NC Council for Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Deaf Blind
October 10, 2003
Report to NCSHHH
November 15, 2003
Submitted by Ruth Miller
The NC Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing met in Raleigh on October 10, 2003.
I attended as a representative for NC-SHHH. Also attending was Beverly Elwell, Allison Turner, Wayne Giese and Steve Barber.
Bylaws were reviewed and changes were recommended to be in compliance with legislation. Additional representatives added to be designated from a facility that performs cochlear implants and for deaf blind. The appointing authority for two members was changed.
Linda Harrington reported from the division on licensure legislation for interpreters and announced Board appointments. A written report was submitted for the Regional Resource Centers.
Linda Nelson presented an overview for the year on telecommunications that includes relay, video relay service, telecommunication equipment distribution program, and emergency warning system. Bids are out for relay service. A new bill is out for cell phone.
Martha Downing talked about funding for interpreters for the school system and the approved salaries for Level I and Level II interpreters. Training and qualifications were discussed.
Cyndie Bennett informed the council about OES and accountability results as relates to the schools for the deaf. There was improvement.
After a lunch break, the council met in committees and then reported back to the council as a whole. There are three committees: Committee for Youth and Educational Issues; Communication Access and Consumer Services (chaired by Beverly Elwell with Steve, Allison and I serving on this committee); and the Committee for Families and Mental Health Issues.
Communication and Access Committee’s agenda was to explore communication accessibility during emergency situations such as the recent hurricane as pertains to alerting people with hearing loss via captioning on TV. Plans were developed to draft a letter to responsible parties in the state to enforce communication accessibility.