Accessible Statements for Equitable Information Access

As described in Article 9 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Accessibility is:

… appropriate measures to ensure to persons with disabilities access, on an equal basis with others, to the physical environment, to transportation, to information and communications, including information and communications technologies and systems, and to other facilities and services open or provided to the public, both in urban and in rural areas (United Nations, 2006).

Most forms and documents provided to consumers through the mail or online posting (state and federal public benefits notices, tax forms, bank statements, insurance documents, public company filings) are created, and/or printed and mailed in standard formats which are appropriate for much of the population. Many constituents, however, require an alternative to standard font sizes, color contrast, or other formatting to be able to access information equitably. Without an alternative means of accessing documents, many people with disabilities, or age-related limitations, are left out of participation, decision making and important interactions to which they are ethically, and even legally, entitled.

A variety of situations and circumstances precipitate the need for accommodations in information access. These can include disabilities, temporary limitations, or situational constraints.

The need for alternate forms of information is not always related to a recognized disability. Consider these circumstances:

• Limited English proficiency
• Noisy environments
• Post-surgical limitations
• Privacy or the need to not disturb others with audio
• Directions while driving or operating equipment

Alternate Formats

One accommodation businesses can offer to ensure equal access to information and communications is accessible formats, also sometimes called alternate formats. Accessible formats are printed or electronic documents created with features or characteristics which enable people to independently and privately access information and communications, regardless of ability or circumstance. Examples include braille, large print, an audio recording of text, closed captions on video, or properly formatted and coded digital information which can be accessed through assistive technology.

People with disabilities may use assistive technology to read documents or access the internet. Assistive technology includes devices which read content aloud, or display content as braille characters. These devices require properly formatted and coded information to work correctly. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines, written by the W3C, define the formatting and coding needed for digital information to be accessible.

Why Are Alternative Formats Important?

Imagine for a moment, that you are one of the 7.5 Million people in the US affected by vision impairment. You receive a lengthy statement in the mail from an organization in which you are a shareholder. Because of your low vision, you are unable to read the statement and are therefore uninformed about upcoming votes and important changes.

You could ask someone you trust to read the document to you, but this doesn’t allow you to take your time to understand the content, cross reference it with previous statements, or review the information carefully.

A Large Print version of the document would enable you to independently examine it in detail, as many times as needed, the same way a person without your disability would.

Government & Regulated Industries

Federal and State Government agencies are required to provide accessible formats by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, the Rehabilitation Act 1973, HIPAA, and the Affordable Care Act of 2010.  Other regulated industries such as insurance, finance, and healthcare sectors must provide effective communications to their constituents and the general public. When information is provided in print, accessible format statements are the option which ensures equitable access and compliance with applicable laws.

Options for Consumers

It’s not enough to simply have the option to send your statements in braille, audio, data, or large print. A convenience contract with an accessibility company may technically keep you legally compliant, but that alone does not align with the spirit of the law to provide effective communication. Companies and government agencies must clearly communicate their accessible format options and provide a straightforward way for each person to indicate their preferred accessible format. Many people are familiar with choosing contact options such as “text, email or phone call” when registering with a new app or service. Clearly the infrastructure exists to flag records or store communication preferences and these features need to be extended to include accessible format options. The effectiveness of an accessibility strategy also depends on clear internal communication so that all employees understand which options are available and how to assist constituents in obtaining those alternate formats. Solidify your commitment in a public Accessibility Policy, much the same way you advertise your company’s privacy policies.

Accessible Communication is Good for Business

For all industries, regardless of whether the previously mentioned laws are relevant, accessibility is good for business. Increased market share, community goodwill and customer satisfaction are all desirable outcomes from simply providing accessible communications. By contrast, news of inaccessible companies spreads fast. Non-compliance with federal laws resulting in lawsuits, poor consumer reviews, and a negative reputation surrounding the disabled are bad for business. For example, Domino’s received a lot of poor PR recently over their inaccessible website. The outcome of their legal battle is still to be determined, but the bad press has already left its mark. More than just the right thing to do, a commitment to accessibility is a smart business decision.

Consider the types of communication your company currently provides:

• Websites
• Privacy statements
• Healthcare forms
• Consent forms
• Statements and billing documents
• Menus
• Bank statements
• Loan documents
• Tax forms and information
• and many, many more…

Sending information in a format that works for a particular constituent ensures effective communication. Your message is received by the recipient; any necessary actions are understood; the customer’s independence, privacy and dignity are maintained; your business stays compliant with the law; and your customer is happy. That’s information equality.

The SeeWriteHear Solution

SeeWriteHear is the most experienced provider delivering the most accurate, fast, and versatile conversion of standard communications into accessible formats for printing and mailing or electronic delivery. We call this solution Accessible Constituent Communications™. Our proprietary technology, the Form Management System, uses a combination of automation tools combined with manual audits to quickly and accurately transform electronic documents into highly structured and properly formatted files that enable easy downstream conversions to large print, HTML, braille, and even audio. This allows efficient conversion to accessible formats, as well as easy reformatting, data collection, and content extraction.

SeeWriteHear’s Accessible Constituent Communications™ service is ideal for organizations that have large batch throughput of standard or semi-standard communications. Using this service is as easy as uploading files to SeeWriteHear’s server. We handle the rest, converting files to whichever formats are needed by constituents. We produce tens of thousands of pages per day, and once our system has learned a new document, it can handle tens of thousands of variations within the content with no change to our throughput capacity.

Choosing the Right Accessibility Partner

When you are looking for THE BEST partner for Accessible Constituency Communications™, ask these questions: 

Questions to Ask	SeeWriteHear	Others
Do you have demonstrated capacity to convert and mail tens of thousands of pages in a 24-hour period?	YES!	?
Do you provide accurate daily reporting of source-pages ordered, alternative formats produced and shipping costs for each format, even at extremely high volumes?	YES!	?
Do you have in-place workforce, automations, and technology which allow you to manage alternative format volume fluctuations of 1000% or more, while maintaining 24-hour turnaround?	YES!	?
Can you ensure accuracy and on-time delivery of alternative format orders with 35,000+ source-pages and 24-hour turnaround?	YES!	?
Can you provide references of clients for whom you have provided a minimum of 35,000+ source-page alternative format conversions and mailings within a 24-hour turnaround?	YES!	?
Can you provide evidence and descriptions of the most challenging source-page document conversion types and the automations you developed to overcome those challenges?	YES!	?

If your prospective vendor cannot affirmatively answer these questions (and prove it), then you are not talking to the most experienced company for Accessible Constituent Communications™. Only SeeWriteHear can proudly say YES! to all these questions.