New Jersey has launched a new website to serve as a central repository of resources and services for people with disabilities.
States are increasingly working to ensure digital services are available to all voters, a change accelerated by April’s amendments to the Americans with Disabilities Act, which requires state and local governments to ensure all digital content is accessible over the next two to three years.
New Jersey’s new Disability Information Hub, announced Friday, aims to make resources, services and supports easier to access for the roughly 20 percent of people with disabilities in the state and their families, caregivers and advocates.
The website provides information on nearly 200 programs offered by the state. Information on food, income and employment assistance programs, details on home assistance, vocational rehabilitation and education can be found on the platform. Other data highlighted on the hub includes services related to assistive technology, transportation, legal rights and emergency planning.
The hub has specific web pages that organize information by disability community, including people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, veterans with disabilities, and people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Accessibility experts advocate that products designed for people with disabilities should include people with disabilities in the design process, and that was certainly the case with the Hub: The development and design process included input from individuals with lived experience, state agencies and offices, and external partners.
“Working with a dedicated team, [the Department of Human Services] “Working with DHS and partners across the state, we developed this new website as a living resource designed in collaboration with the disability community as well as the entire community,” state Chief Innovation Officer Dave Cole said in a news release.
Notably, the platform also includes resources to help users better navigate the hub itself. American Sign Language (ASL) users can get support with live assistance over the phone or video. Resources for caregivers are organized by life stage and include guides on how to get started. DHS has informational videos and even an introductory video for ASL users.
The website will continually evolve, with information being added to keep it up to date and reflect user feedback, according to a DHS video.
“Everyone deserves equal access to important information and this hub will ensure that,” Elizabeth Hill, executive director of the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, said in a statement.
The state also provides the NJ Resource Guide, a PDF version of key services and supports displayed on the hub, which was last updated and published in March.