Spotlighting Accessibility in Action: Programs Across the Federal Government

In 2021, President Biden issued Executive Order (EO) 14035 on “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in the Federal Workforce.” The EO aims to both strengthen the government’s ability to recruit, hire, develop, promote, and retain talent, as well as provide resources and opportunities to advance DEIA across the federal government. One of the first actions taken by the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) was to create a government-wide DEIA Strategic Plan, which included a roadmap for accessibility. This Strategic Plan and other OPM efforts set the stage for what federal agencies can do to update policies, improve practices, and provide more opportunities for individuals with disabilities.

Many agencies have established councils, developed their own roadmaps, and are actively working towards improving their policies, strategic plans, and programs. This blog spotlights federal agencies that have made progress on accessibility, including agencies that have had programs implemented long before the Executive Order was signed.

Office of Personnel Management (OPM)

In December 2022, OPM held its first government-wide DEIA Summit, (titled “DEIA Summit 2022: A Whole-of-Government Approach to Disability Employment”) which largely focused on accessibility and employment of people with disabilities in the Federal government. FMP supported OPM’s Office of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (ODEIA) with this Summit and several other efforts focused on strategically improving the recruitment, hiring, and retention of individuals with disabilities. For example, OPM partnered with the Department of Labor’s Workforce Recruitment Program (WRP) to host a virtual Level Up to Public Service event for recent graduates with disabilities to increase awareness of and interest in public service careers, as well as recruit top talent from the disability community. FMP supported the planning, production, project management, interagency communications, and data collection for this and many other Level Up to Public Service events.

Another crucial government-wide activity is Memorandum M-24-08: (“Strengthening Digital Accessibility and the Management of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act”), which outlines digital accessibility requirements and recommendations to support agencies in fostering a sustainable and disability-inclusive workplace culture. OPM co-led this effort with the General Services Administration (GSA) and the Access Board, and FMP has been working with OPM to support the implementation of this memorandum, including Section 508 program development and certification analysis.

Department of Defense (DoD)

One of the goals of the Department of Defense (DoD) is to “increase representation of individuals with disabilities to 2% of its civilian workforce.” To achieve this, the DoD created the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program (CAP) and the Computer/Electronic Accommodations Program Technology & Evaluation Center (CAPTEC), which services employees across the DoD and other Federal agencies, as well as wounded Service members. The CAP Office, one of the first accessibility focused programs in the Federal Government, was created in October 1990 and has since provided over 120,000 accommodations.

CAP’s primary purpose is to provide assistive technology (AT) and employment support services to ensure civilian employees with disabilities and wounded or ill Service members have access to the equipment they need, at no charge to their organization. Additionally, CAP provides accommodations to support accessibility in DoD hospitals, clinics, personnel offices, training centers, and dependent schools.

U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA)

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) established the Technology and Accessible Resources Give Employment Today (TARGET) Center in 1992 with the purpose of leveraging technology to improve accessibility and provide impactful services for employees with disabilities. The TARGET Center consists of several comprehensive programs and services focused on assistive technology, accessible communications, and ergonomics. The TARGET Center also has an Education Program, which teaches customers around the world about the impact of accessibility, ergonomics, and universal design in the workplace and at USDA points-of-service.

The TARGET Center has also led several efforts to improve accessibility across USDA. For example, to support mentoring at the agency, the TARGET Center developed new resources, including “Guidelines for Mentoring a USDA Employee with a Disability” and a “Fact Sheet for Mentors who are Mentoring Deaf and Hard of Hearing Individuals.”

U.S. Department of State 

On December 3, 2020 (the International Day of Persons with Disabilities), the U.S. Department of State opened the Access Center, a multifunctional space dedicated to supporting a more diverse, inclusive, and accessible Department. The Access Center was based on the success of similar assistive technology centers for federal employees, including DoD’s CAPTEC and USDA’s TARGET Center. The Access Center provides a wide range of assistive technology, resources, and support for employees with disabilities, both domestically and overseas. Some examples of the assistive technology available at the Access Center include ergonomic computer mice and keyboards, screen magnifiers, assistive listening devices, speech recognition software, and deaf-to-hearing communication systems. 

Individuals with disabilities make up over 12% of the workforce at the U.S. Department of State. In an interview with the Federal News Network, the Deputy Secretary of State for Management and Resources, Brian McKeon, shared that there is still work to do to make all State facilities more accessible. For example, ensuring there is at least one person at each of the embassies and consulates overseas devoted to providing support to any employees with disabilities.

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA)

In 2021, The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) became the first federal agency to launch a Neurodiversity Pilot Program to increase hiring opportunities for neurodiverse individuals, including people on the autism spectrum. NGA is a combat support agency in the U.S. Department of Defense responsible for collecting, analyzing, and distributing geospatial intelligence in support of national security. Deputy Director, Dr. Stacey Dixon, shared that “neurodiverse talent can bring new perspectives to the NGA workforce and make important contributions to the mission.” The goal of NGA’s pilot was not just to improve recruitment and hiring processes for neurodivergent candidates, but also to create a roadmap for other federal agencies to leverage in supporting neurodiverse talent.

According to a recent white paper by MITRE about Enabling Neurodiverse Talent in the Intelligence Community, neurodivergent individuals are often underemployed despite their significant talents.   NGA is planning to continue addressing this by expanding on the pilot with a broader effort, the “Accessing Diversity to Employ Professional Talent (ADEPT)” program, which will incorporate neurodiversity hiring efforts into NGA’s other disability programs.

It’s exciting to see these agencies, along with many others, committed to providing resources and services to federal employees with disabilities. National Disability Employment Awareness Month (NDEAM) may have concluded in October, but we can continue to look towards examples like OPM, the DoD’s CAP Office, USDA’s TARGET Center, State’s Access Center, and NGA’s Neurodiversity Pilot, to identify ways to increase accessibility and reduce barriers to employment. The Department of Labor also provides several suggestions for what organizations can do to embrace NDEAM all year round, including reviewing policies to ensure they support an inclusive culture, establishing an employee resource group for individuals with disabilities, and providing training and education to supervisors and employees to reinforce the commitment to disability inclusion.  

Shareen Drilling joined FMP in November 2018 and is a Consultant in the Learning and Development Center of Excellence (L&D COE). Shareen is also a DHS Section 508 Trusted Tester and passionate about developing accessible and inclusive training solutions. When Shareen isn’t designing training content or facilitating workshops, she enjoys trying new recipes in her kitchen, spending time outdoors, and hanging out at home with her husband, son, and two cats.