE OF THE SUBCOMMITTEES WAS LOOKING AT THE ISSUE OF PROCUREMENT AND APPLICATION ACCESSIBILITY AND QUITE FRANKLY AS MARY SAID, IT WAS AN ISSUE THAT WE COULDN'T GET OUR ARMS AROUND IT AT THAT POINT. AND WITH THE WHOLE ISSUE WITH AND THE QUESTIONS ABOUT APPLICABILITY TO STATES, WE KEPT DELAYING AND SAYING WE REALLY DON'T WANT TO FORGE AHEAD, INVEST A LOT OF TIME AND RESOURCES AND AFTER THE FACT FOUND OUT WE WENT DOWN THE WRONG PATH AND AS A RESULT SOME OF THOSE GROUPS LOST MOMENTUM. HOWEVER, WE HAD A KEY GROUP THAT WAS FOCUSED ON WEB ACCESSIBILITY, AND AS JUDIE SAID, IT IS SOMETHING WE COULD GET OUR HANDS AROUND, THERE WERE SOME STANDARDS OUT THERE, WE HAD AN INCREDIBLY COMMITTED GROUP ON OUR WORK GROUP, AND IN WE ISSUED OUR POLICY ON WEB SITE ACCESSIBILITY. WE ADOPTED THE WC GUIDELINES PRIORITY LEVEL AND ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID AS WE ROLLED OUT THE POLICY, WE CONVENED ALL OF THE STATE AGENCIES AND GAVE THEM AN INTRODUCTION, BROUGHT IN SOMEONE FROM THE WC AND TALKED ABOUT THE INFORMATION, TALKED ABOUT THE POLICY ASPECTS AND IN THE AFTERNOON, ONE OF THE THINGS WE DID WAS WE INVITED ONE PERSON FROM EACH AGENCY AND WE FACILITATED FOCUS GROUPS ASKING THEM THIS IS OUR POLICY, WHAT DO YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO IMPLEMENT IT? AND IT WAS REALLY THE DRIVING PLAN FOR THIS GROUP BECAUSE THE STATE AGENCY WERE AISHL TO TELL US, I NEED MORE AND BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE STANDARDS, I NEED TRAINING, ET CETERA. SO THAT WORKED PRETTY EFFECTIVELY. IN TERMS OF OUR ACTIVITIES RIGHT NOW AND HOW WE'RE ATTACKING THIS, I JOINED THE OFFICE FOR TECHNOLOGY A YEAR AGO FOR A PERIOD OF TIME I WAS ON LOAN FROM THE STATE AT PROJECT TO THE OFFICE FOR TECHNOLOGY AND HAVE SUBSEQUENTLY BECOME A PERMANENT STAFF MEMBER. AND MY JOINING THE AGENCY WAS ANOTHER TIMELY OPPORTUNITY. WHEN I FIRST GOT FROM I WAS DOING THE ACCESSIBILITY, BUT I ALSO, IT WAS NOT A FULL-TIME JOB FOCUS AT THAT POINT, AND NEW YORK WAS IN THE MIDST OF ESTABLISHING A TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY. IT'S A WAY FOR US TO COORDINATE OUR TECHNOLOGY SKILL DEVELOPMENT TRAINING, LEVERAGE BULK BUYING, AND WE ALSO BUILT FOUR CLASSROOMS WITHIN OUR AGENCY FOR -- TO BE ABLE TO HOLD TECHNOLOGY CLASSES. I CAME ON BOARD SHORTLY AFTER THE DIRECTOR OF THE TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY JOINED THE OFFICE AND SHE WAS THICK IN THE MIDST OF CONSTRUCTION, LITERALLY. DOWN IN THE BASEMENT FIGURING OUT WHERE THE PROJECTORS GO, ORDERING TABLES AND CHAIRS. AT THE SAME TIME, NEW YORK WAS REALLY ROLLING OUT SOME OF ITS E-COMMERCE, E-PROCUREMENT INITIATIVES. AND WE LEVERAGED SOME DOLLARS TO MAKE AVAILABLE -- SO I WAS ASKED TO WORK WITH THE TECHNOLOGY ACADEMY AND THE E-COMMERCE INITIATIVE TO FOCUS AND ROLL OUT SOME TRAINING. LET ME TELL YOU, I AM A POLICY PERSON. I AM NOT A TECHNOLOGY PERSON. AND IT WAS A LITTLE OVERWHELMING TO SUDDENLY HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY OF IDENTIFYING EVEN WHAT KIND OF TRAINING. I DIDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT HTML WAS IN TERMS OF CODING, ET CETERA. BUT I REALLY WAS ABLE TO CAUCUS CLOSELY WITH A LOT OF MY PEERS AND MEMBERS OF THE GROUP AND WE MOVED AHEAD AND WE LEVERAGED SOME TRAINING, WE PURCHASED TRAINING, BUT WHAT WE DID TERMS OF TRAINING THAT WE PURCHASED WAS WE REALIZED PRETTY QUICKLY THAT THE WEB ACCESSIBILITY POLICY IS PART OF OUR WAY OF DOING BUSINESS. ANYTHING THAT'S GOING TO BE ON OUR STATE PORTAL OR ON AGENCY'S WEB SITES NEED TO BE ACCESSIBLE. IN TERMS OF E-COMMERCE, IF WE WERE GOING TO TRAIN STATE AGENCIES, WE NEEDED TO MAKE SURE THEY WERE AWARE OF WHAT OUR POLICIES WERE. AS WE CONTRACTED OUT FOR THE DIFFERENT TRAININGS WE OFFERED, WE WORKED CLOSELY WITH THE VENDORS TO CUSTOMIZE THEIR TRAINING. SO EACH OF THE TRAINING, HTML TRAINING, JAVASCRIPT TRAINING, DREAMWEAVER TRAINING, ALL INCORPORATES OUR POLICY ON WEB ACCESSIBILITY. WHAT WE HAD FOUND WAS THAT IF WE WERE DOING A SEPARATE ACCESSIBILITY TRAINING AND THEN PEOPLE WERE GOING TO A STRAIGHT HTML TRAINING, THEY WERE ENDING UP WITH CONTRADICTORY INFORMATION. AND THEY WOULD COME OUT AND SAY THEY JUST TOLD ME WE WOULD HAVE TO DO IT THIS WAY. BUT WE WOULD HAVE TO ENCOUNTER, BUT WITH OUR POLICY, YOU NEED TO DO IT THIS WAY. THAT WOULD BE MORE TIME CONSUMING FOR US TO KEEP REEDUCATING PEOPLE SO WE'VE WORKED CLOSELY IN CUSTOMIZING T. THE VENDORS HAVE BEEN INCREDIBLE IN TERMS OF THEIR RESPONSE AND THEIR WILLINGNESS TO CUSTOMIZE THEIR TRAINING AND ONE OF THE I GUESS THE BEST IMPACTS I CAN SAY IS THAT ONE DAY ONE THE STAFF FROM ONE OF THE VENDORS WE'VE BEEN WORKING WITH WAS FINISHING A CLASS, ANOTHER GENERAL CLASS THAT WE WERE OFFERING THROUGH THE ACADEMY AND HE STARTED -- WE STARTED TALKING ABOUT ACCESSIBILITY AND HE WAS SO PROUD AND HE WAS SAYING, YOU KNOW, WE'RE REALLY DOING ACCESSIBILITY.IT'S BECOME PAFRLT OUR CORPORATE STRUCTURE, IT'S A NATURAL WAY OF DOING THINGS AND HE REALLY DIDN'T HAVE ANY IDEA THAT WE HAD ANY ROLE IN HELPING THEM TO GET THERE. AND IT WAS REALLY QUITE REINFORCING TO KNOW THAT YOU CAN HAVE THAT IMPACT AND IT JUST BECOMES A SEAMLESS APPROACH. ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE WOULD LAKE TO SEE DONE IS THERE ARE KEY CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS IN THE COUNTRY AND THOSE CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS DO DEVELOP CURRICULUMS IN TERMS OF HARD LINE RESOURCES AND THE ACTUAL CURRICULUM IN TERMS OF HOW TO TRAIN ON MANY OF THE TECHNICAL SKILL DEVELOPMENT COURSES. WHAT WE'D LIKE TO SEE HAPPEN IS GETTING TO THOSE CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS SO THAT THE CUSTOMIZATION IS DONE AT THE FRONT SXEND DONE ONCE SO YOU DON'T HAVE THE WORK CONSTANTLY TO WORK WITH EACH INDIVIDUAL TO GO THROUGH THE CUSTOMIZATION AND PROVIDE THESE ADDITIONAL PIECES OF INFORMATION. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS WE'RE DONE IN TERMS OF TRAINING IS REALLY PARTNERED. PRIOR TO NEW YORK DID NOT HAVE A FORMAL STATE AGENCY ON INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY, HOWEVER, WE DID HAVE SOME SEMIFORMAL GROUPS, ONE OF WHICH WAS A COALITION OF ALL STATE IT DIRECTORS.THATCOALITION CONTINUES TO EXIST AND MEETS REGULARLY AND THEY HAVE AN ANNUAL CONFERENCE WHICH GETS PEOPLE THAT COME REGULARLY. FOR THE LAST TWO YEARS WE'VE BEEN INVITED BY TLEM TO DO SESSIONS ON IT ACCESSIBILITY, AND IT'S BEEN A WONDERFUL WAY TO HAVE IMPACT AND COLLABORATE WITH OTHER PARTNERS AND THIS YEAR WE'LL BE DOING ONE ON ACCESSIBLE APPLICATION DEVELOPMENT AND WE'RE TALKING WITH MARY TO HAVE THE STATE OF MAINE HIGHLIGHTED AT THAT SESSION AS WELL, BECAUSE THEY'VE DONE SOME GOOD THINGS IN TERMS OF ACCESS APPLICATION ROLL-OUT. ANOTHER GROUP THAT EXISTS THAT WE'VE KIND OF LATCHED ONTO OR COLLABORATED WITH IS AN INFORMAL GROUP THAT'S WITH THE NEW YORK STATE FORUM. IT'S ANOTHER GROUP ON INFORMATION RESOURCE MANAGEMENT AND THEY HAVE A WEB GUILD. THEY MEET REGULARLY ONCE A MONTH THE FIRST FRIDAY AND THEY HOLD SESSIONS FOR WEB MASTERS AND ANYONE ELSE WHO IS INTERESTED. AND WE WORKED WITH THEM TO HAVE ACCESSIBILITY TRAINING WITHIN THAT FORMAT. AND THAT'S BEEN VERY, VERY SUCCESSFUL. I WOULD SAY THE KEY TO OUR SUCCESS IN THOSE AREAS HAVE REALLY BEEN OUR WORK GROUP MEMBERS. THOSE ARE THE ONES WHO HAVE MADE MANY OF THE RELATIONSHIPS AND REMEMBER THE INSTIGATERS OF GETTING THE TRAINING IN AND HAVE ALSO BEEN THE TRAINERS IN MANY CASES. ANOTHER IMPACT WE'VE SEEN IS THAT IN SOME OF THESE SESSIONS, THE WEB GUILD SESSIONS THAT WE'VE HAD, HAS IT IS AN AREA WHERE THERE IS CONSTANTLY NEED PEOPLE JOINING ESPECIALLY IN THE PUBLIC ENVIRONMENT. THE STATE WILL HIRE SOMEONE, THEY WILL TRAIN THEM, THE PERSON SUBSEQUENTLY LEAVES AND GOES TO THE PRIVATE SECTOR WHERE THEY CAN GET BETTER PAY FOR THEIR SKILLS. SO THERE'S A CONSTANT OPEN DOOR OF NEW PEOPLE JOINING THE SYSTEM AND AT ONE OF THE WEB GUILD MEETINGS ONE DAY, ONE OF THE PARTICIPANTS WAS EXPRESSING DISMAY OR CHALLENGING WHY THE STATE WAS DOING SOME OF THE ACCESSIBILITY POLICY SXLS WE DIDN'T REALLY NEED IT, AND I CAN TELL YOU THAT EVERY ONE OF THE TASK FORCE MEMBERS WERE POISED AT THE END OF THEIR SEAT READY TO RESPOND TO THAT PERSON AND NO ONE EVEN HAD TO BECAUSE SOMEONE IN THE AUDIENCE STOOD UP, ANOTHER WEB MASTER NOT AFFILIATED WITH THE GROUP AND RESPONDED TO THE PERSON'S QUESTION. AND IT'S THAT ISSUE OF AWARENESS AND GETTING PEOPLE TO BUY INTO THE ISSUE. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE DID THIS YEAR WAS WE HELD A SESSION ON IT ACCESSIBILITY. AND IT WAS REALLY TRYING TO GET THE FULL GAMUT. WE HAD KEN MACATTA FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE JOIN US AND WE HAD SOMEONE FROM THE STATE OF NEW YORK, A USER TALKING ABOUT SOME OF THE IMPLICATIONS AND WE HAD SOME PANELS OF SOME KEY INDUSTRY REPRESENTTIVES, COMPAQ, MICROSOFT, HEWLETT-PACKARD, IBM, MICROSOFT, AND ORACLE, AND IT WAS REALLY WELL-PLANNED OUT. THE INDUSTRY REPS WORKED VERY CLOSELY WITH US. IT WAS TO BE A MODERATED PANEL. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS EVENT WAS TO BE ON SEPTEMBER . WHEEL WE GOT INTO HALF OF IT, WE HAD TO SUBSEQUENTLY CANCEL IT BECAUSE OF THESTERORIST ATTACKS IN NEW YORK CITY AND WASHINGTON. HOUFRP, WE PLAN TO RESCHEDULE THAT FOR THE SPRING. THE OTHER ACTIVITY I WANT TO FOCUS ON IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE QUALITY, #SHURNS TESTING LAB. THIS IS ANOTHER EXAMPLE OF KIND OF BEING IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME. I THINK IN THE CIO'S OFFICE THERE ARE MANY THINGS GOING ON AND IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY TO INFUSE ACCESSIBILITY WITHIN THE DAY-TO-DAY OPERATIONS. WE HAVE AN APPLICATIONS DEVELOPMENT UNIT IN OUR OFFICE AND THEY BUILD A LOT OF STATE APPLICATIONS FOR OUR AGENCY AND ASSIST OTHER AGENCIES. AND ONE OF MY COLLEAGUES HAPPENED TO BE WALKING BY MY OFFICE THE OTHER DAY, AND SAID YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO BUILD A QUALITY ASSURANCE TESTING LAB. YOU WANT THAT ACCESSIBILITY STUFF IN THERE? AND I JUST KIND OF SAT BACK IN MY SEAT, UYEAH. AND HE SAID, WELL, TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO. I COULD NEVER HAVE PLOTTED TO HAVE THAT HAPPEN. AND IT'S BEEN WONDERFUL. I MEAN WE'VE BOUGHT SOME SOFTWARE, SOME JAWS APPLICATIONS, AND PLANNED TO GET SOME OTHER SOFTWARE AS WELL. THE ISSUE, THOUGH, IS THAT THIS IS A QUALITY ASSURANCE TESTING LAB. IT IS NOT AN ACCESSIBLE LAB. ACCESSIBLE HAPPENS TO BE ONE OF THE FEATURES AND SERVICES THAT WE OFFER TO STATE AGENCIES. IT IS NOT A HARDWARE TESTING LAB, IT IS AN APPLICATION SOFTWARE TESTING LAN, IT IS DEVELOPED FOR IN-HOUSE STATE APPLICATIONS AS WELL AS THOSE IN PRIVATE INDUSTRY. TELL ALSO BE USED FOR TESTING WEB SITES. WE'RE IN THE MIDST OF DEVELOPING PROTOCOL AND REVIEW CRITERIA SO WE CAN CLEARLY TELL AGENCIES WHAT IS IT THAT WE'RE GOING TO DO, WHAT ARE WE GOING TO LOOK AT AND HOW ARE WE GOING TO DO. OUR INTENT IS TO USE IT TO WORK COLLABORATEIVELY WITH THE AGENCIES AND PROVIDE THE TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE THAT THEY NEED AND USE IT FOR THE BIGGER PICTURE IN TERMS OF IDENTIFYING STATE NEEDS, IN TERMS OF WHAT TRAINING DEFENDANT'S EXHIBIT CAN BE OFFER TLUD OUR ACADEMY. AND WE SEE AGENCIES HAVING THE SAME ISSUES, WE KNOW VERY CLEARLY WE NEED TO DEVELOP A COURSE AND DO SOMETHING TO MEET THAT NEED. ONE OF THE THINGS WE'VE DONE IN TERMS OF THE LAB IS WE'VE ALSO HAD ANOTHER EMPLOYEE WITHIN OFFICE REASIEVENED TO WORK WITH US IN THE LAB. IT'S A REITERATION OF WHAT MARY SHARED. WE HAD A LOTFUL PEOPLE WHO MAY NOT BE USERS OF USING JAWS, THEY WERE TESTING WEB SITES. YOU GET A WHOLE DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE. AND THEN WE WOULD HAVE OUR COLLEAGUE OR SOME OTHER PEOPLE WHO WERE USERS AND THEY WERE FINDING THINGS LEFT AND RIGHT THAT WE WERE SITTING THERE SAYING, OH, I DIDN'T SEE THAT. SO HAVING A BROAD-BASE OF SKILLS INVOLVED IN YOUR ACTIVITIES IS REALLY IMPORTANT IN HAVING USERS. THE CHALLENGE WITH THE STAFF PERSON THAT WE HAVE JOINING US, WHOSE NAME IS JEFF BENNETT, IS HE'S A BEAR. HE IS SO TECHNOLOGICALLY PROFICIENT AND HE ADMITS THAT HE WILL WORK ON SOMETHING FOR HOURS UNTIL HE CAN CRACK IT. AND WE NEED TO KEEP THAT IN MIND BECAUSE NOT EVERYBODY IS LIKE JEFF. AND IN TERMS OF USER SKILLS, YOU HAVE TO -- YOU CAN'T MAKE THE ASSUMPTION THAT ONE PERSON IS GOING TO BE INDICATIVE OF THE FULL RANGE OF USERS. SO WHILE WE'RE GRATEFUL THAT WE HAVE JEFF TO WORK WITH US, WE NEED TO KEEP REMEMBERING THAT NOT EVERYONE IS LIKE JEFF. SOME OF THE THINGS THEY WANT TO FOCUS ON IN TERMS OF ONGOING NEEDS AND CHALLENGES IS THE FACT THAT TRAINING, IT'S NEVER DONE. AND AGAIN, THAT ISSUE OF STAFF CHANGING, YOU CONSTANTLY HAVE TO BE ABLE TO BE RESPONDING. THE OTHER AREA OF TRAINING THAT I AM EMBARRASSED TO ADMIT THAT I OVERLOOKED, THAT WE HAVE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVICES AND IT BECOMES SECOND NATURE. AND WE HAVE DONE SOME SESSIONS WITH THE STATE AGENCIES IN TERMS OF DEMOING THE ASSISTIVE TECHNOLOGY DEVICES AND SOME OF THE IT-RELATED ISSUES, AND I STILL AM AMAZED WHEN PEOPLE WALK OUT OF THAT ROOM, THAT'S THE BEST THING THEY LIKED AND THEY WANTED AND NEEDED IT. AND WE CAN'T FORGET THAT. AS JUDIE SAID IT'S A BASIC PIECE OF INFORMATION THAT IS INHER SXENT CRITICAL TO PEOPLE UNDERSTANDING WHAT WE'RE DOING AND WHY WE NEED TO DO IT. THE OTHER THING IS IN TERMS OF SKILL DEVELOPMENT, WHAT WE HAVE HERE TODAY IN TERMS OF THE CAPTIONING BEING STREAMED, THAT IS A CHALLENGE FOR STATE AGENCIES. THE ISSUE OF TRAINING BEING AVAILABLE FOR STATE AGENCIES TO UNDERSTAND IT, TO LEARN THE TOOLS TO BE ABLE TO DO IT AND THE LEARNING CURVE TO ACTUALLY UNDERSTAND THOSE TOOLS. THIS IS A CHALLENGE. I MEAN AFTER THE SEPTEMBER EVENTS, MANY, MANY AGENCIES ARE TAKING A DIFFERENT LOOK AT HOW THEY DO BUSINESS AND HOW THEY TRAIN THEIR STAFF AND HOW THEY CONVENE CONFERENCES AND MAKE THAT INFORMATION AVAILABLE. PEOPLE ARE -- SOME PEOPLE ARE HESITANT TO TRAVEL WITH THE FISCAL IMPLICATIONS WE HAVE GOING ON RIGHT NOW, WE HAVE TO LOOK AT ALTERNATIVE MEANS TO PROVIDE TRAINING AND GET INFORMATION OUT. AND VIDEO SERVICES, WEB CASTING, ON-LINE LEARNING ARE VIABLE WAYS TO DO THAT, BUT WE NEED TO MAKE SURE THAT PEOPLE HAVE THE SKILLS TO MAKE THEM FULLY ACCESSIBLE TO EVERYONE. THE OTHER THING THAT I WANT TO FOCUS ON IS THAT ISSUE OF UPFRONT FOCUSING ON IT ACCESSIBILITY. IT'S GOT TO BE AN INCLUSIVE SEAMLESS APPROACH. IF IT'S AGAIN JUST LIKE WITH THE PHYSICAL ARCHITECTURAL ACCESSIBILITY, IF YOU BUILD A BUILDING AND THEN GO IN AND SAY OH, GEEZ, WHY DIDN'T WE THINK OF THAT, WE NEED TO RAMP THIS NOW, THE IT RAMPS CAN BE A CHALLENGE AFTER THE FACT. WE'VE ALREADY GOT SOME CHALLENGES FACING US JUST IN TERMS OF THE NUMBER OF LEGACY SYSTEMS THAT ALL THE STATE AGENCIES HAVE IN TRYING TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO ACCESS ALL THOSE DATA BASES AND PIECES OF INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS AND FIX THOSE BECAUSE THEY MAY NOT BE READY TO BE REPLACED YET, THEY MAY NOT BE ABLE FOAFFORD TO REPLACE THEM YET. SO WE HAVE TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO MAKE THOSE RAMPS. SO IF WE CAN LOOK AT HOW TO BUILD IT IN IN THE FRONT END, WE'LL BE IN A FAR BETTER MRAICHLTS THE LAST IS ABOUT PEOPLE. YOU NEED THE RIGHT PEOPLE IN THE MIX, YOU NEED THOSE CHAMPIONS. IN MANY, MANY CASES THE OTHER THING WE'RE FINDING IS THAT OUR WORK GROUP HAS BEEN COMPRISED OF PEOPLE WHO SIT ON THE WORK GROUP AS PART OF THEIR JOBS. HOWEVER, AS THE WORK RESPONSIBILITIES FLOW, MANY OF THEM ARE NOW IDENTIFYING THAT THEY DON'T HAVE THE TIME TO REALLY BE FOCUSING ON DOING THE REAL TECHNICAL DEVELOPMENT ET CETERA. AND SO IT'S KIND OF A SIMILAR ISSUE OF WORKING WITH CONSUMERS. NOT EVERYONE CAN AND SHOULD BE A VOLUNTEER ON THE EFFORT. YOU REALLY NEED TO DO SOME THINGS RIGHT. YOU NEED TO HAVE SOME DEDICATED PEOPLE WITH THE RIGHT MIX OF SKILLS AND WITH THAT, I'M FINISHED. OKAY. THANK YOU, DEBORAH. LET ME REMIND PEOPLE WHO ARE JOINING US FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY THAT QUESTIONS CAN BE E-MAILED IN AT INNO@TVWORLDWIDE.COM. ONE QUESTION WHICH WE'VE RECEIVED WHILE YOU WERE SPEAKING, AND IT'S AN INTERESTING ONE. IT IS HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH AN AGENCY WHICH MAY BE CONSIDERED AN EXECUTIVE ENTITY BUT FOR POLITICAL OR CONSTITUTIONAL REASONS CHOOSES NOT TO ACCEPT THE CIO OFFICE'S GUIDANCE ON ACCESSIBILITY? AND IT WASN'T DIRECTED TO ANYONE IN PARTICULAR ON THE PANEL, BUT IF ANY OF YOU OR ALL OF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TAKE A SHOT AT THAT. IT'S AN INCREDIBLE CHALLENGE. AND I THINK AGAIN IT COMES TO FINDING THE RIGHT PEOPLE. IN MANY CASES, PARTICULARLY IF THERE'S POLITICAL LINKS, YOU KNEAD TO BUMP IT UP WITHIN YOUR OWN ORGANIZATION IN ORDER TO HAVE PEOPLE WHO HAVE THE RECOGNIZED AUTHORITY AND APPOINTMENTS TO BE ABLE TO WORK ON A COUNTER LEVEL BASIS TO BE ABLE TO FACILITATE AND MAKE THOSE CHANGES OCCUR. AND SOMETIMES IT TAKES A LOT LONGER THAN YOU'D LIKE. THAT QUESTION, IF I MAY, HAS AN INTERESTING IMPLICATION TO IT. IT SUGGESTS THAT THERE EXISTS WITHIN STATE GOVERNMENT IN VARIOUS STATES AGENCIES WHICH WHATEVER MIGHT BE THEIR ATTITUDE TOWARD ACCESSIBILITY ARE RELUCTANT TO ACCEPT WHAT THEY APPEAR TO TAKE AS DIRECTION FROM CENTRALIZED ENTITIES OF THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE OR THE CIO'S OFFICE OR OTHERWISE. AND THOSE ARE ALTHOUGH RECURRENT UNIQUE PROBLEMS FROM PLACE TO PLACE AND THEY GENERALLY CAN BE RESOLVED WE SEE HISTORICALLY BY SEPARATING OUT ISSUES OF LEGAL COMPULSION OR ISSUES OF POWER FROM ISSUES OF GOOD PRACTICE. WE HAVE A QUESTION HERE THAT BOB -- HAS BEEN POSED BY A COUPLE OF PEOPLE. WE WANT TO ASK ANY OF THE PANELISTS, BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCE TO DATE, ARE THERE ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU WOULD ISSUE TO OTHER STATES THAT HAVEN'T GOTTEN AS FAR AS YOUR RESPECTIVE STATES HAVE OR IF THEY'RE CONSIDERING DIFFERENT PATHWAYS WHAT CAUTIONARY LESSONS COULD YOU OFFER AT THIS TIME? I'LL ADDRESS THAT. JUST FROM MY PERSPECTIVE AGAIN. I THINK ONE CAUTION IS WE DID SOME THINGS INITIALLY WHERE WE JUST SAID THIS WILL BE DONE AND WE REALLY DIDN'T FIRST PUT IN PLACE LIKE SOME OF THE TRAINING THAT DEB MENTIONED, SOME OF THE AWARENESS. IT WAS JUST A POLICY THAT PEOPLE FELT HERE WE GO AGAIN. AN UNFUNDED MANDATE, WE HAVE TO DO IT. THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY, THEY DIDN'T REALLY UNDERSTAND ALL THE IMPLICATIONS. SO I THINK WHEN WE KIND OF LOOSENED UP AND SAID, OKAY, HERE'S SOME TRAINING, HERE'S SOME GUIDANCE, THIS IS WHAT WE'D LIKE YOU TO DO AND MAYBE WE WON'T SET A DATE AS FAR AS THE WEB POLICY, WE WON'T SET A DATE, BUT I UNDERSTAND WE'RE GOING TO BE AUDITING, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT THIS AND WE REALLY BROUGHT PEOPLE IN THAT COULD HELP WITH THE WORK AND WAS JUST -- I MEAN IT WAS MUCH BETTER, MUCH MORE POSITIVE. PEOPLE ARE VOLUNTEERING TO HELP, THEY'RE EXCITED ABOUT THE POSSIBILITIES. SO I THINK THAT CAUTION OF JUST SETTING A MANDATE WITHOUT REALLY ENSURING THAT PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHY. IN OTHER WORDS, MARY WHAT YOU'RE SAYING LIKE ANY OTHER POLICY MANDATE, THERE HAS TO BE AN INFRASTRUCTURE IN PLACE. I'D JUST LIKE TO ADD TO THAT; THE CAUTION PARTICULARLY FOR THE TECH AC FOLKS IS NOT TO ASSUME THAT THEY UNDERSTAND THE AT AND THE IMPACT IT HAS ON THE WEB SITES AND OTHER PRODUCTS. THAT WAS A REAL EYE OPENER FOR ME I THINK AND IT BECOMES SUCH A PART OF US THAT WE DON'T REALIZE THAT IT ISN'T STILL IN GENERAL INFORMATION. I'D LIKE TO ASK ALSO THE AUDIENCE WHETHER THERE IS SKNN WHO WANTS TO ASK A QUESTION NOW, WE'LL FIND YOU AND. GOOD MORNING. I ACTUALLY HAVE TWO QUESTIONS. THE FIRST ONE IS TO MICHAEL IN YOUR ROLE WITH THE ITTATC. I'M GOING TO POSE THE QUESTION, LET YOU THINK ABOUT IT, AND THEN POSE THE QUESTION TO THE PANELISTS. WE HEARD SOME GREAT IDEAS ABOUT SOME BOTH NEEDS FOR TRAINING AND? SOME TRAINING ERTS THAT HAVE ALREADY BEGUN. AND I WAS WONDERING HOW THAT FITS INTO WHAT THE ITTATC HOPES TO PROVIDE IN TERMS OF ITS ROLE AS THE IT TRAINING TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND TRAINING CENTER. SO YOU CAN THINK ABOUT THAT. FOR THE PANELISTS, I WAS WONDERING DID ANYONE QUESTION THE APPLICABILITY OF TO THE STATES? THANKS. NO. (LAUGHTER). . YES. (LAUGHTER). SORT-/* OF. (LAUGHTER). . AND THERE YOU HAVE IT, AMY. NO, YES, AND SORT OF. WE DON'T HAVE PERHAPS PURPOSELY A REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE U.S. DEPARTMENT DPT EDUCATION TO SORT THAT OUT FOR US BUT TO GO BACK TO YOUR FIRST QUESTION, I APPRECIATE IT BECAUSE IN FACT THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION AND NIDRR WHICH IS THE MAJOR FUNDING SOURCE FOR THE ITTATC HAS MULTIPLE CUSTOMERS. PRIMARY FOCUS IN ITS FIRST YEAR AND YEAR STARTED NOVEMBER , WAS ON INDUSTRY. AND SMALL, LARGE, PARTICULARLY GOVERNMENT CONTRACTORS WHO WERE INTERESTED IN UNDERSTANDING STANDARDS. A SECOND CUSTOMER IS STATE GOVERNMENT. AND PART OF THE REASON CERTAINLY FOR DOING THE SURVEY AND WORKING WITH DEBORAH AND ATA C IS TO BRING THE RESULTS FORWARD FROM THAT NEEDS ASSESSMENT AND THEN MOVE TO A PHASE AND WORK TOGETHER WITH STATE AT PROJECTS ACROSS THE COUNTRY AND AN APPROACH TO BOTH MATERIAL DEVELOPMENT THAT MAY BE NEEDED, TRAINING AND TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE ACTIVITIES. SO WE ARE IN OUR FIRST PHASE STILL AND AS DEBORAH MENTIONED, THAT WILL PROBABLY TAKE US WELL INTO END OF JANUARY, AND PROBABLY FEBRUARY. IT ALSO BRINGS US TO A QUESTION THAT CAME IN ON LINE AND THAT IS IS THERE AVAILABLE A STATE BY STATE ANALYSIS OF STATE POLICIES ON ACCESSIBILITY AND STATE APPROACHES TO ENFORCEMENT ON ACCESSIBILITY AND THAT'S PART OF WHAT THE SURVEY IS ABOUT AND AS WAS MENTIONED, IT WAS NOT THAT YOU CAN TAKE IT AT ONE POINT IN TIME, WE HOPE TO CREATE THE DATA BASE THAT WOULD BE AVAILABLE ON THE ITTATC WEB SITE THAT WOULD BE CONTINUALLY UPDATED AND WORKING CLOSELY WITH ATA C AND DEBORAH IN HER ROLE AT THE NEW YORK OFFICE ON TECHNOLOGY. YES. WE HAVE A QUESTION UP IN THE FRONT. GOOD MORNING. HOW DIFFICULT OR EASY DO YOU FORESEE TELL BE TO WORK WITH THE CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS, THE ONES WHO ESTABLISH THE CURRICULUM THAT'S USED BY A LOT OF THE TRAINING VENDORS? HOW DIFFICULT DO YOU THINK IT WOULD BE TO WORK WITH THEM ON THIS? I THINK THAT THEY WOULD BE RECEPTIVE TO THAT BECAUSE I THINK MOST CURRICULUM DEVELOPERS CERTAINLY WANT THEIR PRODUCTS TO BE UP TO DATE AND USABLE BY THEIR SUBCONTRACTORS, ET CETERA. I THINK THE CHALLENGE WILL BE IN THE STANDARDS BECAUSE AS WE INDICATED EARLIER, EVERY STATE WHILE THEY MAY BE USING PIECES OF THE WDLEEC AND , THERE ARE ALL THESE LITTLE PERMUTATIONS OF THAT SO I THINK AT LEAST TO IDENTIFY SOME BASELINE INFORMATION THAT IS CONSISTENT BETWEEN AND THE WC , AND GET THOSE INCLUDED, THAT WOULD CERTAINLY BE A GREAT STEP TO HAVE AND HAVE THAT AVAILABLE AND SOME OF THE ADDITIONAL INTERPRETATIONS AND POLICIES, THAT'S SOMETHING THAT STATES COULD ADD ON AND CUSTOMIZE AS APPROPRIATE. CAROL BLARE WITH THE ASSISTANCE PROJECT. YOU ALL TALKED ABOUT TRAINING AND HOW IMPORTANT TRAINING IS AND SOME OF YOU REFERENCED THE TRAINER TYPE OF TRAINING WHICH FROM THE TRAINING THAT I'VE HAD FROM PEOPLE IN THE DISABILITY COMMUNITY WHICH ONE OF WHICH IS FROM GEORGIA TECH IS THAT THE TRAIN THE TRAINER SDBT REALLY WORK. ESPECIALLY IF YOU'RE GOING TO TRAIN TRAINERS THAT ARE GOING TO LEVER. I LIKE WHAT JUDIE SAID ABOUT MAKING AN ARCHIVE TYPE OF VIDEO. THAT NEEDS TO BE UPDATED FROM TIME TO TIME BECAUSE THE TECHNOLOGY IS GOING TO CHANGE, AND WHO IS MORE ABREAST OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN THAT FIELD OF IT AND AT APPLICATIONS THAN THE COMMUNITY HERE IN THIS ROOM? SO AS FAR AS TRAINING GOES, I THINK THE ARCHIVAL TRAINING AND A CONSISTENCY OF TRAINING ACROSS THE BOARD WHERE ALL THE STATES ARE SHARING THEIR RESOURCES AND COMING UP WITH SOME SORT OF VIDEO AND THOSE TRAINING GUIDES BECAUSE SOMETIMES THE TRAINERS THAT YOU'VE TRAINED IN THE STATE AGENCIES AND THE PROCUREMENT PEOPLE, THEY'RE GOING TO LEAVE AND SOMETIMES THEY TAKE THAT TRAINING AND THAT HISTORY WITH THEM. AND I KNOW YOU'VE SEEN THAT, A LOT OF YOUR WORK THAT YOU'VE DONE AROUND STATES WITH YOUR ONGOING TRAINING WITH ALL OF THE OTHER EFFORTS YOU DO. ONCE THEY LEAVE, THE TRAINING LEAVES. AND I THINK YOU NEED TO HAVE THAT ARCHIVE THERE AS WELL. SO I THANK YOU JUDIE FOR OFFERING THAT SUGGESTION. ONE OF THE OTHER THINGS THOUGH IS THE TRAINING, WE NEED TO LOOK AT TRAINING IN TERMS OF MULTIPLE METHODOLOGIES. AGAIN, IT'S NO ONE-WAY WORKS. EVERYBODY HAS A DIFFERENT WAY IN WHICH THEY LEARN. PEOPLE HAVE DIFFERENT CIRCUMSTANCES, AND YOU HAVE TO LOOK AT TRAINING IN MULTIPLE LEVELS. IS THERE NEEDS TO BE SKUFTD LEVEL AWARENESS TRAINING. THEY MIGHT WANT WEB-BASED TRAINING SO THEY CAN DO IN THE CONFINES OF THEIR OFFICE OR IN THE BACK OF THEIR CAR IF THEY'RE GOING ON A TRIP AND BE ABLE TO RUN THROUGH IT THAT WAY. THEY MIGHT WANT THE ONE ON ONE, SO WE HAVE TO LOOK AT A VARIETY OF STRATEGIES AND A VAEFRT TARGET AUDIENCES. QUESTION FROM THE AUDIENCE. A FOLLOW-UP TO THE STANDARDS ISSUE. WHAT KIND OF EFFORTS CAN WE DO IN THE SHORT-TERM TO DPIN TO BUILD A DATA BASE OF THOSE STANDARDS THAT ARE NOT ALL GOING OFF IN DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS HAPPEN ASSARDLY. WHAT WE CAN MAKE NOW TO GO FORWARD TO ADDRESS THOSE VENDOR ISSUES? LIKE A REPOSITORY OF ALL THE STANDARDS? YES. I'M NOT SURE IN THE SHORT-TERM, BECAUSE I THINK IT'S HELPFUL IF YOU HAVE THE FULL PERSPECTIVE AS WELL, AND SOME OF THAT ADDITIONAL ANALYSIS THAT NEEDS TO BE DONE COULD ACTUALLY IN THE LONG RUN BE A TIME SAICHER BECAUSE IT WILL REDUCE THE BURDEN ON EACH PERSON WHO WANTS TO EXAMINE THOSE TO BE ABLE TO GO AND TO HAVE WHERE YOU CAN -- I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS PLANNED JUST PUNCH IN SOME FIELDS AND SEE WHAT ARE THEY DOING IN TERMS OF ENFORCEMENT STANDARDS, WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY, IN ORDER TO DO SOME SEARCHES FOR THAT AS OPPOSED TO WHERE I AM RIGHT NOW. I HAVE ALL THE LINKS AND I HAVE A HUGE NOTEBOOK AND I FLIP THROUGH BECAUSE I ALSO WILL ADMIT THAT I'M STILL NOT ONE OF THOSE PERSONS WHO CAN PROCESS INFORMATION. I NEED TO LOOK AT IT ON WHAT FORMERLY WERE TREES. TOUCH AND FEEL. DEB RAH LET ME ADD A WORD THERE. I THINK IT'S VERY IMPORTANT FOR ALL OF US TO LOOK AT THIS ISSUE, TO NUMBER ONE, WITHIN THE FRAMEWORK OF OUR OWN STATES TO FIND OUT HOW OTHER KINDS OF STANDARDS ARE ADMINISTERED. SO FROM THE ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT STANDPOINT, ACCESS IBLTHD IS NOT OCCURRING IN A VACUUM OR IN ISOLATION. WE HAVE TO LOOK AT STATE AGENCIES HOW IT'S DONE, WHO HAS ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITY, WHAT THAT ENFORCEMENT POWER CONSISTS OF, WHO HAS THE AUTHORITY TO MAKE WAIVERS, UNDER WHAT CIRCUMSTANCES, THOSE WAIVERS HAVE BEEN GRANTED IN THE PAST. SECONDLY I THINK IT'S EQUALLY IMPORTANT THAT WHILE WE ABSOLUTELY DO NEED STANDARDS BECAUSE THEY ARE ESSENTIAL TO THE ACCOUNTABILITY, WE SHOULD NOT NECESSARILY FEAR THAT THE LACK OF STANDARDS WE ALL WANT AUTS TO PREVENT US FROM IMPLEMENTING ACCESSIBILITY TO A MARKED DEGREE. I LOOK FORWARD TO THE DAY WHEN FOR EXAMPLE VENDORS AND BIDDERS AND PROVIDERS OF SERVICES COMPETE ON GROUNDS OF OF ACCESSIBILITY AND HOPEFULLY SXEET FOR STANDARDS THEY THEMSELVES ARTICULATE TO SHOW THEY ARE AS OR MORE ACCESSIBLE THAN THEIR COMPETITORS. AND TO THE EXTENT WE CAN STRUBLTH UPPER SITUATIONS WHERE THAT KIND OF COMPETITION AND THAT KIND OF INSOENTIVIZATION GOES ON. WE'LL ALREADY BE DOING A GREAT DEAL TO ADVANCE THE -- LET'S NOT FALL PREY TO WHAT IS CALLED THE ADA RULE. LET'S NOT BE AFRAID THAT BECAUSE WE CANNOT PROVE THAT EVERY CLAIM IS TRUE THAT WE THEREFORE HAVE NO MEANS OF EV