Regional News

Region I

BY MICHELLE CLINE & STEVE LOVI

Region I covers 13 states and the District of Columbia. While it has been a bit cold in recent months – we’ve had plenty of action behind the scenes in the Mid-Atlantic and New England states!

Legislatively – there are several states that are very busy with bills in their states. Virginia faced challenges in passing a favorable language acquisition bill and preventing an unfavorable version, but have been able to postpone any bill until there is agreement among all groups. At the time of this article, the Pennsylvania legislature was seriously considering a bill that would establish permanent funding for SSPs to provide services to the state’s DeafBlind constituents. Vermont was working on passing S162 that calls for a state commission, and the support for this seems promising. Other states are working on ensuring communication accessibility within their state commission and state agencies providing services for deaf and hard of hearing people. One example is to develop more ASL resources for the state’s programs and services. Another example is getting the state’s emergency services to establish text to 9-1-1 services.

New England welcomes you to the NAD’s upcoming biennial conference in Hartford this July. New England is so excited to show their hospitality! Start planning your trip and join our celebration of 200 years of deaf education and our local/state/national advocacy efforts.

BY LINSAY DARNALL, JR. & RICHARD McCOWIN Region II

State Associations in our region continue to be involved in various issues and we have seen an increase in people sharing videos online. Online videos allow our community to share issues and information, especially through ASL.

The most trending issue in our region is LEAD-K, as most State Associations want to have a LEAD-K bill in their state.

Deaf advocates in South Dakota celebrated in January the defeat of SB 109 which would have repealed the licensing requirements for interpreters for the deaf. Fortunately, licensure is still required for all interpreters. Illinois Association of the Deaf is fighting against oppression and audism at the Illinois School for the Deaf (ISD). Deaf culture and ASL is not valued at ISD; advocacy work is ongoing to restore them.

Richard’s term as Region II Representative will end at the NAD Conference in Hartford, Connecticut this July. If any of you are interested in running for the 2018-2022 Region II Representative position, please contact Linsay, Jr. or Richard.

Region III

BY HOLLY KETCHUM & JERRY NELSON

Our region’s State Associations have been extremely busy responding and pushing for state legislation impacting deaf and hard of hearing individuals within their communities, including:

• South Carolina: Sign Language Interpreter Act • Florida: State Emergency Communications and

Warning System • North Carolina: Driver’s License and Database

Registration for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Drivers • Alabama: LEAD-K bill and New Assistive

Devices Warranty Act

In addition, other State Associations are either monitoring legislative activities in 2018 or preparing for the next legislative session in 2019.

The year 2017 represented numerous changes for the State Associations due to the elections of new board officers held during their conferences. There were numerous board orientations and board training sessions. Some states have started hosting Town Hall meetings. Some State Associations hosted membership drives to increase awareness and membership. Some have adopted organizational changes to better respond to constituency needs. Through these changes, the State Associations are aware of and addressing their community’s concerns and issues.

From an advocacy standpoint, several State Associations are reporting concerns about the terrible quality of video remote interpreting (VRI) services especially in hospitals. Also, there is an increase of concern regarding police shootings of deaf individuals; some State Associations are exploring efforts to educate and train law enforcement personnel to avoid such incidents.

Congratulations to the Florida Association of the Deaf as they celebrated their 100th anniversary in 2017! The Arkansas Association of the Deaf will be celebrating their 125th Anniversary this year.

BY LISA FURR & MARTIN PRICE Region IV

The California Association of the Deaf hosted their state-wide conference with ASL Celebration in Sacramento last October.

The Washington State Association of the Deaf have committees focusing on: the LEAD-K efforts, the Medical Interpreters Task Force, and Deaf Thrive.

The Oregon Association of the Deaf is now the point of contact for deaf issues in the City of Salem. OAD is also working with Portland General Electricity, a major provider of electricity, to improve their accessibility. OAD also requested that the Oregon Department of Education change all references in their statutes and regulations from “Hearing Impaired” to “Deaf/Hard of Hearing.” The Utah Association of the Deaf has been keeping in touch with the legislators and letting them know which bills they support.

The New Mexico Association of the Deaf had their mini-conference in March, in conjunction with the New Mexico Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (NMRID).

Lisa and Martin will be holding a series of meetings in the months leading up to the conference to prepare the delegates for the Council of Representatives at the NAD Conference in Hartford.