Primary Department: Universal Services
Primary Department Head/Elected Official: Sindhu Menon
Secondary Department: Choose an item.
Secondary Department Head/Elected Official:
Regular or Supplemental RCA: Regular RCA
Type of Request: Contract - Award
Project ID (if applicable): 210317
Vendor/Entity Legal Name (if applicable): Protiviti
MWBE Contracted Goal (if applicable): 0%
MWBE Current Participation (if applicable): 0%
Justification for 0% MWBE Participation Goal: 0% - Specialized, Technical, or Unique in Nature
Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): N/A
Justification for 0% Grant Indirect Costs Rate (if applicable): Choose an item.
Request Summary (Agenda Caption):
title
Request for approval of an award on the basis of best proposal requirements with Protiviti for business and technology services for countywide website accessibility compliance management.
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Background and Discussion:
The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) published its final rule in April 2024 establishing specific state and local government accessibility standards to comply with ADA.gov-mandated website accessibility guidelines, specifically the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA. The rule sets a compliance deadline of April 24, 2026, for local governments with a total population of 50,000 people or more and a deadline of April 26, 2027, for local governments with a total population up to 49,999.
The Universal Services department solicited consulting firms using the Office of County Administration’s vendor pool, contract no. 210317 Applied Research and Data Analysis, Strategic Planning and Management Strategies, and Other Services. After an extensive evaluation of the proposal submissions, Protiviti scored higher and were deemed highly qualified and have a greater capacity to perform the services due to their qualifications.
Expected Impact:
The approximate 150 County websites and their main content will be audited and compliance measured in accordance with:
• Review of key pages including, but not limited to: Homepage, About Us, Contact Us, Key Product/Service.
• Assessment Against WCAG 2.1 Level AA. The audit shall assess the website's conformance with the success criteria of WCAG.
• Manual and automated testing. A combination of manual testing by accessibility experts and automated testing tools shall be used to identify accessibility barriers.
• Assistive Technology Testing. Testing shall be conducted with common assistive technologies, such as screen readers, keyboard navigation, and magnification software, to ensure usability for users with disabilities.
Alternative Options:
No alternative options.
County Strategic Plan Goal: 2. Connect our community with safe, reliable, equitably distributed, and well-maintained infrastructure.
County Strategic Plan Objective: N/A
Justice/Safety Initiative (Goal 1): N/A
Infrastructure Initiative (Goal 2): N/A
Economy Initiative (Goal 3): N/A
Health Initiative (Goal 4): N/A
Climate/Resilience Initiative (Goal 5): N/A
Housing Initiative (Goal 6): N/A
Additional notes related to the Strategic Plan:
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County Attorney’s Office Legal Review (for Harris County Code Items only) |
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Anticipated Court Date: 12/11/2025
Anticipated Implementation Date (if different from Court date): Click or tap to enter a date.
Emergency/Disaster Recovery Note: Not an emergency, disaster, or ARPA related item
Contact(s) name, title, department: Shannon Pleasant, Sr. Manager, Contracts & Compliance, Universal Services. Elizabeth Lo, Chief Operations Officer.
Attachments (if applicable): Protiviti’s proposal, Order of Commissioners Court Authorizing the expenditure of funds.