PRINTER'S NO. 269
No. 259 Session of 1985
INTRODUCED BY REIBMAN, HELFRICK, ROCKS, ANDREZESKI, SHUMAKER,
ROSS, O'CONNELL AND STAPLETON, JANUARY 28, 1985
REFERRED TO PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE, JANUARY 28, 1985
AN ACT
1 Establishing and imposing powers and duties on the Office for
2 the Deaf and Hearing Impaired in the Department of Public
3 Welfare; providing powers and duties for the Advisory Council
4 for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired; and making an
5 appropriation.
6 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
7 hereby enacts as follows:
8 Section 1. Office established.
9 (a) Office.--There is established within the Department of
10 Public Welfare an Office for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired.
11 (b) Director.--The Secretary of Public Welfare, on
12 recommendation of the Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hearing
13 Impaired, shall appoint a qualified individual as the Director
14 of the Office for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired. The director
15 shall, in turn, appoint such other staff, with the approval of
16 the Secretary of Public Welfare, as necessary to carry out the
17 functions of the office.
18 Section 2. Powers and duties of the office.
19 The Office for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, with the advice
1 of the Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, and
2 as directed by the Secretary of Public Welfare, shall:
3 (1) Promote, coordinate and facilitate accessibility to
4 all governmental services to deaf and hearing impaired
5 citizens in this Commonwealth, including those with multiple
6 disabilities.
7 (2) Identify and maintain a directory of agencies, both
8 public and private, which provide community services,
9 evaluate the extent to which they make services available to
10 deaf and hearing impaired people, and cooperate with the
11 agencies in coordinating and extending these services.
12 (3) Plan and direct the establishment of regional
13 service centers for the deaf and hearing impaired and
14 directly supervise the activities of these centers.
15 (4) Provide for the mutual exchange of ideas and
16 information on services for deaf and hearing impaired people
17 among Federal, State and local governmental agencies and
18 private organizations.
19 (5) Collect, systematize and make available for other
20 agencies information in regard to deaf persons and other
21 persons of impaired hearing in this Commonwealth, including
22 their numbers and characteristics, such as the nature, causes
23 and severity of their hearing losses, their educational and
24 economic status and any other relevant information.
25 (6) Maintain a listing of persons qualified in various
26 types of interpreting for deaf and hearing impaired persons
27 and make this information available to local, State, Federal
28 and private agencies.
29 (7) Promote the use by the deaf and hearing impaired of
30 interpreters who meet national and State certification
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1 requirements.
2 (8) Serve as an advocate for the rights of hearing
3 impaired people.
4 (9) The Office for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired may
5 request and shall receive from any department, division,
6 board, bureau, commission or agency of the Commonwealth, or
7 of any political subdivision thereof, such assistance and
8 data as might be needed to enable it to properly carry out
9 its activities under this section.
10 Section 3. Establishment of regional service centers.
11 (a) Plan for regional services.--Within two years of the
12 effective date of this act, the Director of the Office for the
13 Deaf and Hearing Impaired shall, based on recommendations by the
14 Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired, develop a
15 plan for implementing regional services for the hearing impaired
16 in accordance with the guidelines expressed in this section.
17 (b) Purpose of regional offices.--The purpose of the
18 regional offices for the hearing impaired shall be to:
19 (1) Inform deaf and other hearing impaired persons and
20 their families of their rights to services offered locally
21 and elsewhere and to coordinate their referral to the
22 appropriate public or private agencies.
23 (2) Coordinate communication between deaf and other
24 hearing impaired persons and the desired agencies or
25 organizations and to promote the accessibility of community
26 services to hearing impaired persons.
27 (3) Coordinate the provision of interpreting services to
28 hearing impaired persons, including funding of such services.
29 (4) Promote expanded adult educational opportunities for
30 hearing impaired persons.
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1 (5) Coordinate the provision of instruction in sign
2 language to persons in community agencies.
3 (6) Inform interested staff of community and
4 professional organizations about the nature of deafness and
5 hearing impairments and the capabilities of deaf and other
6 hearing impaired persons.
7 (7) Provide services to families and employers of deaf
8 and other hearing impaired persons and to agencies which
9 provide services to the deaf and hearing impaired.
10 (8) Serve as an advocate for the rights and needs of
11 people with hearing impairments, including deaf and hearing
12 impaired persons having multiple disabilities (e.g., deaf-
13 blind).
14 (9) Provide services to deaf and hearing impaired
15 persons regardless of income, age or employability.
16 (10) Help deaf and hearing impaired citizens to become
17 self-sufficient in meeting their needs in the community.
18 Section 4. Powers and duties of Advisory Council for the Deaf
19 and Hearing Impaired.
20 The Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hearing Impaired shall
21 have the following powers and duties:
22 (1) Make recommendations in accordance with such policy
23 and practice to the several executive and administrative
24 departments, boards and commissions of the Commonwealth and
25 to any public or private agencies therein which may be in any
26 way concerned with work with or for the deaf or hearing
27 impaired.
28 (2) Advocate services affecting hearing impaired
29 individuals in the areas of public services, job training and
30 placement, health care and educational opportunity.
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1 (3) Act as a bureau of information for the deaf and
2 hearing impaired to State agencies and public institutions
3 providing services to the deaf and hearing impaired and to
4 local agencies and programs.
5 Section 5. Appropriation.
6 The sum of $150,000, or as much thereof as may be necessary,
7 is hereby appropriated to the Department of Public Welfare for
8 the fiscal year July 1, 1985, to June 30, 1986, for the purpose
9 of implementing the provisions of this act. The Office for the
10 Deaf and Hearing Impaired shall be permitted to seek other
11 funding to supplement this appropriation and shall submit an
12 annual budget as part of the annual budget of the Department of
13 Public Welfare.
14 Section 6. Effective date.
15 This act shall take effect in 90 days.
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