Resources

Communities

Communities for Colorado Government Employees

The following communities are open to all employees of governmental entities within the State of Colorado. This includes municipal, county, special district, education district, and State employees.

Google

• OFFICIAL - All Colorado Government Accessibility (Private). Connect with accessibility pros across the State to get help, share lessons learned, and much more. To request to join, email dpa_accessibility@state.co.us.

Other Platforms

Unofficial groups are not operated, endorsed, or managed by the State. They are shared here for informational purposes only. If you would like to suggest a group, please use the Digital Guidelines Feedback form.

• LinkedIn - UNOFFICIAL - Digital Accessibility for Governments. Connect with people interested in digital accessibility topics from across Colorado (and beyond!).
• Facebook - UNOFFICIAL - Colorado Digital Accessibility Professionals. Designed as a space for those who can't access Google or prefer other platforms, this Facebook group includes tutorials, open discussion, and a lot more.

Communities for State Employees

To participate in the Google Spaces below, you must be a current State of Colorado employee.

Google

• OFFICIAL - Statewide Accessibility Coordinators Space (Private). Ask questions, share lessons learned and find out who may have just what you're looking for to take your accessibility efforts to the next level. Reach out to your OIT TAP partner if you'd like to join.
• OFFICIAL - ACE Groups (Private). ACE groups exist for websites and documents are there to help you solve problems with help from your peers. To join or learn more about any ACE group, reach out to your OIT TAP partner.
• OFFICIAL - Colorado Websites Community of Practice (Open to State.co.us Users). Connect with your peers on topics related to web design, web development, and content management. Common topics include platform-level issues, accessibility improvements, and strategies. To join, sign into your State Google account and go to Colorado Websites Community of Practice.
• OFFICIAL - State of Colorado Web Developers (Private). Join a small group of frontend designers and backend developers who focus on code fixes for the Colorado.gov platform. To request to join, email dpa_accessibility@state.co.us.

Connect with the USWDS Community

If you're interested in participating in the USWDS Community, there are several paths to take. Please refer to Digital.gov for contribution and conduct standards, including the Community Guidelines.

• Slack - Join more than 2,000 community members on the official USWDS community on Slack by applying to join.
• GitHub - Check out the official repo, browse and submit issues, and more by visiting the USWDS project on GitHub. Additional repos (for proposals, tutorials, etc.) can be found on USWDS's GitHub profile.

Additional Communities of Interest

• The International Association of Accessibility Professionals (IAAP) connects members to networking, educational, and other resources. Current State of Colorado members include:
  • The Department of Personnel & Administration
  • Governor's Office of Information Technology, Technology Accessibility Program

Accessibility Tools

Tools that you can use to validate your accessibility efforts are referenced throughout the Guidelines. We thought it might be helpful to put them in one spot for you - and share a few more! If you have a tool to suggest, please use the Digital Guidelines Feedback form.

• State employees must have all software approved for use. Please follow your agency's requirements for installation and use.
• Not all of the tools below have been approved for all agencies.
• The tools below may provide different or conflicting results or reports. Always test your solutions thoroughly to understand its accessibility. Do not rely on audits alone. Visit Principles in Action for step-by-step recommendations.

External Resource Directories

• Web Accessibility Evaluation Tools List from the W3C

Technology Projects

Many State agencies have agency-specific processes for kicking off technology projects. We strongly encourage all State employees to be familiar with - and follow! - their agency's policies and practices.

Before You Get Started

Before diving into any technology project, you should know about the State's technical standards and policies. They address everything from information security to development frameworks. Additional tools include:

• OIT's Guide to Accessible Web Services
• OIT's Guide to Artificial Intelligence
• OIT's Guide to Cybersecurity and Information Security
• OIT's User Experience Playbook

Executive Branch Agencies

• The Governor's Office of Information Technology (OIT). OIT's mission is to provide secure digital services that put Coloradans first. Each executive branch agency has an IT Director (ITD) that can offer guidance, identify processes, and more. Explore OIT's Agency-Specific Information to find your ITD or visit How to Engage with OIT for more ways to connect.

Executive & Non-Executive Branch Agencies

• Colorado Digital Service (CDS). CDS is a cross-functional team of senior product managers, human-centered designers, engineers, and procurement and contracting specialists. They partner with agencies to design, build, and buy solutions. Colorado Digital Service (CDS) may be able to help your agency leverage the Design Guidelines in your project, make impactful improvements in your product, and more.

All Governmental Entities

• Statewide Internet Portal Authority (SIPA). SIPA negotiates competitive rates for digital government products and services on behalf of Colorado governmental entities. Best known for Colorado.gov, their portfolio includes accessibility, community engagement, cybersecurity, data management, and many other technology tools. Check out SIPA's Services to learn more.

Community-Supported Repositories & Guides

All community-supported repositories are unofficial. Contributions to them are not validated or endorsed by any State agency. Access to these secured resources is limited and all content on them is "use at your own risk." To have your repository or guide listed, please email a link and brief description to dpa_accessibility@state.co.us.

Executive Branch Agencies

• Colorado.gov Asset Injector Repository (Private) - Contributors from various agencies have added copy-and-paste solutions for style corrections, platform-level accessibility corrections, and the addition of interactive features. Access to Asset Injector on Colorado.gov is required to use available snippets.
  • Primary Audience: Developers & Designers
  • Status: Active, Contributions Welcome
• Web A11Y (Private) - Employees have added tips and tricks for solving common accessibility and styling issues on Google Sites and Colorado.gov. Topic guides are available for working with HTML tables, editing source code, and Siteimprove.
  • Primary Audience: Web Content Managers, Communications Professionals
  • Status: Mixed (Outdated), Contributions Welcome
• Google Apps Scripts (Private) - People from various agencies have shared Apps Scripts to help simplify workflows in Google Workspace, leverage APIs (Google Analytics, Siteimprove) to display data in context, and similar.
  • Primary Audience: Developers & Designers
  • Status: Active, Contributions Welcome