Efforts to create the needed, sustainable resources or to change policies, rules and funding are being made to meet priorities of the deaf, hard-of-hearing, and deafblind communities
Studies regarding any action that may facilitate and reform or streamline the provision of community and governmental services to deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind communities are conducted to make recommendations to community stakeholders, service providers and administrators, governmental agencies, and the general assembly.
Policy makers, administrators, service providers and community members are engaged in the process from the research phase to the implementation phase, including an actionable strategic plan to ensure programs/services are culturally and linguistically affirmative and sustainable.
These studies are contingent on the priorities of the deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind communities, fiscal feasibility, and support by community stakeholders.
Colorado Daylight Partnership
This collaborative effort, whose desire is to advance access to services for deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind Coloradans, is led by WellPower (Formerly Mental Health Center of Denver) and CCDHHDB to provide technical assistance to Colorado publicly-funded behavioral healthcare providers and the state government.
More information about the Colorado Daylight Partnership
As part of CDP’s mission, it has initiated a project to integrate behavioral healthcare with primary care services through their relationship with Caritas Clinic under Saint Joseph – SCL Health System in Denver, Colorado. The Caritas Clinic is committed to make its clinic linguistic and cultural competent for deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind patients.
Integrated Care Initiative Video
Colorado Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Program
Beginning April 1,2020, CCDHHDB and Early Intervention Colorado, under the Office of Early Childhood in the Department of Human Services, received a four-year federal grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Health Resources and Services Administration. This grant is refreshing the Colorado Early Hearing Detection and Intervention (EHDI) system with families and EHDI stakeholders as its central members.
COEHDI Alliance website
DeafBlind Intervener Program
Colorado Family Voices is initiating a community intervener pilot for deafblind (DB) children, ages 0-21, to utilize an intervener outside the classroom with CCDHHDB’s grant. An intervener is typically a person who works one-to-one in educational settings with an individual who is DB. This pilot provides interveners to children to connect to people, things, and events outside the classroom.
Colorado Family Voices
State Auxiliary Services
Work to create efficient, seamless access to auxiliary services with a centralized fund for state agencies within the Executive Branch is in progress. It was built upon the Pilot for State Auxiliary Services (PSAS) that was conducted in 2019 with five programs across five state agencies, as mandated by HB 18-1108 and outlined in the 2020 PSAS report.