Accessibility Statement

Our commitment

People often come to this site in a hard moment, reading late at night, on a small phone screen, with a screen reader, or with no mouse at all. Accessibility is part of how we build and maintain this website, because people should be able to use the place where they first reach out for help.

Conformance status

Our target standard is the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 at Level AA, published by the World Wide Web Consortium. We assess this website as partially conformant with WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Partially conformant means parts of this site do not yet fully meet the standard. We are working toward full Level AA conformance across every page. We have not been certified by an outside body, and we would rather be honest than claim compliance we cannot demonstrate.

What we have done

Each item below is in place and has been checked. The form item applies to our two forms, on the contact and insurance verification pages. Everything else applies to every page.

• A skip link and one main region. Every page opens with a skip link that appears when you tab to it and jumps straight to the main content, and every page has exactly one main content landmark, so you can pass the navigation in a single step.
• Keyboard navigation and visible focus. Every interactive control, including the navigation menu and all of its dropdown links, can be reached and operated with a keyboard alone, in an order that follows the visible layout. Focused controls show a thick, high contrast outline. The mobile menu button reports whether it is open or closed and names the menu it controls.
• Labeled form fields. Every field on our contact form and our insurance verification form has a visible label tied to its control, so the field name is announced when you reach it, and each field tells your browser what it holds so autofill can help. The hidden spam trap on both forms is hidden from assistive technology as well as from sight. Instructions and confirmations are written in text, not signaled by color alone.
• Text alternatives. Images that carry meaning have descriptive alternative text. Decorative graphics, such as our logo mark and background shapes, are hidden from assistive technology so they do not add noise.
• Color and contrast. Text, links, and buttons are measured against the WCAG contrast ratios. We darkened our gold accent text, which was below the required threshold on light backgrounds. It now measures at least 4.6 to 1 there, and higher on navy. Color is never the only way we convey meaning.
• Mobile layout without sideways scrolling. Layouts reflow to a single readable column on a phone. We checked every page at a 375 pixel viewport width and confirmed none scroll horizontally.
• Zoom and motion. Content stays readable and usable at 200 percent browser zoom. If your system is set to reduce motion, we honor it and switch off transitions, animations, and smooth scrolling. Nothing here plays automatically or times out while you read.
• Semantic structure. Each page uses a single first level heading, nested headings through the main content, real lists, and landmark regions, so assistive technology can present a usable outline. Heading levels run in order, with none skipped, in the main content and the footer alike.

Known limitations

Some parts of this site fall short, and some are outside our control:

• The spam check on our forms. Both forms are screened by hCaptcha, a third-party service we do not control. It requires JavaScript, and some people find visual challenges difficult. If it blocks you, email us at support@arkcounseling.org and we will take your information that way instead.
• Text size is fixed in pixels. Changing your browser's default font size will not change the size of text here. Browser zoom does work, and at 200 percent the content reflows and stays readable, so zoom is the reliable way to enlarge this site today. Moving to relative text units is on our list.
• No dark theme and no high contrast theme. This site ships one fixed light palette and does not respond to a dark mode or high contrast preference set in your system or browser. We do not use styling that opts your system colors out, so Windows High Contrast and other forced colors modes should still replace our colors with your own, though we have not finished testing there.
• Footer heading levels. The column headings in our footer sit at a heading level that skips a step below the headings above them. A screen reader still announces them, but the outline at the bottom of each page is untidy. We plan to correct this in our next template pass.
• Embedded map. The location map on our home page is an embedded Google Map. We do not control its markup, keyboard behavior, or contrast, and it may not meet Level AA. Our service area also appears in plain text on the page, so nothing is available only inside the map.
• Web fonts from a third party. Our typography is served by Google Fonts. If that service is slow or blocked, your browser substitutes a system font. Content and reading order are unaffected, but the appearance changes.
• Documents. We publish no PDFs at present. Our patient forms page lists, in ordinary page text, the paperwork new clients complete at intake, filled in with us rather than downloaded. Should we post PDF versions later, they may not be fully tagged for screen readers at first, and we will supply the same content in an accessible format on request.
• New content and older software. Pages added between reviews may fall short until our next round of testing, and software several versions behind current releases may not support everything the site relies on.

Compatibility

This site is built for current and recent versions of Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and Safari on Windows, macOS, iOS, and Android, and for use with NVDA, JAWS, VoiceOver, and TalkBack, along with browser zoom, speech input, and keyboard-only navigation. Our forms are standard HTML fields, but they are protected by an hCaptcha challenge that needs JavaScript, so a submission will not go through with scripts disabled. A small script also powers the mobile menu. If scripts fail to load, all page content stays readable and every link keeps working.

Technical specifications

Accessibility here relies on HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and WAI-ARIA working with your browser and assistive technology, not on plugins or proprietary formats.

How we assess this site

Our assessment is a self-evaluation by the team that builds and maintains the site, not a third-party audit. It pairs automated scanning of every page with manual testing, because automated tools catch only a portion of real barriers. Manual testing covers a keyboard-only walkthrough of navigation and forms, a screen reader review of headings, labels, and link text, contrast measurement, and layout checks at a narrow viewport and at 200 percent zoom. Findings are prioritized by how much they block someone from getting care.

Tell us about a barrier

If any part of this site keeps you from finding information or reaching us, tell us. You can send us a message through our contact form or write to support@arkcounseling.org. We aim to acknowledge every accessibility report within five business days and to tell you what we plan to do and when. If a fix will take longer, we will get you the information you needed another way in the meantime.

If five business days pass with no reply, send your message again to support@arkcounseling.org and begin the subject line with the word URGENT. That flags it for escalation to our leadership, who will respond within two further business days.

What to include in your report

• The address of the page where the problem happened.
• What you were trying to do, and what happened instead.
• Your browser and version, and your operating system.
• Any assistive technology involved, such as a screen reader or speech input, and its version.
• How you would like us to reply.

Alternative formats

If you cannot access something here, ask and we will provide the same information in a format that works for you, at no cost. That may mean plain text in an email, a large print version, a simplified summary, or a staff member walking you through admissions and insurance questions in writing.

Review schedule

This statement was first published on July 29, 2026, and was last reviewed on July 29, 2026. We review it and retest the site at least once a year, and sooner whenever we redesign a template, add a form, or receive a report pointing to a broader problem. When we correct a limitation listed above we update this page, and when we find a new one we add it here.