Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities seeks better Section 508 enforcement

On March 14, the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities sent a
letter to United States Attorney General Alberto Gonzales,
asking for better enforcement of Section 508 of the U.S. Rehabilitation Act.

The heart of their complaint reads as follows:
“While specific federal agency compliance with the procurement and Internet accessibility requirements of Sec. 508 is enforced through the complaint and procurement processes particular to each agency in question, the Justice Department has the responsibility to issue periodic reports on compliance with these requirements across agencies generally (29 USC 794d(d)(2)). This reporting function, which is to occur biennially, has consistently fallen behind schedule and, as of this writing, is well over four years past due. We note that, at least with respect to the need to monitor federal agency compliance with Sec. 508's Internet accessibility requirements, the data collection has already been completed by the General Services Administration and simply awaits evaluation. Surely the Department can, at a minimum, muster the relatively modest resources required to complete analysis and publication of findings during this calendar year.”


This letter emphasizes a simple point: No matter how well they are written, regulations are only as good as their enforcement.

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a Coalition of more than 100 national consumer, advocacy, provider and professional organizations headquartered in Washington, D.C. (A list of members is available at
www.c-c-d.org.)
Since 1973, the CCD has advocated on behalf of people of all ages with physical and mental disabilities and their families. CCD has worked to achieve federal legislation and regulations that assure that the 54 million children and adults with disabilities are fully integrated into the mainstream of society.


If you are not already familiar with the CCD, check out their web page and book mark it. It may serve you well later as a very qualified resource.