Patti's Blog - Advocate for Elders, People with Disabilities and Their Families

$6M Award Upheld for ‘Rampant’ Sex Abuse of Deaf and Blind Children

Excerpt from: Lawyers.com (click for full article)

 

A federal court has upheld a $5.75 million settlement of a lawsuit alleging rampant student-on-student sex abuse at the Hawaii Center for the Deaf and Blind.

The lawsuit claimed that a group of older students who called themselves “the ringleaders” bullied, terrorized, assaulted, robbed, gang raped and sodomized younger, smaller students at the school.

The parents of the victims blamed the school administration, the state of Hawaii, and school counselors for not providing a safe school environment and for trying to cover up the abuse.

Each of the class members will receive $20,000 or more, depending on the degree of abuse they suffered and other factors that figure into the impact of the abuse and the amount of damages they are owed for their injuries, such as whether the abuse affected their job history, mental health, substance abuse and other evidence of physical, psychological and emotional consequences.

People with disabilities face gap in higher education employment

Excerpt from: Minnesota Daily (click for full article)

 

Sandra Buchholz has had difficulty landing a job because she’s deaf.

Some employers wouldn’t hire her because her deafness would make it hard to communicate, said Buchholz, who works as an American Sign Language instructor at the University of Minnesota.

“I would say that there are a lot of deaf people out there who have a tough time getting a job because of their disability,” she said through an interpreter.

Nationwide, there’s a large gap in the employment of people with mental or physical disabilities — the unemployment rate for people with disabilities is almost double the rate for those without, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

BOTW: In Search of Quality Communication

Excerpt from: Texas Association of the Deaf (click for full article)

 

Pop quiz time. Which of the following jobs does not require a license: a.) doctor; b.) lawyer; c.) barber; d.) legal or medical interpreter for the deaf.

If you guessed D, you’re right – and that’s a huge problem, say deaf individuals and advocates for the deaf who testified on April 2 before the House Human Services Committee in support of House Bill 2072 by Austin Dem Rep. Eddie Rodriguez.

HB 2072 would turn the state’s voluntary certification program for deaf and hard of hearing interpreters into a professional licensing requirement. That in turn would assure hearing disabled consumers have access to high quality interpreters, including in the most critical settings – think hospitals, jails, police stations, or in court. The bill would place the regulation of deaf interpreters to the Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services, and would give DARS the authority to investigate and, importantly, to penalize scofflaws.

Disability law requires equal access for the deaf and for the use of “qualified” interpreters. The problem is that there is no definition for qualified – and “therein lies the problem,” said DARS’ Lori Breslow who spoke before the committee as a resource witness. Indeed, substandard interpreters can wreak havoc. Consider the case of Esther Valdez, who was arrested by Austin Police in June 2009 for ignoring police orders – commands she couldn’t hear because she is deaf; Valdez was never provided with an interpreter during her three-hour encounter with the cops. The department has a checkered history in dealing with Austin’s sizable deaf community and has twice been subject to federal lawsuits brought to address the communication breakdown. Austin Police don’t regularly call for interpreters, we reported back in December 2010 in a cover story about Valdez’s case, instead opting to call on fellow officers who have limited signing skills; in 2010 none of the three officers paid a bilingual stipend for their supposed signing skills were actually certified. Currently there are four officers receiving bilingual pay; none are certified.

Department of Justice News/5 Settlements regarding ADA Violations

Excerpt from: NCSILC (click for full article)

 

The Justice Department announced yesterday that over the past four months it has reached five settlements to remedy alleged violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).  The agreements resolve allegations that these five health care providers – including a hospital, skilled nursing facilities, a rehabilitation center, and a doctor’s office — violated the ADA by failing to provide effective communication to people who are deaf or have hearing loss in the provision of medical services.

The five settlements, Monadnock Community Hospital,  Manassas Health and Rehab Center, Gainesville Health and Rehab Center, Center for Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine, Inc., and Northern Ohio Medical Specialists Healthcare are part of the Department of Justice’s Barrier-Free Health Care Initiative, a partnership of the Civil Rights Division and U.S. Attorney’s offices across the nation, to target enforcement efforts on a critical area for individuals with disabilities.

NH hospital to set up program to aid deaf patients

Excerpt from: boston.com (click for full article)

 

A New Hampshire hospital has entered into a settlement agreement with the federal government to resolve allegations it violated the Americans With Disabilities Act by failing to provide sign language interpreters and other aids to help the deaf or hard-of-hearing.

The Monadnock Community Hospital of Peterborough admits no liability. It has agreed to establish a program to ensure it provides effective communication to deaf and hard-of-hearing patients.

The hospital also has agreed to pay $5,000 Amy Dauphinais, who is deaf and communicates primarily through sign language. She alleged that she was unable to communicate adequately with hospital personnel while she was receiving medical treatment in 2010.

What about Americans with Disabilities in the Military?

Excerpt from: Monastic Musings Too (click for full article)

 

Policy changes opened or widened the door to military service this year, to wide acclaim in the news media.  Women will be allowed to serve in combat roles, and people will not be dismissed or barred from military service on the basis of homosexuality.

I was really surprised to find that the Americans With Disabilities Act, granting a variety of rights to people with disabilities, isn’t yet activated for the U.S. military.  Deaf people are automatically excluded from any military service — even in the 80% of non-combat positions.

EEOC Sues Toys "R" Us for Discriminating Against Deaf Applicant

Excerpt from: Disability Law (click for full article)

 

Toys "R" Us, Inc., one of the world's largest retailers of toys and juvenile products, violated federal law when it first refused to provide an interpreter for a deaf applicant and then failed to hire her, the U.S Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) charged in a lawsuit it announced today.

The EEOC charged that Shakirra Thomas, who is deaf, applied for a team member position at the retailer's Columbia, Md., store in October 2011. Thomas communicates by using American Sign Language, reading lips and through written word. When the company contacted Thomas to attend a group interview, Thomas' mother advised that Thomas was deaf and requested the company to provide an interpreter for the interview. The retailer refused and said that if Thomas wished to attend a group interview in November 2011, then she would have to provide her own interpreter, the EEOC alleges.

Thomas's mother interpreted for her during a group interview, but the company refused to hire Thomas despite her qualifications for and ability to perform the team member position, with or without a reasonable accommodation, the EEOC said in its lawsuit.

Justice Department Reaches Settlement with Two Colorado Law Enforcement Agencies to Improve Communication with People Who Are Deaf or Hard of Hearing

Excerpt frrom: Justice.gov (click for full article)

 

The Justice Department announced today that it has reached a cooperative settlement agreement with the Arapahoe, Colo., County Sheriff’s Office under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).   This agreement is a companion to one reached on March 8, 2013, with the city of Englewood, Colo.

The Justice Department received complaints by individuals who are deaf, the Colorado Association of the Deaf and the Colorado Cross-Disability Coalition that officers for the city of Englewood and the Arapahoe Sheriff’s Office were not providing qualified sign language interpreters and other auxiliary aids and services when needed for effective communication with people who are deaf, including arrestees, victims and witnesses.   The department’s complainants had also filed a lawsuit based on the same allegations in federal district court, Lawrence et al. v. City of Englewood, et al. While the department initiated investigations into the allegations against Englewood’s police department and the Arapahoe County Sheriff’s Office, and considered intervening in the private lawsuit, it also reached out to the parties to see if there were grounds for a cooperative resolution.   All parties, including city of Englewood’s Police Chief John Collins and Arapahoe County Sheriff Grayson Robinson, expressed a commitment to ensure full compliance with the ADA.  

Feds Probe Denver for Violating Deaf Prisoner Rights

Excerpt from: The Colorado Independent (click for full article)

 

The federal Justice Department is investigating Denver for failing to provide sign-language interpreters for deaf prisoners. Investigators are seeking to determine whether Denver – which touts itself as “one of America’s most accessible cities” — is violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

n a November 20, 2012, letter obtained by The Colorado Independent, the Justice Department threatened legal action and noted that any violation of the Act might jeopardize federal funding for the city’s police and sheriff departments.

“We would like to resolve this matter expeditiously,” wrote Mary Lou Mobley, a Justice Department lawyer.

'Loud pop' miraculously alerts deaf woman to burning house

Excerpt from: ABC News (click for full article)

 

A deaf woman managed to wake up and escape from her home just moments before flames consumed her bedroom early Thursday morning.

The fire started around 2 a.m. in the 400 block of Stonewall Street.

The 58-year-old woman living at the home communicated to her sister that she woke up when she heard or felt a loud pop. She managed to get out of the house just before the fire consumed her room.

The woman said her sister is completely deaf and that it's a miracle she was able to hear the noise and get out safely.