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EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS AND DISABILITY PRIDE MONTH?
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We wish everyone a happy July and hope for your safety and comfort during the summer. We are excited to share some updates with you.
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This month is Disability Pride Month, commemorating the signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) on July 26, 1990.? We celebrate the accomplishments and contributions of people with disabilities and reaffirm our commitment to creating and supporting inclusive and empowered communities in Washington.
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Emergency Preparedness is a crucial topic that affects all Washingtonians this summer. We are working on initiatives to address specific communication needs of Deaf, DeafBlind, Deaf Disabled, and Late Deafened people across the state. We are collaborating with experts and stakeholders to develop guidelines and resources to support access to emergency alerts to ensure the safety of our community, particularly in the face of increasing wildfires.?We encourage your involvement and invite you to watch the demonstration ASL Emergency Alert Wildfire video and provide your feedback.? ?
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Please register for our July 11 presentation for Adult Family Homes owners. ODHH is also expanding services in Southeast Washington. We are conducting interviews for Case Manager positions and look forward to welcoming new team members in August to further strengthen our readiness to support you and the ongoing efforts to ensure inclusivity for all our communities.
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Thank you for your continuing support.
NEWS AND EVENTS
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Interviews: Interviews are continuing for the Case Management Field Supervisor and Case Management Team Leads.
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?July 11, 2023: 10:00 ? 11:30 a.m. Online Presentation for Adult Family Home Owners: Supporting Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, Hard of Hearing, and Late Deafened Clients.?
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?August 7, 2023: Welcome to Morgan Jericho, starting in their role as Management Analyst!
Register for the presentation
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EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS
 Image description: Left: forest fire; Center: smoky downtown Seattle; Right: mountain fire
CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO
Summer is fast approaching and Washington State faces an unusually high risk of fire this season, especially during the months of July through September. The combination of drought, warmer seasonal temperatures, and an excess of dried vegetation indicate an ?above normal season? for our state?s wildfire predictive modeling. Now is the time to review your family?s preparedness plans, communication strategy, and emergency supplies.
Make a plan, build a kit, and stay informed. When we are prepared at home, we have the peace of mind knowing our loved ones and pets are safe. ???
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Wildfire Preparedness
Wildfires have surpassed flooding hazards as Washington State?s biggest threat. Follow these recommendations and resources.
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Register for iNWS Mobile Alerting to receive text and email alerts from the National Weather Service including fire watches, warnings, and advisories.
- Review wildfire evacuation level Level 1 (Ready), Level 2 (Set), Level 3 (Go)
- Visit Ready.gov for Wildfire preparedness resources for families.
- Register to receive public alerts and notifications from your county. (Tip: do a web search by adding your county?s name and add ?emergency alerts.?) ?
?Smoke Preparedness
When it?s smoky outside it?s important to reduce exposure by staying up to date on air quality conditions, limiting time outside, and keeping indoor air as clean as possible. Exposure to smoke can cause health problems ranging from minor to severe. Those with pre-existing conditions, infants and children, pregnant individuals, and adults 65 and older can be most sensitive to wildfire smoke. Minor symptoms can include headaches, stinging eyes, runny nose, and trouble breathing. Having a way to filter indoor air will benefit your health. It?s key to buy supplies in advance because they often sell out quickly when it?s smoky out. Visit the following resources and links to learn more.
- Protect yourself from wildfire smoke, visit the Department of Health?s Smoke from Fires webpage.
- Stay updated on wildfires, air quality, the forecast, and health information on the WA Smoke Blog.
- Find real time air quality information in your area. Visit Department of Ecology?s Air Monitoring Network
- Be prepared at home. An easy and affordable way to make your own air cleaner is with a box fan and a furnace filter. Click this link to learn more: DIY box fan filter.
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ASL EMERGENCY ALERT?DEMONSTRATION AND SURVEY
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Image description: cell phone text: Wildfire in your area. White male on right signing "ready"
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The Washington State ASL Emergency Alert Team (Steve Peck and Berle Ross from ODHH, Jim House from CIEP, and Adam Summers from ALTSA) have created an ASL Emergency Alert demonstration video and survey.?
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We hope the ASL Emergency Alert video project will become a resource to develop emergency alerts in a language understood by deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind communities in Washington State.? We would love to have some feedback from Washington residents to assist us towards improving this project. ?
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The demonstration materials are intended to empower Emergency Management and other emergency SMEs to work together to provide accessible emergency alerts in ASL, captioning, and video description format for DeafBlind braille readers.?
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This is a video demonstration of what an accessible emergency alert looks like with ASL, voiceover, captions and video description.? ?Please note that this is not an actual emergency notification.?The survey is open until August 1, 2023.?
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CLICK TO WATCH VIDEO
CLICK TO TAKE SURVEY
Email us for more information about this project or if you have any comments or questions.?
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CELEBRATING CLOSED CAPTIONING ACCESS
 Image description: two black and white logos. Left: a squared captioned-speech bubble with lines. Right: a squared box with the letters "cc."
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Please join us in celebrating the signing anniversary of RCW 49.60.520 (Television closed-captioning in places of public accommodation)
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This law applies to any businesses that are open to the public and with televisions that are in public areas. The RCW requires that closed captioning must be activated. Captions must have a black background and white text color, and style and size of font that is readable to people with low vision. If there are multiple televisions in the place of business, 50% of the televisions must have closed captioning.
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This law is enforced by the Human Rights Commission. Any persons who feel that a place of business is not in compliance with this law may file a complaint with the WA State Human Rights Commission (WSHRC). WSHRC will investigate and if the complaint is corroborated, the place of business may be issued a notice of violation and a $75 fine. The place of business has 30 days to rectify the violation, in which the violation and fine may be dismissed. However, if noncompliance continues, a second violation may result in a fine of $150.
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For additional information regarding the law, your rights, exemptions, or filing a complaint please visit the Washington State Human Rights Commission website click HERE.
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TRAINING AND PRESENTATIONS
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The Training and Presentation Program is asking for YOUR ideas for trainings and presentations topics of interest to our communities. Are there any previous trainings or presentations that you found beneficial and would like to have again or to build upon? To learn how to start a business? Do you want to learn from an expert on being retirement-ready, buying a house/property? Would you like to watch an expert talk about social justice or environmental issues? We want to support you with training opportunities that benefit our communities.??
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Please share your ideas with us at [email protected]
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TELECOMMUNICATIONS DISTRIBUTION PROGRAM
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The Telecommunication Equipment Distribution (TED) Program provides specialized telecommunication equipment to individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, DeafBlind, live without speech or have speech impairment for the purpose of ?distance communication.?
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Equipment is provided on a sliding fee scale based on the Federal Poverty guidelines with many clients qualifying for equipment at no cost.? If there is a cost based on the reported family size and income, and that cost would cause a financial hardship, clients can request a waiver.
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Most equipment is shipped directly to the client, while some specialty devices are delivered in person to ensure clients can effectively use the equipment with technical support provided as necessary.? Clients with need for extensive support may receive in-person evaluations and training.
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To participate in the TED Program, applicants must be Washington residents aged 4 and up who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, Late Deafened, DeafBlind or have a speech impairment*.
Equipment currently available include:
- Amplified telephones ? Landline service, with or without caller ID
- Captioned telephones ? requires analog landline.
- iPad ? Wi-Fi (or cell data if necessary), with option of standard or mini size.
- iPhone ? currently issuing the iPhone 12.
- Electrolarynx ? for laryngectomy clients.
- Teletypewriters
Clients with co-occurring disabilities such as speech impairment and mobility restrictions, can be evaluated to determine what accessories may be necessary to make the TED Program equipment accessible.? Those accessories are provided through the TED Program as well.?
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*Speech Qualifiers: ?Persons who are certified to be unable to speak or are certified to have a speech condition that limits their access to telecommunications. These can include limited verbal ability, difficulty word finding, soft/diminished speech, stuttering, medical interventions that decrease/inhibit speech, low endurance, etc.
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Apply at:https://www.dshs.wa.gov/altsa/odhh/telecommunication-equipment-distribution
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EMPLOYEE SPOTLIGHT: DANIEL WHARTON
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ODHH extends our heartfelt congratulations to Daniel Wharton on his well-deserved promotion from Quality Assurance Specialist 2 to Quality Assurance Specialist 3!
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Daniel's dedication, expertise, and commitment to excellence greatly contribute to our team's success. Keep up the fantastic work!
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