Community Meeting February 28, 2014 Charleston, WV WVCDHH is an office within the Department of Health and Human Resources
The mission of the West Virginia Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (WVCDHH) is to advocate for, develop, and coordinate public policies, regulations, and programs to assure full and equal opportunity for persons who are deaf and hard of hearing in West Virginia.
Established in 1989 by the legislature to aid West Virginians who are deaf or hard of hearing in their efforts to live independent and productive lives by: Maintaining a clearinghouse of information Maintaining a list of qualified and certified interpreters and ASL teachers Conducting outreach to raise awareness Investigating the condition of deaf and hard of hearing West Virginians
Governor DHHR WVCDHH Board WVCDHH Executive Director WVCDHH Project Director WVCDHH Secretary
Governor-appointed Governor-Appointed board Board members Members 5 Deaf or Hard of Hearing Marty individuals Blakely Chair Marty Blakely Chair 5 Deaf or Hard of Hearing Pierre Sevigny Currently Vacant Parent of a Deaf or Hard of Hearing Currently child Vacant Currently Vacant Teacher of the Deaf & Hard of Hearing Ear/Nose/Throat doctor Audiologist John Burdette Elizabeth Leisure Paul See (Currently vacant) Jamie Mallory Tammy Phillips Currently vacant Karen McNealy
Ex-Officio Board Members (State Agencies) 8 Ex-officio state agency representatives DHHR Secretary s Office Marsha Dadisman DHHR DHHR Division Barbara of King Human DRS Services DHHR Bureau Annette for Carey Public WVDE Health Department Pat Moss of Education BPH Pam Roush BCF Schools for the Deaf & Blind Jennifer Burgess DOL Advisory Mike Council Sullivan for - the ACEEC Education of Exceptional Patsy Shank, Children E.D. - WVSDB Division of Rehabilitation Services Division of Labor Nancy Sullivan Pam Roush Christina Mullins Annette Carey Claudia Mals Susan White Rachel Gill Angie Wilson
WVSDB ACEEC Division of Rehabilitation Services Division of Labor Deaf or Hard of Hearing 29% Deaf or Hard of Hearing 5 (29%) Other Appointed Members 4 (24%) Health & Human Resources 3 (18%) State Board of Education 3 (18%) Other Ex-Officios 2 (12%) Total Appointed 9 (53%) Total Ex-Officios 8 (48%) Department of Education Total Positions: 17 Quorum when all positions are filled: 9 Bureau for Public Health Parent Division of Human Services DHHR Secretary s Office Ear, Nose, Throat Doctor Audiologist Teacher
Marissa Johnson Executive Director May 2009 Present Kari Preslar Secretary February 2004 Present Holly Courtney Project Director August 2013 Present
Information Maintain information about: Education Communication (including interpreters) Group home facilities Independent living skills Recreational facilities Employment Vocational training Health and mental health services Substance abuse Other services necessary to assure their ability to function in society Interpreters Provide these services related to interpreters: Maintain list (including ASL teachers) Registry Evaluation Outreach Familiarize the public with deaf and hard of hearing: Rights Needs Services Investigate Investigate the condition of deaf and hard of hearing West Virginians, especially: Aged Homeless Needy Victims of rubella Victims of abuse or neglect Group home needs Services for multidisabled deaf and hard of hearing Training Establish workshops for teaching: Interpretive skills In-service training Counseling for the deaf and hard of hearing Required Required Required Required Optional
Improved board appointment process Conducted 11 town hall meetings in 2009-2010 Moved WVCDHH office downtown Developed medical appointment cards Secured a grant from the Division of Rehabilitation Services to distribute accessible smoke alarms Conducted 4 Community Meetings in 2013-2014 Conducted survey regarding interpreter registry Hired new Project Director
Deaf Child s Bill of Rights as resolution Legislative study of deaf education Legislative study of hearing aids Updated interpreter pay scale Law to make it easier for ASL Teachers in K-12 schools to get certified Law to define Educational Interpreters in code Collected and analyzed over 200 community surveys Developed WVCDHH brochure Created WVCDHH vision statement and values
Interpreter Registry Accessible Smoke Alarm Project Telecommunications Assistance Program (TTYs and Amplified Phones) Legislative Monitoring Emergency Response Systems Information & Referral EIPA Testing for Educational Interpreters Interpreter Workshops
At various times the Task Force members have included: Annette Carey Jennifer Casto Roy Forman Rachel Gill Barb King Liz Leisure Ruby Losh Connie Pitman Janelle St. Martin Donna Whittington Donna Williams
All interpreters in WV must register (with a few exceptions) Must have national certification, meet Department of Education requirements, and/or have a VQAS Level II or above to register Registration opened October 2012, became mandatory October 2013 Registration fee - $25 every three years
Barb King is coordinating this project Submit application with doctor s note and audiogram Center for Independent Living (CIL) will come to your house with interpreter to install alarms Must be home owner (landlord is responsible for rental units) Soon we will send alarms directly to you with a video
Deaf Child s Bill of Rights Studying deaf education Studying hearing aid assistance Requiring insurance to cover hearing aids for kids Improving classification of educational interpreters Monitoring bills that will impact the deaf and hard of hearing communities
Working with state emergency response teams (homeland security, DHHR, etc.) to set up and improve systems Ideas include: Registry with all contact information Mass texting system Information for those going door-to-door Including information in newspapers Interpreters for TV interviews Interpreter volunteer registry These ideas have not all been implemented but they are being discussed.
Board nominations, training, orientation Budget Improvements Policy and procedures manual
WVCDHH 405 Capitol Street, Suite 800 Charleston, WV 25301 PHONE: TOLL-FREE: VIDEO PHONE: EMAIL: WEB: 304-558-1675 (V/TTY) 866-461-3578 (V/TTY) 304-932-0687 (Marissa) 304-816-4631 (Holly) Marissa.J.Sanders@wv.gov Holly.L.Courtney@wv.gov Kari.J.Preslar@wv.gov www.wvdhhr.org/wvcdhh/