The Americans with Disabilities Act, together with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, provide inspiration, guidance and standards related to making Internet Web sites accessible.

In a large part, it means providing a site whereby purely visual elements can be represented as text, which then can be processed by screen-reader technology and read to the visually impaired.

It also means constructing navigations system that are simply structured, anticipating how a disabled person may use and site, and anticipating the type of assistive technologies they may use -- moving down, across and through busy Web site pages.

While much of the standards provided -- primarily from the globally-connected World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) -- remain wide open to various interpretations and solutions, compliance can mean the difference between opening the doors wider to governmental service delivery versus slamming the doors closed to some of your citizens.

This is why you'll find the Oakland County Web site:

• Is provided in text-heavy formats, 
• Strict standards are in place related to design and layout,
• Is constructed so that all graphics are specifically labeled.

Oakland County is commited to continuing its development philosophy whereby accessibility is one of the highest priorities.