Report reveals that while 75% of local government leaders view web accessibility as a 'very high' or 'somewhat high' priority, it still falls below other pressing needs.
MANHATTAN, Kan., March 17, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- CivicPlus, a public sector SaaS leader, today released its Web Accessibility Report in conjunction with CivicPulse, highlighting key benchmarks in web use and web accessibility in local government. Drawing on one of CivicPulse's nationally representative surveys of local elected officials, top appointed officials, and department heads serving municipalities, townships, and counties of 1,000 residents or more across the U.S., the report aims to identify the unique challenges local governments face to better prepare them to meet the updated Department of Justice (DOJ) formal rule to ensure their services, programs, and activities—including those offered online and via mobile apps—are accessible to people with disabilities.
"Web accessibility at the local government level is a necessity. With an increasing number of residents relying on digital services, ensuring that government websites are accessible is crucial for both legal adherence and for providing equitable access to all," states CivicPlus Vice President of Market Research, Brenden Elwood. "At CivicPlus, we are committed to improving web accessibility and ensuring inclusive compliance standards for all community members, which is why we partnered with CivicPulse—an organization that shares our belief in the importance of accessibility for local governments—to better understand how they perceive this issue and the challenges they face in becoming fully accessible agencies."
The report showcases that while local officials clearly recognize the high level of importance of web accessibility, they still face a significant challenge in getting their digital infrastructure ready. Key findings from the survey include:
- Web Accessibility is a Fundamental Component of Good Governance: An overwhelming majority of local government leaders agreed that web accessibility is important for fostering trust in government (84%) and that ensuring accessible web content is the government's responsibility (83%).
- Web accessibility Falls Below Other Pressing Needs: 75% of local officials and department heads viewed web accessibility as a 'very high' or 'somewhat high' priority. However, this is below other website improvement priorities, including improving existing content for residents (83%), improving the general user experience for residents (80%), and creating new content and information for residents (78%).
- Knowledge of Accessibility Compliance Varies: 49% of communications department heads and 35% of parks department heads expressed confidence in their knowledge of compliance with Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Least confident in their knowledge were leaders from law enforcement departments (19%) and public works departments (12%).
- Awareness and Understanding of Accessibility Requirements are Low: Only 13% of local officials and department heads said they feel very familiar with the April 2024 Department of Justice update to Title II of the ADA, while 38% said they are unaware of the decision altogether.
- Lack of Staff Time is the Biggest Barrier to Accessibility Compliance: 41% of local government leaders reported a lack of staff time as a 'significant' barrier to web accessibility efforts. Local officials and department heads also indicated that financial resources are a 'significant' barrier (35%) as well as a lack of staff training and awareness (32%).
"The use of online services in local government varies widely, whether looking at community size, region, or functional domain," said Nathan Lee, Founder and Managing Director of CivicPulse. "It's therefore critical that we have more comprehensive benchmarking for local government technologies to understand where things stand. Too often those in the local government space have to rely on anecdotal information or benchmarks that are for other industries. We're fortunate that CivicPlus was supportive of our work to help fill this gap on this important topic."
For more information or to download the full version of the report, visit civicplus.com
About CivicPlus
Thousands of high-performing civic leaders rely on CivicPlus as their trusted partner for impact-led government. With CivicPlus, leaders can finally overcome the perpetual tradeoff between the demand for better services and the realities of operational resources, leveraging the unique Civic Impact Platform to deliver both unmatched end-to-end automated efficiency and truly unified, delightful residence experiences.
Backed by over 25 years of experience and leveraging the insights of more than 900 team members, our solutions are chosen by over 10,000 organizations and are used daily by over 340 million people in the U.S. and Canada. For more information, please visit www.civicplus.com
About CivicPulse
CivicPulse is a non-partisan, non-profit research organization seeking to promote more effective governance in the United States through improved access to reliable data, benchmarking, and research. We accomplish this by bridging the gap between top-tier academic research in politics, governance, and public administration and the needs of elected officials, civil servants, and community stakeholders.
Media Contact
Kimberly Girolimon, CivicPlus, 1 8636020584, [email protected], civicplus.com
Victoria Starbuck, CivicPulse, 1 8636020584, [email protected], civicpulse.org
SOURCE CivicPlus
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