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Accessibility Statement

Our commitment to an inclusive digital experience

Our Commitment

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office is committed to ensuring that our website is accessible to all visitors, including people with disabilities. We strive to meet or exceed the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA standards, and we comply with Colorado HB21-1110 (as amended by SB23-244) regarding technology accessibility for state and local government entities.

Notice Under the Americans with Disabilities Act

In accordance with the requirements of title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 ("ADA"), the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office will not discriminate against qualified individuals with disabilities on the basis of disability in its services, programs, or activities.

Employment

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office does not discriminate on the basis of disability in its hiring or employment practices and complies with all regulations promulgated by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under title I of the ADA.

Effective Communication

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office will generally, upon request, provide appropriate aids and services leading to effective communication for qualified persons with disabilities so they can participate equally in our programs, services, and activities, including qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other ways of making information and communications accessible to people who have speech, hearing, or vision impairments.

Modifications to Policies and Procedures

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office will make all reasonable modifications to policies and programs to ensure that people with disabilities have an equal opportunity to enjoy all of its programs, services, and activities. For example, individuals with service animals are welcomed in our offices, even where pets are generally prohibited.

Anyone who requires an auxiliary aid or service for effective communication, or a modification of policies or procedures to participate in a program, service, or activity of the Sheriff's Office, should contact the office of ADA Coordinator Travis Olson at JCSOADA@JEFFCO.US or (303) 271-5540 as soon as possible but no later than 48 hours before the scheduled event.

The ADA does not require the Sheriff's Office to take any action that would fundamentally alter the nature of its programs or services, or impose an undue financial or administrative burden.

Accessibility Features

This website includes the following accessibility features:

Navigation & Interaction

  • Skip-to-content link — Bypass navigation and jump directly to page content using the keyboard
  • Full keyboard navigation — All interactive elements are operable via keyboard, including dropdown menus (arrow keys, Escape to close), search palette (arrow keys to navigate results, Enter to select), forms, dialogs, and video controls (Enter/Space to play/pause)
  • Focus management — Visible focus indicators on all interactive elements; dialog lightboxes trap and restore focus correctly

Visual Accessibility

  • Color vision modes — Built-in accessibility toolbar with deuteranopia (red-green), protanopia (red-blind), and tritanopia (blue-yellow) compensation filters
  • Adjustable text size — Four text size options (Small, Default, Large, Extra Large) through the accessibility toolbar, with preferences saved across visits
  • Dark mode — Full dark color scheme that respects your system preference and can be toggled manually
  • Color contrast — Text and interactive elements designed to meet WCAG AA contrast ratios (4.5:1 for normal text, 3:1 for large text)

Screen Reader Support

  • Semantic HTML — Proper heading hierarchy, landmark regions (main, nav, footer), and semantic elements throughout the site
  • ARIA labels and roles — Descriptive labels on all interactive elements, including search, navigation menus, form fields, map controls, and media players
  • Live regions — Alert banners, search results, and map layer changes announce updates to screen readers in real time
  • Descriptive alt text — All informative images include alternative text; decorative images are properly hidden from assistive technology

Video & Media

  • Video captions — Videos uploaded to our platform include auto-generated closed captions that can be reviewed and edited for accuracy
  • Reduced motion support — Background videos automatically pause when your system is set to prefer reduced motion
  • Mobile video opt-in — On mobile devices, background video does not autoplay; a play button lets you choose to start playback
  • Play/pause controls — All background videos include a visible play/pause button accessible by keyboard and screen readers

Social Media Content

  • Accessible tweet cards — Posts from our X (Twitter) account are rendered as fully accessible native HTML cards with proper ARIA labels, keyboard navigation, screen reader support, and linked engagement metrics — not embedded iframes
  • Tweet video captions — Select tweet videos are uploaded to our captioning platform with auto-generated closed captions; a "CC" badge indicates captioned videos
  • Image lightboxes — Tweet images open in accessible dialog lightboxes with keyboard support, focus trapping, and descriptive alt text

Forms

  • Labeled fields — All form inputs are associated with visible labels using proper HTML semantics
  • Error messages — Validation errors are linked to their respective fields via aria-describedby and announced to screen readers with role="alert"
  • Success/failure announcements — Form submission outcomes are announced via ARIA live regions

Maps

  • Map regions — Interactive maps are identified as map regions with descriptive labels for screen readers
  • Layer controls — Map layer toggles include accessible labels, help text, and live announcements when layers change

Language Support

  • Bilingual interface — Site navigation and interface elements are available in English and Spanish, with a language switcher in the footer

Colorado HB21-1110 Compliance

In accordance with Colorado HB21-1110 (effective July 1, 2024, as amended by SB23-244), we are committed to ensuring our digital content is accessible to individuals with disabilities. Our compliance approach includes:

  • Conformance with WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards for all public-facing web content
  • Providing accessible alternatives when content cannot be made fully conformant
  • Reasonable accommodations for individuals who encounter barriers
  • Ongoing monitoring and annual progress toward full accessibility

Auxiliary Aids & Services

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office provides appropriate auxiliary aids and services for effective communication with qualified individuals with disabilities. These may include qualified sign language interpreters, documents in Braille, and other accommodations. We request a minimum of 48 hours advance notice to arrange auxiliary aids or services.

No surcharges are imposed on individuals or groups with disabilities for auxiliary aids, services, or reasonable modifications.

Service Animals

Individuals with service animals are welcomed in Jefferson County Sheriff's Office facilities, even where pets are generally prohibited.

ADA Coordinator

The Jefferson County Sheriff's Office has designated an employee to coordinate efforts to comply with and carry out the agency's responsibilities under the ADA:

  • Travis Olson — ADA Coordinator and Safety and Compliance Coordinator
  • Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
  • 200 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden, CO 80401
  • Phone: (303) 271-5540
  • Email: JCSOADA@JEFFCO.US

Grievance Procedure Under the ADA

This grievance procedure is established to meet the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. It may be used by anyone who wishes to file a complaint alleging discrimination on the basis of disability in the provision of services, activities, programs, or benefits by the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office. The County's Personnel Policy governs employment-related complaints of disability discrimination.

Filing a Complaint

The complaint should be in writing and contain the following information about the alleged discrimination: name, address, and phone number of the complainant, along with the location, date, and description of the problem. Alternative means of filing complaints, such as personal interviews or a recording of the complaint, will be made available for persons with disabilities upon request.

The complaint should be submitted as soon as possible but no later than sixty (60) calendar days after the alleged violation to:

  • Travis Olson, ADA Coordinator and Safety and Compliance Coordinator
  • Jefferson County Sheriff's Office
  • 200 Jefferson County Parkway, Golden, CO 80401

Investigation Process

  • Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the complaint, ADA Coordinator Olson or his designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions.
  • Within 15 calendar days of the meeting, ADA Coordinator Olson or his designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in an accessible format (such as large print, Braille, or audio). The response will explain the position of the Sheriff's Office and offer options for resolution.

Reconsideration

If the response does not satisfactorily resolve the issue, the complainant and/or their designee may request reconsideration within 15 calendar days after receipt of the response to the County Compliance Manager/ADA Coordinator Stephanie Speer.

  • Within 15 calendar days after receipt of the request for reconsideration, Coordinator Speer or her designee will meet with the complainant to discuss the complaint and possible resolutions.
  • Within 15 calendar days after the meeting, Coordinator Speer or her designee will respond in writing, and where appropriate, in an accessible format, with a final resolution of the complaint.

Record Retention

All written complaints, including requests for reconsideration and responses, will be retained by the Sheriff's Office for at least three (3) years.

For TTY/Voice assistance, contact the Federal Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

Known Limitations

While we work to ensure comprehensive accessibility, some areas may have limitations:

  • Third-party map controls — Interactive maps use the ArcGIS SDK, which may have limitations in keyboard navigation of map pan/zoom controls beyond what we can configure. We provide labeled layer toggles and descriptive regions to supplement native map controls.
  • Animated GIFs from social media — Some tweet GIFs sourced from X (Twitter) may lack captions or descriptive alt text when the original poster did not provide them.

We are actively working to identify and resolve accessibility issues. If you encounter a barrier, please contact us using the methods below.

Feedback

We welcome your feedback on the accessibility of this website. If you have suggestions for improvement, please submit website feedback or contact the ADA Coordinator using the methods listed above.

Annual Progress

We conduct regular accessibility reviews and are committed to continuous improvement. Our accessibility efforts include automated testing, manual audits, and user feedback to identify and prioritize improvements.