[Nfb-utah] FW: DeafBlind Grant for Telephone Communications

[Everette Bacon]

Hey Milt,

You should probably send this to our list.

Thanks,

 

From: Kirsten Gwilliam [mailto:kgwillia at utah.gov] 
Sent: Thursday, August 09, 2012 5:49 PM
To: ebacon at g.utah.gov; Kirsten Gwilliam
Subject: DeafBlind Grant for Telephone Communications

 

To all Deaf-Blind individuals, SSPs, Blind and Deaf Organizations, and
Family/Friends of DeafBlind Individuals:

 

1) There is a new pilot program grant that was secured from the Federal
Communications Commission (FCC) which provides Utah money to purchase
specialized telephones and telephone related equipment for DeafBlind
individuals. This program is known as the National DeafBlind Distribution
Program (NDBDP). Items that may be permissible for purchase include, but is
not limited to: amplified phones, Video Phones, Enlarging Software for
computer telephone programs , notetakers compatible with a telephone for
text messaging using Braille, neck loops, notification/paging devices such
as the Silent Call pager to notify you of incoming calls, equipment repairs,
etc. 

This is great news as telephone accessability for deafblind individuals can
be expensive. This grant will continue for 2 years with the possibility to
continue into a third year. The Public Service Commission was selected as
the Certified/Authorized Entity for distribution and management of the grant
and has asked that the Division of Services for the Blind and Visually
Impaired help coordinate with them to identify individuals who qualify and
for set up and training of equipment, if needed. The guidelines for the
definition of deafblindness  are those used by the Helen Keller National
Center Act of DeafBlindness (summary and reference below). Qualifications
require a poverty level of 400% (chart listed below). You may  contact the
Public Service Commission or myself for further eligibility and limitations
of the grant. Two websites below also provide additional information about
the grant:

http://www.fcc.gov/guides/national-deaf-blind-equipment-distribution-program

http://www.icanconnect.org/

 

Please pass this information on to DeafBlind individuals or to Service
Providers and Organizations so they may know about it too. There are still a
few details to be worked out in order for the actual purchases to begin,
however, I am starting a list of needs and requests to coordinate with the
Public Service Commission.  

 

2) For those of you who are Braille users, MaryBeth, the representative from
the Public Service Commission, is setting up a time when HumanWare, one of
the notetaking device distributors, to demonstrate their DeafBlind telephone
related devices which are allowable as purchases through the National
DeafBlind Distribution Program.  Both the DeafBlind Communicator and an Apex
coupled with an IPhone will be shown and hands-on time may be arranged. They
will be here on August 21st. Time and location are still pending, however,
if you would like to be able to test these products, please email me and let
me know.  

 

3) If you need to see large print TTYs, Captels, pagers or other devices,
please let me know so I can arrange for your request.

 

Qualifications: 

Helen Keller National Center Act definition of Deaf-Blind 

US Code, Title 20-Labor, Chapter-21-Sec. 1905

http://www.hknc.org/WhoWeServeDEFINITION.htm

Summary: an individual who has vision loss and a hearing loss, combined,
cause extreme difficulty in attaining independence in daily life activities,
achieving psychosocial adjustment, or obtaining a vocation (working). 

 


2012 Federal Poverty Guidelines


Number of persons in family/household

400% for everywhere, except Alaska and Hawaii

400% for Alaska

400% for Hawaii


1

$44,680

$55,880

$51,440


2

$60,520

$75,680

$69,640


3

$76,360

$95,480

$87,840


4

$92,200

$115,280

$106,040


5

$108,040

$135,080

$124,240


6

$123,880

$154,880

$142,440


7

$139,720

$174,680

$160,640


8

$155,560

$194,480

$178,840


For each additional person, add

$15,840

$19,800

$18,200


Source:  <http://aspe.hhs.gov/poverty/12poverty.shtml> U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services

 

Public Service Commission/Relay Utah

MaryBeth Green

801-715-3470

mbgreen at utah.gov

 

Division of Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired

Kirsten Gwilliam
Deaf-Blind Specialist
kgwillia at utah.gov
801-323-4358
1-800-284-1823 x358

"The human being is born with an incurable capacity for making the best of
things." Helen Keller 1919