The U.S. government entered into two recent settlements with healthcare providers who allegedly denied deaf and hearing-impaired patients or their caregivers auxiliary aids for effective communication. These settlements remind providers to consider when auxiliary aids, such as interpreters, must be provided free of charge. In the most recent settlement, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office for Civil Rights (OCR) Director Melanie Fontes Rainer stated: Read more>>
John Fetterman Is Using This Assistive Technology in the Senate to Help With His Stroke Recovery
BY MINI RACKER
FEBRUARY 1, 2023 7:00 AM EST
The 164-year-old Senate chamber was not designed for wires and screens. Senators aren’t even allowed to use their phones when they’re inside. But to help with freshman Senator John Fetterman’s stroke recovery, the chamber just got a digital upgrade.
As Fetterman learns how to do his new job while struggling with lingering auditory processing issues resulting from the stroke, he’s relying on some extra tech. The new assistive technology installed in his workspaces requires some adjustment from colleagues in an institution known for its stagnancy. But in securing the devices that are helping him begin a new job during a very public recovery process, advocates say Fetterman is forging a path for people with disabilities and health challenges to make it in public office. Read More >>
CART captioners are everywhere! Whether you’re in a stadium where thousands of fans cause decibel-breaking records, observing the greatest deliberative body in the world, or watching your favorite television show or movie, NCRA-certified CART captioners are hard at work.
Captioners provide instant translation of the spoken word to text, as well as concise, objective descriptions of scenes, settings, body language, and more for those both requiring further accommodations or those who simply wish to have a more detailed understanding of what is happening in addition to providing a written record of the event. Read more>>
Unheard
A Voice of OC investigation working with Chapman University students exposes a systemic shutting out of deaf and hard of hearing people from live-streamed public meetings.
Orange County cities systematically shut out hard-of-hearing residents from broadcasts of public meetings by failing to provide closed captioning in real-time.
Only one of the 31 Orange County cities who responded to Voice of OC questions – Tustin – currently offers real time closed captioning – typed by a person in real time during the online live stream of their public meetings. Read more>>
With every new sports venue, remodel, or video-scoreboard renovation comes a decision
each sports organization must make: how to comply with federal and local regulations on
providing in-venue live closed-captioning content for the deaf and hard-of-hearing. Read more
Oklahoma City, OK – Johnny Reininger, Jr., a deaf Oklahoma man filed suit today against the State of Oklahoma and the Oklahoma Senate and House of Representatives for the failure of the Oklahoma legislature to caption hearings and other proceedings streamed online.
The complaint contends that the Oklahoma Senate and House of Representatives maintain websites that show live feed of legislative hearings and other proceedings. This live video feed is not captioned. Archives of the videos are not captioned either. Captions are necessary for deaf and hard of hearing citizens to access the audio content of these videos.
Reininger is an active and involved citizen with a particular interest in following state proceedings. “I need to know what is happening in my state in order to be fully informed at the polls and to fulfill my civic responsibilities,” said Reininger. His repeated requests that the proceedings be captioned were refused by the legislature. Reininger said, “When our state government refuses to caption their proceedings, they are choosing to exclude deaf people like me from civic life.”
“Participation in government is an essential American right,” stated Howard Rosenblum, CEO of the National Association of the Deaf. “And participation is not possible if government proceedings are not open and accessible to everyone including deaf and hard of hearing people.”
“The Americans with Disabilities Act requires state legislatures to ensure full and equal access for individuals, including individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing,” said Michael Steven Stein, an attorney with Stein & Vargas, LLP, one of the firms representing the plaintiffs. “When a state government chooses to exclude a class of citizens from access to their proceedings, they are standing on dangerous ground.”
Reininger, Jr. is represented by the National Association of the Deaf, Stein & Vargas, LLP, and the Oklahoma Disability Law Center.
Pittsburgh, PA – Kenneth DeHaan, a deaf movie fan from Pittsburgh, filed suit today against Cleveland Cinemas, LLC and Soffer Organization for refusing to provide captioning for deaf individuals at the SouthSide Works cinema in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. DeHaan made multiple requests that the Southside Works theater, the theater closest to his home, come into compliance with federal law and provide full and equal access for movie buffs who are deaf.
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