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U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Indian Health Manual

Part 8, Chapter 20: Manual Exhibit 8-20-A

Glossary
  1. Access Board.  The Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board (Access Board) is an independent Federal Agency whose primary mission is to promote accessibility for individuals with disabilities.

    The Rehabilitation Act Amendments of 1998 requires the Access Board to publish standards setting forth a definition of electronic and information Technology (IT); and the technical and functional performance criteria necessary for such technology to comply with Section 508.

  2. Alternative Formats.  Formats usable by people with disabilities.  Those formats may include, but are not limited to Braille, ASCII text, large print, recorded audio, and electronic formats that comply with Section 508 Standards (36 Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) §1194.4).
  3. Alternate Methods.  Different means of providing information to users of products, including product documentation, to people with disabilities.  Alternate methods may include, but are not limited to, voice, fax relay service, TTY, internet posting, captioning, text to speech synthesis, and audio description.
  4. Assistive Technology.  Any item, piece of equipment, or system whether acquired commercially, modified, or customized, that is commonly used to increase, maintain, or improve functional capabilities of individuals with disabilities.  This may include screen readers, which allow persons who cannot see a visual display to either hear screen content or read the content in Braille.
  5. Commercial Item.  Any item that can be purchased off the shelf and used without making changes, except those designed within the equipment or software.  Reference Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) Subpart 2.101, for a comprehensive definition of "commercial item."
  6. Commercial Non Availability.  Refers to circumstances where no commercial items are available that meet the applicable Access Board's technical provisions (directly or through equivalent facilitation) in time to satisfy the agency's delivery requirements.  If products are available that meet some, but not all, applicable provisions, agencies cannot claim a product as a whole as non available just because it does not meet all of the applicable technical provisions.  The requiring official must document commercial non availability in writing (FAR 203(c) and 36 CFR 1194.2(b)).
  7. Comparable Access.  Comparable access means that a person with a disability can use the Electronic and Information Technology (EIT) as efficiently and as effectively as a non-disabled person given the necessary tools.
  8. Department.  The Department refers to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).  The Secretary, the Under Secretary, and their immediate offices, the Operating Division (OPDIV), the Staff Division (STAFFDIV), and the Regional Directors and their offices collectively are the Department.
  9. Division.  A Division is an HHS OPDIV or STAFFDIV.
  10. Division Head.  The Division Head is an individual with the lead responsibility in the OPDIV for administration and program planning.
  11. Electronic and Information Technology.  Includes IT and any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment that is used in the creation, conversion, or duplication of data or information.  The term includes, but is not limited to, telecommunication product (such as telephones), information kiosks and transaction machines, World Wide Web sites, multimedia, and office equipment such as copiers and fax machines.

    The term, EIT does not include any equipment that contains embedded IT that is used as an integral part of the product, but the principal function of which is not the acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information. For example, HVAC (Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) equipment such as thermostats or temperature control devices, and medical equipment where IT is integral to its operation, is not IT.

  12. Federal Acquisition Regulations.  The FAR is the principal set of rules in the FAR System.  That system consists of sets of regulations issued by the United States Federal government Agencies to govern what is called the acquisition process, which is the process through which the government purchases (Acquisition) goods and services.  That process consists of three phases: (1) need recognition and acquisition planning, (2) contract formation, and (3) contract administration.  The FAR system regulates the activities of government personnel in carrying out that process.  It does not regulate the purchasing activities of private sector firms, except to the extent that part(s) of it are incorporated into government solicitations and contracts by reference.
  13. Information Technology.  Any equipment or interconnected system or subsystem of equipment that is used in the automatic acquisition, storage, manipulation, management, movement, control, display, switching, interchange, transmission, or reception of data or information.  It includes computers, ancillary equipment, software, hardware, and similar procedures, services (including support services), and related resources.
  14. Market Research.  A process used to collect, organize, maintain, analyze, and present data for the purpose of maximizing the capabilities, technology and competitive force of the marketplace to meet an organization's needs for supplies or services.
  15. Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended in 1998.  Prohibits discrimination based on disability in Federal employment and federally funded programs and services, by Federal contractors, and in the availability and use of Federal Agencies EIT.
  16. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended.  Prohibits discrimination based on disability in federally funded and federally conducted programs or activities in the United States, including employment programs.  This involves, but is not limited to, providing individual accommodations at the worksite using assistive technologies (45 CFR §85).
  17. Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended in 1998.  Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, as amended in 1998, requires that when Federal departments and agencies procure, develop, maintain, or use EIT, they must ensure that it complies with the Section 508 Standards developed by the Access Board, unless doing so would pose an undue burden on the Federal department or agency.

    The purpose of the law is to ensure that Federal employees and members of the public with disabilities have access to the same information and data as employees and members of the public without disabilities.

  18. Self Contained Closed Products.  Products that generally have embedded software and are commonly designed in such a fashion that a user cannot easily attach or install assistive technology.  These products include, but are not limited to, information kiosks and information transaction machines, copiers, printers, calculators, fax machines, and other similar types of products CFR §1194.4.
  19. System.  A collection of components (hardware, software, and interfaces) organized to accomplish a specific function or set of functions; generally considered a self sufficient item in its intended operational use.
  20. Telecommunications.  The transmission, between or among points specified by the user, of information of the user's choosing, without change in the form or content of the information as sent and received.
  21. Teletypewriter.  Teletypewriter is commonly abbreviated as TTY.  Any machinery or equipment that employs interactive text based communications through the transmission of coded signals across the telephone network.  For example, TTY may include, devices know as TDD (telecommunication display devices or telecommunication devices for deaf persons) or computers with special modems.  Text telephones are also known as TTY.
  22. Undue Burden.  Undue burden means significant difficulty or expense.  In determining whether an action would result in an undue burden, an Agency shall consider all Agency resources available to its program or component for which the product or service is being developed, procured, maintained, or used (36 CFR §1194.4).
  23. Workforce Investment Act of 1998.  Congress significantly strengthened Section 508 in the Workforce Investment Act of 1998.  Its primary purpose is to provide access to, and use of, Federal executive agencies EIT by individuals with disabilities.