ADA Accessibility Policy
We strive to maintain a compliant website and are committed to providing an online environment that is accessible to all visitors in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), and relevant implementing regulations, as well as with the recommendations contained in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, promulgated by the World Wide Web Consortium, as may be updated and/or otherwise amended from time to time.
We recognize that accessibility and usability are not always possible in every area of the website or for those using assistive technology and devices. Therefore, we have conducted, and conduct ongoing accessibility reviews of its website and has remediated and continues to remediate any issues identified during such reviews.
Please be aware that our efforts are ongoing as we incorporate the relevant improvements to meet the above-referenced laws, regulations and guidelines.
If you have specific questions or concerns about the accessibility of this site or need assistance in using the processes found within this site please contact us at . If you have found an inaccessible area on the site, please be sure to specify the Web page and provide us with any other information you may think will help us locate the area. We will make all reasonable efforts to make that page accessible. Otherwise, if a page cannot be made accessible we will work to make a text version available.
If you have a need for a specific electronic format, please contact us at . Please provide the format that you require the content to be in, the web page address of the material, and your contact information. We welcome your questions about this accessibility statement and comments on how to improve the website's accessibility.
ADA Accessibility Help Page
We strive to maintain a compliant website and is committed to providing an online environment that is accessible to all visitors in accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act (29 U.S.C. 794d), and relevant implementing regulations, as well as with the recommendations contained in the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.0, promulgated by the World Wide Web Consortium, as may be updated and/or otherwise amended from time to time.
There are various types of physical disabilities that impact user interaction on the web. Vision loss, hearing loss, limited manual dexterity, and cognitive disabilities are examples, with each having different means by which to access electronic information effectively. Our goal is to provide a good web experience for all visitors.
Below you will find a list of some of the technology solutions we have integrated to make our website easy to navigate, fast-loading and accessible. To further improve the ease of use and readability of this site, such as increasing the font size, please review the section below on how to customize your browser.
What Makes Our Website Accessible?
Our website uses simple information architecture with uniform navigation and reliable headings throughout. Content layout and graphical design are consistent on every page.
The "Skip to" navigation appears at the top of each page. It allows the user to jump to the content area, accessibility page, or footer, and skip the navigation and other header elements, which repeat on every page.
The main navigation, located at the top of the page, uses lists. Lists make it easier for screen readers to literally read down the list without having to sort through unnecessary code. Lists also allow the users to use the tab key to move from link to link.
Breadcrumbs, located at the top of each page (except for the homepage) and directly below the main navigation, let you know where you are and where you have been, or where a particular file resides. Breadcrumbs make it easier to navigate your way back to the root folder.
Photographs and other relevant images on the site are accompanied by alternative text (the ALT tag.) Alt tags provide a written description of the image, which is accessible to screen readers, and it is visible when the mouse is placed over the image. This is also useful for people who have images turned off on their browser, in which case a description will display where the image used to be.
Relative font size can be enlarged using magnification tools or by changing your browser settings.
Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are used for content layout and graphical elements (color, font styles, custom titles and subtitles, etc.) Using CSS for styling keeps our HTML clean, streamlined, easier to maintain, and it downloads faster. Style sheets can be replaced by the user's own styles.
The width of our pages changes and adapts to the width of your browser. This is more noticeable if you have a large screen and/or use high resolution for your monitor. Our website is viewed best at a minimum of 1147 x 600 pixels.
You can use the mouse or keyboard to navigate through our information. The tab key will move the cursor from link to link.
Access keys are keyboard shortcuts that help you get around the site.
Use "Alt" + "S" to access search box
Content is accessible without sound, color, scripts or graphics.
Google search engine provides more relevant results than our previous state search application.
Customize Your Browser to Fit Your Needs
Cascading Style Sheets
To turn CSS off, and access the content without any formatting, download and install the Firefox Web Developer toolbar or the Internet Explorer Developer toolbar. If you're using Google Chrome, there are extensions that can be installed to disable CSS, search the Chrome Store. Safari is available by accessing the Settings Menu, then Preferences, followed by Advanced. Click on the "Show Develop menu in menu bar" to enable the Develop Menu. Once you have the Develop Menu activated, then select "Disable Styles". With these toolbars turning CSS on and off is just a click away, plus they offer many other helpful tools. If you use a different browser, do an Internet search for accessibility for your particular browser.
Below is the step by step on how to change the style sheet file in Internet Explorer. For other browsers please check the Help menu.
Click Tools from the top menu bar
Select Internet Options
Select the General tab (first tab)
Click on Accessibility button (bottom section, Appearance)
Click on checkboxes to ignore all colors and font styles and sizes and/or
Click on checkbox: "Format documents using my style sheet"
Browse to your personal style sheet and
Click OK
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You are about to leave ’s web site. We have provided this link as a courtesy, but it is in no way an endorsement by , and we are not responsible for its content. Please remember that when you leave our site, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Once you visit another site, your web privacy and security is defined by that web site’s own policy.
Third Party Link Disclaimer
You are about to leave ’s web site. We have provided this link as a courtesy, but it is in no way an endorsement by , and we are not responsible for its content. Please remember that when you leave our site, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Once you visit another site, your web privacy and security is defined by that web site’s own policy.
Change Font Size
In most browsers (example: Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape) you could change the font size by following the steps below:
Open your browser Click View button from top menu bar Click Text Size Select your option
If your browser uses a different naming convention and you do not see this path, please check the Help menu on your browser. The Help menu is usually the last option on the top menu bar, and it can often be accessed by pressing the keys "Alt" + "H".
In addition, newer browser versions have a magnifying tool that lets you zoom into a page and display all elements at 150 percent, 200 percent, etc. Look for the magnifying tool with a "+" character. This icon is typically located at the bottom of your browser, on the right, or at the top, below the standard menu tools, on the right. Furthermore, the keyboard shortcut to access this tool is: "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "+" to zoom in, and "Ctrl" + "Shift" + "-" to zoom out.
Most modern browsers also have the Text Size or Font Size settings in their Preferences. You can change the size for all web pages and customize what text size is best for you.
Shortcuts
Keyboard shortcuts: This is a list of the most common keyboard shortcuts in Firefox, and the equivalents in Internet Explorer and Opera (from Firefox website).
Mouse shortcuts: This is a list of the most common mouse shortcuts in Firefox, and the equivalents in Internet Explorer and Opera. The shortcuts are for Windows, but most of the Firefox shortcuts should work in Linux, too (from FireFox website).
Third Party Link Disclaimer
You are about to leave ’s web site. We have provided this link as a courtesy, but it is in no way an endorsement by , and we are not responsible for its content. Please remember that when you leave our site, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Once you visit another site, your web privacy and security is defined by that web site’s own policy.
Third Party Link Disclaimer
You are about to leave ’s web site. We have provided this link as a courtesy, but it is in no way an endorsement by , and we are not responsible for its content. Please remember that when you leave our site, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Once you visit another site, your web privacy and security is defined by that web site’s own policy.
Add-Ons
Firefox accessibility extension (browser toolbar): The Mozilla/Firefox Accessibility Extension makes it easier for people with a disability to view and navigate web content. Developers can use the toolbar to check their structural markup to make sure it matches the page content.
Firefox web developer toolbar: Allows you to turn CSS on and off, disable javascript scripts and images, view source code, etc.
Third Party Link Disclaimer
You are about to leave ’s web site. We have provided this link as a courtesy, but it is in no way an endorsement by , and we are not responsible for its content. Please remember that when you leave our site, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Once you visit another site, your web privacy and security is defined by that web site’s own policy.
Third Party Link Disclaimer
You are about to leave ’s web site. We have provided this link as a courtesy, but it is in no way an endorsement by , and we are not responsible for its content. Please remember that when you leave our site, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Once you visit another site, your web privacy and security is defined by that web site’s own policy.
Third Party Link Disclaimer
You are about to leave ’s web site. We have provided this link as a courtesy, but it is in no way an endorsement by , and we are not responsible for its content. Please remember that when you leave our site, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Once you visit another site, your web privacy and security is defined by that web site’s own policy.
Additional Tools
Both Apple and Microsoft have some pretty amazing tools to help those with accessibility needs. Click on the links below to be directed to their respective websites that highlight those tools.
Third Party Link Disclaimer
You are about to leave ’s web site. We have provided this link as a courtesy, but it is in no way an endorsement by , and we are not responsible for its content. Please remember that when you leave our site, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Once you visit another site, your web privacy and security is defined by that web site’s own policy.
Third Party Link Disclaimer
You are about to leave ’s web site. We have provided this link as a courtesy, but it is in no way an endorsement by , and we are not responsible for its content. Please remember that when you leave our site, our Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Once you visit another site, your web privacy and security is defined by that web site’s own policy.
Difficulty Accessing Material?
We are constantly updating our content and striving to make it accessible. If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact our contact page at .
If you have difficulty accessing any material on this site because of a disability, please contact us in writing and we will work with you to make the information available. You can direct your request to our Webmaster:
Affordable Housing Clearinghouse is a non-profit organization that provides financing for affordable housing and homeownership.
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