Conformance Level Key
| Term | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Supports | The functionality of the product has at least one method that meets the criterion without known defects or meets with equivalent facilitation. |
| Partially Supports | Some functionality of the product does not meet the criterion. |
| Not Applicable | The criterion is not relevant to the product. |
| Does Not Support | The majority of product functionality does not meet the criterion. |
Table 1: Perceivable
| Criterion | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 1.1.1 Non-text Content (A) | Supports | All informational images include alt text. Decorative images use alt="" and aria-hidden="true". Interactive map dots have programmatic labels with center name, county, and contact details. Slider background images carry descriptive role="img" and aria-label. SVG icons marked aria-hidden="true". |
| 1.2.1 Audio-only / Video-only (A) | Not Applicable | The site does not include pre-recorded audio-only or video-only media. |
| 1.2.2 Captions (Prerecorded) (A) | Not Applicable | No pre-recorded video with audio is published on the site. |
| 1.2.3 Audio Description or Media Alt (A) | Not Applicable | No video media on the site. |
| 1.2.4 Captions (Live) (AA) | Not Applicable | No live audio content. |
| 1.2.5 Audio Description (Prerecorded) (AA) | Not Applicable | No video media on the site. |
| 1.3.1 Info and Relationships (A) | Supports | Semantic HTML used throughout: headings (h1-h6), lists, nav landmarks, main, header, footer. Form fields have visible label elements (county select, search, events date picker). Tables use th scope. Bio toggles use aria-expanded and aria-controls. Interactive map modal uses role=”dialog” with aria-modal and aria-describedby. |
| 1.3.2 Meaningful Sequence (A) | Supports | DOM order matches visual presentation. CSS positioning does not alter reading order. Slider content is linear (heading, body, CTA) within each slide panel. |
| 1.3.3 Sensory Characteristics (A) | Supports | Instructions do not rely solely on shape, color, size, or visual location. Map dots include numbered labels and text names, not color alone. Error messages use text prefixes, not color-only indicators. |
| 1.3.4 Orientation (AA) | Supports | No content is locked to a specific orientation. All pages function in both portrait and landscape. |
| 1.3.5 Identify Input Purpose (AA) | Partially Supports | Search and contact form fields have descriptive labels. Some Avada-generated form fields may lack autocomplete attributes for personal data fields (name, email) which are generated by third-party form plugins. |
| 1.4.1 Use of Color (A) | Supports | Color is never the sole means of conveying information. Map dots display numbered labels. Active navigation uses a left border plus background change plus text weight, not color alone. Error messages include “Error:” text prefix in the DOM. |
| 1.4.2 Audio Control (A) | Not Applicable | No audio plays automatically. |
| 1.4.3 Contrast (Minimum) (AA) | Supports | All text meets 4.5:1 contrast ratio. Navigation uses white text on dark teal (#0E3D4A) at 12.6:1. Body text is #1a1a1a on white at 17.4:1. Links are #0057B8 on white at 7.1:1. Mobile flyout enforces white-on-dark on all states. |
| 1.4.4 Resize Text (AA) | Supports | Text resizes up to 200% without loss of content or functionality. Slider uses clamp() for responsive typography. Map tooltip uses relative units. No content is clipped at 200% zoom. |
| 1.4.5 Images of Text (AA) | Supports | Real text is used throughout. Slider headlines and body text are live HTML, not baked into images. The site logo is the only image of text (organization identity exception). |
| 1.4.10 Reflow (AA) | Supports | Content reflows to a single column at 320px equivalent (400% zoom). Progressive breakpoints at 200%, 300%, 400%, and 500% zoom. Navigation collapses to compact layout. Language widget and search adapt to available space. No horizontal scrolling except the interactive map (spatial content exception per WCAG). |
| 1.4.11 Non-text Contrast (AA) | Supports | Focus indicators use 3px solid outlines with 2-ring pattern (blue ring + white gap) at 3:1+ contrast against adjacent colors. Map dot focus rings use a white halo behind a blue ring for visibility on any map background. Forced-colors mode supported with system color tokens. |
| 1.4.12 Text Spacing (AA) | Supports | No content is lost or overlapped when users override line-height to 1.5x, paragraph spacing to 2x, letter spacing to 0.12em, or word spacing to 0.16em. Slider uses overflow: visible and min-height (not fixed height) to accommodate text spacing overrides. |
| 1.4.13 Content on Hover or Focus (AA) | Supports | Map tooltips are dismissible (Escape key), hoverable (pointer can move to tooltip without it disappearing), and persistent (remains visible until user acts). Dropdown submenus remain open while focus is inside them; close on Escape or blur. |
Table 2: Operable
| Criterion | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 2.1.1 Keyboard (A) | Supports | All interactive elements operable by keyboard. Navigation dropdowns open/close via toggle buttons with Arrow key, Escape, Home, End support. Map dots navigable with Arrow keys; Enter/Space opens detail modal; Escape closes it. Slider navigable with Tab to prev/next/dots/play-pause controls. Bio toggles activated via Enter/Space. |
| 2.1.2 No Keyboard Trap (A) | Supports | Tab moves through all controls without trapping. Map provides “Skip interactive map” bypass link. Modal dialog traps focus while open and returns focus to trigger element on close. Submenu closes and returns focus to toggle button on Escape. |
| 2.1.4 Character Key Shortcuts (A) | Not Applicable | No single-character keyboard shortcuts are implemented. |
| 2.2.1 Timing Adjustable (A) | Supports | The only timed content is the auto-advancing slider. It includes a visible Play/Pause button with keyboard access. Auto-advance pauses on hover, focus, or activation of the Pause control. No session timeouts are enforced. |
| 2.2.2 Pause, Stop, Hide (A) | Supports | Slider auto-play can be paused via the play/pause button (aria-label updates to reflect state). Pauses automatically when any slide control receives focus. No other auto-updating content exists. |
| 2.3.1 Three Flashes or Below Threshold (A) | Supports | No content flashes more than three times per second. Slider transitions use a 700ms opacity fade. Prefers-reduced-motion media query disables all transitions site-wide. |
| 2.4.1 Bypass Blocks (A) | Supports | Skip-to-content link present on every page (styled visible on focus). Interactive map has its own “Skip interactive map” bypass link. Proper landmark regions (nav, main, footer) allow screen reader landmark navigation. |
| 2.4.2 Page Titled (A) | Supports | All pages have descriptive title elements generated by Yoast SEO. |
| 2.4.3 Focus Order (A) | Supports | Focus order follows logical reading order. Navigation: top-level link, then submenu toggle, then submenu items. Map: skip link, keyboard help toggle, then dots in numbered order. Modal: focus moves to modal on open, trapped within, returns to trigger on close. |
| 2.4.4 Link Purpose (In Context) (A) | Supports | Links have descriptive text or aria-label. Phone links labeled “Call [number]” or “Call Florida SILC at [number]”. Email links labeled “Email [address]”. External links include screen-reader-only “(opens in new tab)” notice. Slider CTA buttons labeled “[button text] – [slide headline]”. |
| 2.4.5 Multiple Ways (AA) | Supports | Site provides multiple navigation methods: main menu, site search, sitemap, and in-page links. |
| 2.4.6 Headings and Labels (AA) | Supports | Headings are descriptive and follow a logical hierarchy. Form labels clearly describe their associated inputs. |
| 2.4.7 Focus Visible (AA) | Supports | All interactive elements show a visible focus indicator. Standard elements use a 3px blue outline with white gap ring. Dark-background elements (nav, footer social links) use a light blue outline with dark gap. Map dots use a 2-ring SVG pattern (white halo + blue ring). Focus rings have minimum 3:1 contrast against adjacent colors. |
| 2.5.1 Pointer Gestures (A) | Supports | No functionality requires multi-point or path-based gestures. Map dots respond to single click/tap. All pointer actions have keyboard equivalents. |
| 2.5.2 Pointer Cancellation (A) | Supports | Actions are triggered on click (up event), not on pointer down. Users can move the pointer away to cancel. |
| 2.5.3 Label in Name (A) | Supports | Accessible names match or contain visible labels. “Previous slide” button labeled “Jump to previous slide”. Search submit button has matching aria-label and title. |
| 2.5.4 Motion Actuation (A) | Not Applicable | No functionality is triggered by device motion. |
Table 3: Understandable
| Criterion | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 3.1.1 Language of Page (A) | Supports | The lang=”en” attribute is set on the html element. Google Translate widget is available for multilingual visitors. |
| 3.1.2 Language of Parts (AA) | Supports | Primary content is English with correct lang attribute. |
| 3.2.1 On Focus (A) | Supports | No context changes occur on focus alone. Navigation submenus open only on explicit activation (click or Enter/Space on toggle button), not on focus. |
| 3.2.2 On Input (A) | Supports | Form controls do not trigger context changes on input. The county select dropdown on the map page requires explicit selection action. |
| 3.2.3 Consistent Navigation (AA) | Supports | Primary and secondary navigation appear in the same order on every page. Footer links are consistent site-wide. |
| 3.2.4 Consistent Identification (AA) | Supports | Components with the same function are labeled consistently. Search buttons always labeled “Submit search”. Navigation toggle always labeled “Toggle navigation menu”. Slider controls use consistent naming patterns. |
| 3.3.1 Error Identification (A) | Supports | Form validation errors include screen-reader-accessible “Error:” text prefix injected into the DOM (not CSS-only). Error messages use red text color for visual distinction alongside text identification. |
| 3.3.2 Labels or Instructions (A) | Supports | All form inputs have associated labels. The county select has “Select a county” label. Events date picker has “Select date” label. Search input has a visually-hidden label. Map keyboard instructions are provided in a collapsible panel above the map. |
| 3.3.3 Error Suggestion (AA) | Supports | Contact Form 7 provides field-level error messages describing what is expected. Error messages are clear and actionable. |
| 3.3.4 Error Prevention (Legal, Financial, Data) (AA) | Not Applicable | The site does not process legal commitments, financial transactions, or user-controllable data submissions that would require reversal or confirmation. |
Table 4: Robust
| Criterion | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 4.1.1 Parsing (A) (Obsolete in WCAG 2.2) | Partially Supports | Custom code (child theme, plugins) produces valid HTML. Some validation errors originate from the Avada theme framework, WordPress core, Bluehost hosting platform, and third-party plugins (Jetpack, Yoast). These are outside the scope of this remediation but do not affect assistive technology compatibility. |
| 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value (A) | Supports | Custom components use appropriate ARIA:
|
| 4.1.3 Status Messages (AA) | Supports | Slider slide changes announced via aria-live=”polite” region. Map dot navigation announced via live region. Search results and form submission feedback delivered through appropriate ARIA roles (role=”status”, aria-atomic=”true”). |
AAA Enhancements (Beyond AA Requirement)
The following Level AAA criteria are met as best-effort enhancements. They are not required for WCAG 2.1 AA conformance but improve the user experience.
| Criterion | Conformance Level | Remarks and Explanations |
|---|---|---|
| 1.4.6 Contrast (Enhanced) (AAA) | Supports | Primary text achieves 7:1+ contrast ratios. Nav text white-on-teal at 12.6:1. Body text at 17.4:1. Links at 7.1:1. |
| 2.3.3 Animation from Interactions (AAA) | Supports | prefers-reduced-motion media query disables all CSS transitions and animations site-wide across the child theme, slider plugin, and map plugin. |
| 2.4.11 Focus Appearance (AAA / WCAG 2.2) | Supports | Focus indicators use a 2-ring pattern (colored outline + contrasting gap) providing a minimum 2px visible area around all interactive elements. Indicators meet the 3:1 contrast requirement against both the component and adjacent background. |
Known Limitations
Third-Party Components
The following accessibility limitations are caused by third-party software outside the scope of this remediation:
- Avada Theme Framework: Some HTML validation errors in generated markup. Redundant landmark roles and empty ARIA attributes are patched at runtime by the accessibility script.
- WordPress Core / Admin Bar: Approximately 50 accessibility issues detected by automated tools relate to the WordPress admin bar, which is only visible to logged-in administrators and not shown to public visitors.
- Google Translate Widget: The translated text may not include lang attributes for the target language. The widget’s iframe content is not fully controllable.
- Bluehost Hosting Platform: Injects platform-level scripts that may produce minor HTML validation warnings.
- Jetpack / Yoast SEO: Plugin-generated markup may contain minor validation issues but does not impact assistive technology operation.
Pages Not Tested
The following pages were not included in this accessibility evaluation and may contain issues not reflected in this report:
- Events (The Events Calendar plugin) — third-party plugin templates and calendar UI were not audited.
- Youth Initiatives — page content was not reviewed as part of this remediation scope.
Interactive Map
The Florida CIL Locations map is an inherently spatial interface. Per WCAG 1.4.10 (Reflow), content that requires two-dimensional scrolling for usage or meaning is exempt. The map provides a non-visual fallback: a structured HTML list of all locations with full contact information, accessible to screen readers.
Remediation Work Performed
The following work was completed between January and March 2026:
- Child Theme CSS: 15-section stylesheet covering focus indicators, skip links, screen-reader utilities, desktop and mobile navigation, color contrast overrides, text reflow at 200%-500% zoom, reduced motion, error messaging, print styles, touch targets, forced colors / high contrast mode.
- Accessibility Runtime Script: JavaScript patches for ARIA attributes, semantic element injection, keyboard-operable navigation dropdowns, flyout menu toggle, bio expand/collapse, null ARIA cleanup, aria-current on active nav items, redundant landmark removal, “(opens in new tab)” notices for external links, phone/email link labeling, empty paragraph cleanup, and CSS-content-to-DOM text conversion.
- Accessible Slider Plugin: Custom replacement for RevSlider with full WCAG compliance: role=”tabpanel” slides, aria-roledescription=”carousel”, tab-based dot navigation, play/pause control, aria-live announcements, and keyboard arrow-key support.
- Interactive Map Plugin (Connect the Dots): Custom-built accessible map with SVG dot markers, keyboard navigation (arrow keys between dots), skip link, keyboard help panel, focus-visible rings with white halo, modal dialog with focus trap, fallback HTML list, aria-describedby instructions, tooltip, and forced-colors/high-contrast support.
- RevSlider Removal: Replaced the RevSlider plugin (known accessibility and security issues) with the purpose-built accessible slider.
- Audit Results: Reduced automated accessibility issues from 286 (Round 1) to approximately 10 public-facing issues (Round 5), with approximately 50 remaining issues attributable to the WordPress admin bar (invisible to public visitors).
This VPAT follows the ITI VPAT 2.4 Rev format, adapted for web content evaluation against WCAG 2.1. For questions about this report, contact info@floridasilc.org.
