Thank you for your interest in what we are doing to make our programs and services more accessible. Any comments listed below were provided during the public comment period prior to the publication of the initial final Five-Year Accessibility Plan. Each year we will be posting a Progress Report, so check back.
3 Responses
ACCESS HRA is described in the proposal as an “expansive virtual system for applying and maintaining HRA benefits”.
While the system highlights its accessibilty it still limits clients ability to easily submit documents.
The ACCESS HRA mobile app while a convenient way for people to submit documents only works if the client has access to a mobile device and understanding of how & where to upload requested documents.
Many people choose to go to agencies or offices for assitance in applying or recrtifying their benefits. Much of which is then done online via the Access HRA website.
For advocates and benefit counselors who assist these clients being unable to submit the documets via the website is counterintuitive.
It makes little sense that you can complete applications online via the website but are only allowed to upload documents via the phone app, in person at a HRA center or via fax.
It would be more accessible and easier for clients, especially ones who go to other organizations for assitance, to be able to submit required and requested documents via the website.
I would like to strongly second the comments that Nuala Naranjo made. I am a person with disabilities, someone who has worked with other people with disabilities, and is someone who is tech savvy. I believe people should have multiple, easy to find options as to how they submit their documentation to HRA. While the mobile app may be useful for sending a single page or two for small updates, it is a positively miserable experience when you have dozens of pages to send. Not everyone is able to use a smartphone, and even for those like myself that do, I would find it much easier to scan my documents and upload them onto the HRA website.
It simply doesn’t make sense that an process can be started via the website, but then to complete it you need to go elsewhere. Make it one stop right on the website- and then if the person wants an alternate method, spell out how to fax, use the app, or reach their local office. Consider giving people with disabilities an easy way to reach you if they get stuck, or point them to organizations that can assist.
On the topic of reaching out to local offices – in the last few years, it has become exceptionally difficult to reach a human by phone to ask even the simplest of questions. Beyond the confusion of the automated system, if one does manage to be put on hold, they’re put on hold for long wait times (over 35 minutes), often to be disconnected before the reach a human. In fact, I requested help from local nonprofits to have them try to call HRA. Some spent days unsuccessfully trying to get through.
For those of us with disabilities that impact orientation, pain, fatigue, and/or amount of time they can sit/stand/wait, going to a local office is impractical if not impossible. I urge you to consider having alternate methods to ask questions, such as via chat, text, email, in addition to improving phone service.
I agree with Annalisa Rivera’s comment:
Annalisa Rivera-Franz says:
February 12, 2024 at 2:52 PM
I would like to strongly second the comments that Nuala Naranjo made. I am a person with disabilities, someone who has worked with other people with disabilities, and is someone who is tech savvy. I believe people should have multiple, easy to find options as to how they submit their documentation to HRA. While the mobile app may be useful for sending a single page or two for small updates, it is a positively miserable experience when you have dozens of pages to send. Not everyone is able to use a smartphone, and even for those like myself that do, I would find it much easier to scan my documents and upload them onto the HRA website.
It simply doesn’t make sense that an process can be started via the website, but then to complete it you need to go elsewhere. Make it one stop right on the website- and then if the person wants an alternate method, spell out how to fax, use the app, or reach their local office. Consider giving people with disabilities an easy way to reach you if they get stuck, or point them to organizations that can assist.
On the topic of reaching out to local offices – in the last few years, it has become exceptionally difficult to reach a human by phone to ask even the simplest of questions. Beyond the confusion of the automated system, if one does manage to be put on hold, they’re put on hold for long wait times (over 35 minutes), often to be disconnected before the reach a human. In fact, I requested help from local nonprofits to have them try to call HRA. Some spent days unsuccessfully trying to get through.
For those of us with disabilities that impact orientation, pain, fatigue, and/or amount of time they can sit/stand/wait, going to a local office is impractical if not impossible. I urge you to consider having alternate methods to ask questions, such as via chat, text, email, in addition to improving phone service.