S‑0798.2   _____________________________________________

SENATE BILL 5816

           _____________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Senators Hale, Hewitt, Thibaudeau, Hargrove, Deccio, Rasmussen and Kohl‑Welles

Read first time 02/05/2001.  Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

_1      AN ACT Relating to services for the deaf and hard of hearing;

_2  creating a new section; and making an appropriation.

_3  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

_4      NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  The six centers for the deaf and hard of

_5  hearing provide critical communication and other supportive

_6  services to people with hearing impairments.  The funding to ensure

_7  that these centers are open and available to people in all

_8  geographic regions of the state has not been distributed in a way

_9  that reflects the statewide needs of the deaf and hard of

10  hearing.  Therefore, the legislature finds that people living in

11  southeast Washington state do not have the same base support for

12  their center as those living in other regions of the state.  The

13  South Eastern Washington Service Center of the Deaf and Hard of

14  Hearing is expected to serve nearly twenty-two thousand deaf and

15  hard of hearing people in a six-county region.  In addition, the

16  center has received requests for services from neighboring

17  communities, including Yakima and Grant counties.  Although the

18  South Eastern Washington Service Center of the Deaf and Hard of

                               p. 1                       SB 5816

_1  Hearing must meet the same uniform state requirements as the

_2  Yakima center they currently receive only twenty-five percent of

_3  the funding.  These uniform services provided and critically needed

_4  in each center for the deaf and hard of hearing include assistance

_5  in accessing community services, education and training, outreach

_6  activities, information and referral, interpreter referrals,

_7  community advocates, mental health counseling, and Americans with

_8  Disabilities Act counseling.  In addition, each service center is

_9  required by contract to develop and implement a five-year

10  strategic plan and deliver numerous reports and service records to

11  the state.

12      The legislature finds that the population of individuals and

13  families needing these services has grown considerably over the

14  last four years in southeast Washington and there is a need for

15  consistent and stable funding to support the critical services to

16  this population.

17      NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  The sum of two hundred fourteen thousand

18  seven hundred twenty dollars, or as much thereof as may be

19  necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 2003,

20  from the general fund to the South Eastern Washington Center of

21  the Deaf and Hard of Hearing to provide services to the deaf and

22  hard of hearing in their communities.

‑‑‑ END ‑‑‑

SB 5816                        p. 2