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County launches DocAccess to make public documents searchable, translatable and more accessible

New platform helps Chelan County meet federal accessibility requirements while improving transparency for residents across the county

Chelan County has adopted DocAccess by CivicPlus to make its public documents easier to read, search, translate and access on any device. The county’s rollout includes 943 documents totaling 20,623 pages, including archived and legacy materials that are often the hardest for residents to use.

The effort comes as counties across the country prepare to meet the U.S. Department of Justice’s ADA Title II rule, 28 CFR Part 35, which sets a compliance deadline of April 24 for public entities serving populations of 50,000 or more. For Chelan County, this is about more than checking a box — it is about responding to public interest in transparency and ensuring residents can access the information they need, when they need it.

DocAccess is built on WCAG 2.1 AA standards and the Americans with Disabilities Act. It transforms PDF documents into searchable, translatable HTML, making public information usable for residents whether they are reviewing board and council meeting agendas, minutes, budgets, strategic plans or older scanned records from county archives. The platform also makes documents easier to view on mobile devices, including older, handwritten or scanned files that have traditionally been difficult to navigate.

“Our county serves a diverse community, and people expect to be able to find public information quickly and independently,” said Jill FitzSimmons, public information officer for Chelan County. “We knew this work mattered for compliance, but it also matters because it respects our residents’ time, their language needs and their right to access public records in a practical way.”

Chelan County’s adoption of DocAccess supports a community where multilingual access is especially important. According to U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey estimates, roughly a quarter to nearly a third of residents speak a language other than English at home, with Spanish the predominant non-English language. Through DocAccess, residents can instantly translate documents in 250+ languages and even ask questions about those documents in their preferred language.

The platform also includes AI-powered search and Q&A that helps residents find information in plain language, plus 24/7 live visual interpretation through Aira.io at no cost to the public. DocAccess also partners with Aira.io, an award-winning visual interpreting service trusted by many, and provides both internal human-in-the-loop review and external accessibility expert support in English and Spanish. Complimentary assistance time is available to any community member who needs help navigating documents, filling out forms or understanding content.

DocAccess also gives Chelan County new analytics tools that show which documents generate the most interest, what questions residents are asking and which languages are being used. Those insights help the county take a more data-informed approach to transparency while protecting privacy. Customer content is not used to train AI models, and only aggregated, de-identified usage data is collected — with no IP tracking, behavioral profiling or cross-site tracking.

 

Last Updated: 04/15/2026 02:49 PM

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