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Web Site Accessibility Initiative

Thank you for visiting bigbendcares.org. Accessibility for visitors to the Big Bend Cares Web site is very important to us. Simply stated, this site conforms to most Level A accessibility guidelines set by the Center for Applied Special Technology, or CAST.

Big Bend Cares has made a commitment to the entire community to provide up-to-date and accurate information about HIV/AIDS. In an effort to ensure access to as many parties as possible, we have attempted to meet Conformance Level A for the Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) Web Content Guidelines. We also have attempted to satisy as many guidelines as possible for the Conformance Level AA. The entire site has been tested for compliance. In addition, we have taken great measures to reduce browser compatibility issues and download time for bigbendcares.org. Yet, with the large number of pages on our site, situations still may exist that impede access.

The Center for Applied Special Technology (CAST) created a tool called Bobby, which is a Web-based program that helps designers recognize components of a site that may make the site difficult to access. Bobby identifies accessibility problems on Web pages and suggests means of altering those pages to be more accessible. We did extensive testing using this tool to help locate and update problem areas on the site.

Big Bend Cares will continue working to improve the accessiblity and conformance issues regarding Web Content Guidelines. If you have difficulty accessing any information on this site, please feel free to e-mail us at , or contact us by telephone at 850.656.2437.

If you choose to share personal information, for example, by sending us an e-mail, your personal information will not be disclosed to third parties or government agencies unless required by state or federal law. For more information, please view our Internet Privacy Policy.

Compliance Guidelines Used

• Provided equivalent alternatives to visual content.
  1. Provided a text equivalent for every non-text element (e.g., via "alt", "longdesc", or in element content). This includes: images, graphical representations of text (including symbols), and scripts.

• Ensured that all information conveyed with color is also available without color, for example from context or markup.

• Created tables that transform gracefully.
  1. For data tables, identified row and column headers.
  2. For data tables that have two or more logical levels of row or column headers, used markup to associate data cells and header cells.
  3. For data tables, included summary of the information included.

• Clearly identified changes in the natural language of a document's text and any text equivalents (e.g., captions).

• Ensured that pages featuring new technologies transform gracefully.
  1. Organized documents so they may be read without style sheets. For example, when an HTML document is rendered without associated style sheets, it must still be possible to read the document.
  2. Ensured that pages are usable when scripts, applets, or other programmatic objects are turned off or not supported.

• Used style sheets to control text formatting.
• Until user agents allow users to control flickering, avoided causing the screen to flicker.
• Avoided the use of server-side image maps.

• Provided visitors using screen readers for the blind a means of skipping over repetitive navigation links.
  1. Used a consistent organizational scheme for navigation elements.

• Used the clearest and simplest language appropriate for the site's content.

::: By law, all client information is kept strictly confidential :::

Big Bend Cares is a
United Way Agency