The Virginia Department of Corrections (the Department) is actively and systematically upgrading its Information and Communications Technology (ICT) infrastructure to ensure universal access for employees, incarcerated populations, victims, and the general public. This comprehensive modernization effort is driven by the mandate to achieve and maintain full compliance with state and federal legal standards, notably Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act, and the Virginia Information Technology Access Act (ITAA).

To satisfy both state and federal regulatory frameworks, the Department measures its digital asset compliance against the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level AA. In alignment with policies set by the Virginia Information Technologies Agency (VITA), these standards require all public-facing platforms, internal agency databases, digital workflows, and multimedia assets to be fully compatible with assistive technologies – such as screen readers and refreshable braille displays. Pursuant to state procurement rules, the Department continues to integrate strict accessibility conformance requirements into all new vendor contracts and third-party software acquisitions.

This report provides the General Assembly with a transparent evaluation of the Department's current compliance posture. It outlines the specific technical challenges associated with remediating legacy systems, details the strategic cross-division workflows established to mitigate legal and operational risks, and presents a structured roadmap for future resource allocation to ensure a universally accessible and legally compliant digital environment.