<html xmlns:v="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:vml" xmlns:o="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" xmlns:w="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:word" xmlns:m="http://schemas.microsoft.com/office/2004/12/omml" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40"><head><META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; charset=us-ascii"><meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 15 (filtered medium)"><!--[if !mso]><style>v\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
o\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
w\:* {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
.shape {behavior:url(#default#VML);}
</style><![endif]--><style><!--
/* Font Definitions */
@font-face
{font-family:"Cambria Math";
panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4;}
@font-face
{font-family:Calibri;
panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;}
/* Style Definitions */
p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal
{margin:0in;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;}
a:link, span.MsoHyperlink
{mso-style-priority:99;
color:#0563C1;
text-decoration:underline;}
span.EmailStyle21
{mso-style-type:personal-reply;
font-family:"Calibri",sans-serif;
color:windowtext;}
.MsoChpDefault
{mso-style-type:export-only;
font-size:10.0pt;}
@page WordSection1
{size:8.5in 11.0in;
margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;}
div.WordSection1
{page:WordSection1;}
--></style><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapedefaults v:ext="edit" spidmax="1026" />
</xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
<o:shapelayout v:ext="edit">
<o:idmap v:ext="edit" data="1" />
</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72" style='word-wrap:break-word'><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b>From:</b> Sigman, Brian <Brian.Sigman@ct.gov> <br><b>Sent:</b> Monday, May 24, 2021 10:50 AM<br><b>To:</b> DORS-DL BESB <DORS-DLBESB@ct.gov><br><b>Subject:</b> FW: FYI: We-Ha.com article: American School for the Deaf Hopes to Use $2 Million in Federal Funds to Increase Support Services<o:p></o:p></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #E1E1E1 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>From: Sullivan, Kathleen <<a href="mailto:Kathleen.Sullivan@ct.gov">Kathleen.Sullivan@ct.gov</a>> <br>Sent: Monday, May 24, 2021 10:29 AM<br>Subject: FYI: We-Ha.com article: American School for the Deaf Hopes to Use $2 Million in Federal Funds to Increase Support Services<o:p></o:p></span></b></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal align=center style='margin-bottom:11.25pt;text-align:center;line-height:41.25pt;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#232323'><a href="https://we-ha.com/american-school-for-the-deaf-hopes-to-use-2-million-in-federal-funds-to-increase-support-services/">American School for the Deaf Hopes to Use $2 Million in Federal Funds to Increase Support Services</a><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;letter-spacing:1.2pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>Lt. Governor Susan Bysiewicz was joined by Department of Aging and Disability Services Commissioner Amy Porter and American School for the Deaf Executive Director Jeffrey Bravin in West Hartford Wednesday to speak about Gov. Ned Lamont’s proposed allocation of $2 million of the state’s roughly $6 billion in American Rescue Plan Act funds to address unique needs of the deaf and hearing impaired community.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>Among the key areas in which the state plans to invest its federal funding, Bysiewicz said, is to “modernize the delivery of services.” The allocation of the funds must be approved by the legislature.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>We know that virtual meetings and gatherings often don’t provide key technology needed by the deaf and hard of hearing,” Bysiewicz said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px;overflow-wrap: break-word;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>While the COVID-19 pandemic has been difficult for everyone, Bravin, speaking in American Sign Language, highlighted some of the unique challenges faced by the deaf, deaf-blind, and hard-of-hearing community.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px;overflow-wrap: break-word;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>Many individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing rely on lip reading, which is impossible when someone is wearing a cloth mask. And while clear masks exist, they are of varying quality and many are much more uncomfortable than cloth masks. Prototypes of more comfortable clear masks are now available, Bravin said, and he would like to be able to examine them for possible use in the future.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px;overflow-wrap: break-word;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>The news, even with captioning, is not always accessible in the way to the deaf, hard-of-hearing, or deaf-blind community, Bravin said. “If there’s breaking information, our community should have that information simultaneously. There should not be a delay.”<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px;overflow-wrap: break-word;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>ASD transitioned some students to remote learning when the pandemic hit, “but many of the online platforms are really geared to meet the needs of hearing people,” Bravin said. Many of the platforms are based on voice recognition, and adaptations are needed to meet the needs of those who use American Sign Language. The interpreter may be somewhere in the Zoom meeting, he said, but not always visible.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px;overflow-wrap: break-word;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>Bravin thanked the state administration and said that Connecticut is “setting the standard” through their investment in accessibility, Bravin said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>Creating accessible messaging is more time-consuming, and it’s been difficult to find technology that can keep up with the rapidly changing pace of information during the pandemic, Porter said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px;overflow-wrap: break-word;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>Making appointments at vaccine clinics was difficult to access for everyone at first, and even with most now being walk-up clinics, if someone doesn’t speak the same language – can’t communicate through American Sign Language – that creates a barrier, Porter said.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px;overflow-wrap: break-word;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>It’s also difficult for deaf individuals to navigate the vaccination clinic protocols without someone who can communicate in American Sign Language. Hartford HealthCare has partnered with ASD to offer several targeted clinics for ASD students and the deaf community statewide, with American Sign Language interpreters, including a clinic held Wednesday afternoon at the Connecticut Convention Center.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline;box-sizing: border-box;outline: 0px;overflow-wrap: break-word;font-variant-ligatures: normal;font-variant-caps: normal;orphans: 2;text-align:start;widows: 2;-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px;text-decoration-thickness: initial;text-decoration-style: initial;text-decoration-color: initial;word-spacing:0px'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'>Porter said in addition to investments in clear masks and interpreters at vaccine clinics, and in the future there will be informational videos available in American Sign Language.<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:22.5pt;margin-left:0in;background:white;vertical-align:baseline'><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#444444'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;letter-spacing:1.2pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;letter-spacing:1.2pt'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Kathleen Sullivan<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Director of Planning, Communications and Operational Readiness l Aging and Disability Services<o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>Office of the Commissioner | 55 Farmington Avenue, Hartford CT 06105 | 860.424.5973 <o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><i><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'>For information on COVID-19, please visit <a href="https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus">https://portal.ct.gov/Coronavirus</a>. <span style='color:black;background:white'>Individuals who have general questions that are not answered on the website can also call 2-1-1 for assistance, or text “CTCOVID” to 898211. The hotline is available 24 hours a day and has multilingual assistance. Anyone who is out-of-state or requires a toll-free number can connect to Connecticut 2-1-1 toll free by dialing </span><a href="tel:1-800-203-1234">1-800-203-1234</a><span style='color:black;background:white'>. This is intended to be used by individuals who are not experiencing symptoms but may have general questions related to COVID-19. Anyone who is experiencing symptoms are strongly urged to contact their medical provider.</span></span></i></b><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#17365D'><img border=0 width=124 height=83 style='width:1.2916in;height:.8645in' id="Picture_x0020_1" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D7508A.9C1F60D0" alt="Aging and Disability Logo
"></span></b><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif;color:#17365D'><o:p></o:p></span></b></p><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:16.0pt;font-family:"Arial",sans-serif'><o:p> </o:p></span></b></p></div></body></html>