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General Information / Accessibility / Digital Accessibility
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) is committed to making digital information and services accessible to everyone, including people with disabilities.
We work to make our websites, documents, forms, videos and digital tools easier to use, understand and access. This supports our mission to help Virginians find safety, independence and well-being through high-quality human services.
Accessibility is a shared responsibility across the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS).
We work to build accessibility into digital content and services from the beginning, not as an afterthought. That includes planning, design, development, procurement, testing and ongoing maintenance.
To support this work, the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS):
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) follows recognized federal and state accessibility standards for digital content and services, including:
These standards help guide how we create and maintain digital services that are usable by people with different abilities and access needs.
Accessibility applies to many types of digital content and communication, including:
New, updated and redesigned websites and mobile tools are expected to meet accessibility standards. This includes support for keyboard navigation and compatibility with screen readers.
Digital documents should be structured so assistive technology can read them. That includes using headings, tags, descriptive links and readable layouts.
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) also works to provide accessible templates to support document creation.
Videos with spoken content should include captions or transcripts. Audio-only content should include a text alternative. Live events should offer real-time captioning or sign language interpretation when requested.
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) assigns accessibility responsibilities across multiple teams.
The Digital Accessibility Coordinator leads accessibility policy, training, support and oversight. This role works closely with the Language and Disability Access Coordinator to help make digital services more inclusive for people with disabilities and people with limited English proficiency.
Other teams also support this work:
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) supports accessibility through training, testing and regular review.
This includes:
These efforts help improve content over time and support long-term compliance.
We welcome feedback about accessibility barriers on our digital platforms.
If you experience an accessibility issue or need help accessing content, contact:
LanguageAndDisabilityAccess@dss.virginia.gov
Feedback is reviewed regularly and helps inform improvements across the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS).
Some archived web content may not meet current accessibility standards if it is kept only for reference or recordkeeping and is not actively used.
If archived content is requested as an accessibility accommodation, the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) will work to provide an accessible version.
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) coordinates this work with its broader language and disability access efforts to help improve access to key services for all Virginians.
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