Accessibility Statement

Shield Family Care Services is committed to providing a website that is accessible to all people, regardless of ability or technology.

Our Commitment

Shield Family Care Services ("SFCS") is committed to ensuring digital accessibility for people with disabilities. We continually improve the user experience for everyone and apply relevant accessibility standards as an ongoing part of our web development practice.

We strive to meet the requirements of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 Level AA, as published by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). We also recognize our obligations under Ontario's Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA) and its Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (IASR).

Conformance Status

We believe this website substantially conforms to WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Features implemented to support accessibility include:

  • Skip navigation link on every page to allow keyboard users to bypass repeated navigation
  • Semantic HTML with proper landmark roles (header, main, nav, footer, aside)
  • ARIA labels and descriptions on interactive elements, form fields, and complex widgets
  • Keyboard navigability for all interactive elements including accordions, dropdown navigation, tabs, and form controls
  • Visible focus indicators on all interactive elements that meet WCAG 2.1 AA minimum contrast requirements
  • Sufficient colour contrast throughout the design — all text and interactive elements meet a minimum 4.5:1 contrast ratio against their backgrounds
  • Resizable text — the page renders correctly when browser text size is increased up to 200%
  • Descriptive link text — links use text that is meaningful out of context
  • Form labels — all form inputs have programmatically associated labels and descriptive error messages delivered to assistive technology via ARIA live regions
  • Alternative text — decorative images are hidden from screen readers; meaningful images include descriptive alt text
  • Language declaration — lang="en" is declared on the HTML element of each page
  • Page titles — each page has a unique, descriptive title
  • Heading hierarchy — pages use a logical heading structure (H1 → H2 → H3) to facilitate navigation
  • No keyboard traps — keyboard focus is managed appropriately and users can navigate away from any component using standard keys
  • No content that flashes more than 3 times per second

Known Limitations

We are aware of the following areas where we are working to improve accessibility:

  • Some third-party embedded content (such as maps or widgets, if applicable) may not fully conform to WCAG 2.1 AA. We are working to identify accessible alternatives.
  • Some older PDF documents linked from the site may not be fully accessible. We are working to remediate these or provide accessible alternatives.

If you encounter a barrier not listed here, please let us know using the contact information below.

Assistive Technologies Tested

This website has been tested with the following assistive technologies:

  • NVDA screen reader with Google Chrome (Windows)
  • VoiceOver with Safari (macOS and iOS)
  • Keyboard-only navigation (no mouse)
  • Browser zoom up to 200%

AODA Compliance

Shield Family Care Services recognizes its obligations under the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, 2005 (AODA). We are committed to meeting the Information and Communications standard requirements under the Integrated Accessibility Standards Regulation (O. Reg. 191/11), including making new and significantly updated web content accessible. Our Multi-Year Accessibility Plan and AODA Policy are available upon request.

Feedback and Contact

We welcome feedback on the accessibility of this website. If you experience any barriers, encounter content that is not accessible to you, or have suggestions for improvement, please contact us:

Shield Family Care Services — Accessibility Coordinator
Email: accessibility@shieldfamilycare.com
Phone: (905) 484-0470 / +1 (866) 242-3577
2030 Bristol Circle, Suite 210, Oakville, Ontario

We will acknowledge receipt of accessibility feedback within 2 business days and aim to respond with a resolution or plan within 10 business days.

If you are not satisfied with our response, you may contact the Accessibility Directorate of Ontario at ontario.ca/accessibility.

Technical Specifications

Accessibility of this website relies on the following technologies:

  • HTML5
  • CSS3
  • JavaScript (ECMAScript 2015+)
  • WAI-ARIA 1.1

This Accessibility Statement was last reviewed in March 2025. We review and update it at least annually.