BRIAN SANDOVALGovernor

Richard WhitleyDirector

Dena SchmidtAdministrator

STATE OF NEVADADEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICESAGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES DIVISION

3416 Goni Road, D-132Carson City, Nevada 89706

(775) 687-4210 Fax (775) 687-0574adsd@adsd.nv.gov

DRAFT MINUTES

Name of Organization: Nevada Commission for Persons Who Are Deaf, Hard of Hearing or Speech Impaired(Nevada Revised Statute [NRS] 427.750)

Date and Time of Meeting: January 31, 20189:00 am

This meeting will be a Video Conference between the following:

Reno: Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center1875 Plumas St., Suite 1Reno, NV 89509

Las Vegas: Nevada Disability Advocacy and Law Center2820 W. Charleston Blvd., Suite 11Las Vegas, NV 89102

To join this meeting by phone, dial 1-888-363-4735 then enter Access Code 1228133 when prompted.Sign language interpreters will be available at both locations, and CART will be accessible by following this link:https://captionsunlimited.1capapp.com/event/deafcommission

According to NRS 241.020, Meeting Materials Available at: http://adsd.nv.gov/Boards/NCPWADHHSI/Nevada_Commission_for_Persons_Who_Are_Deaf_Hard_of_Hearing_or_Speech_Impaired/

Agenda

I. Welcome, Roll Call, and IntroductionsEli Schwartz, Commission Chair

Mr. Schwartz introduced two new board members, Allison Berman, educator and parent of a deaf child and Jennifer Montoya, Active in the Deaf Community. Members introduced themselves.

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Las Vegas Regional Office Reno Regional Office Elko Regional Office 1860 E Sahara Ave. 445 Apple St., Ste. 104 1010 Ruby Vista Dr., Ste. 104 Las Vegas, Nevada 89104 Reno, Nevada 89502 Elko, Nevada 89801 (702) 486-3545 (775) 688-2964 (775) 738-1966 (702) 486-3572 Fax (775) 688-2969 Fax (775) 753-8543 Fax

Members Present: Jason Adams, Jeff Beardsley, Allison Berman, Mike Eifert, Sal Fiorentino, Maureen Fradianni, Betty Hammond, Jennifer Montoya, Eli SchwartzPublic: Laura Thompson, Greg OttStaff: Wendy Thornley, Cheyenne Pasquale, Tamika ScottInterpreters: Kim Johnson, staff interpreter, Rod Voris, Kim Ryan, Whitney Hobbs CART: Becky Van Auken

II. Public Comment (No action may be taken upon a matter raised under public comment period unless the matter itself has been specifically included on an agenda as an action item. Please state and spell your name for the record. Public comment may be limited to three minutes per person at the discretion of the chair.)

Mr. Schwartz stated that Abby, who is a representative from Hamilton Relay is working with the Deaf Centers of Nevada (DCN) to put on a Town Hall meeting and Taste of Technology Meeting. He stated the meetings would be March 31st in Reno, and in Las Vegas on April 7th of this year. He mentioned that the contact list for the members needed some corrections.Ms. Montoya informed the group that she and Gina from DCN along with ADSD staff interpreter Kim Johnson, met with Northern Nevada Medical Center administrators to teach them about interpreting services for Deaf patients, and how to procure interpreters. She stated they are currently using a system called Globo for translations services. It has not been that successful. The group discussed connecting Globo with local Sign Language Interpreters. They suggested training regarding working with Deaf patients and interpreters for the doctors and nurses. She mentioned Mr. Beardsley might be interested in doing some training.

III. Approval of Meeting Minutes from October 11, 2017 (For Possible Action)Eli Schwartz, Commission Chair

Mr. Eifert stating he did not receive minutes. He was struggling with a link to open documents and asked that it is not sent that way in the future. Ms. Hammond stated this is a state requirement of the EITS department and ADSD does not have control over the safety feature. Ms. Hammond stated she would try to send emails with the content in the body of the email and not as an attachment. Ms. Fradianni stated she read them. Mr. Beardsley motioned to approve the minutes. Mr. Fiorentino seconded. Motion carried.

IV. Discussion and approval regarding having a special workgroup meeting for the Commission to discuss the future legislative structure of the Commission. (For Possible Action)

Eli Schwartz, CommissionMr. Schwartz asked for feedback from the Commission regarding having workgroup meetings, have a special workshop or to combine these in a regular Commission meeting. Mr. Eifert explained that his workgroup still needs the structure of the Commission defined, and there may not be a reason to have another legislative workgroup. He felt that topic could probably put off until next year to accommodate the budget. He did state he felt the topic of the Director’s position needed to be discussed as a priority. He stated he thought there are some good suggestions of what the

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director's duties and responsibilities should be around that strategic work plan and possibly some outreach work, and discussions on what other states are doing. He felt a full commission meeting on the legislative structure would be very beneficial.Ms. Hammond stated she sent an email to NASRA (National Association of State Relay Administrators) soliciting information from other states. The questions were do they have a Commission. What is its role, i.e., is it advisory in nature; and does it provide direct service to consumers. Do they have a paid director and what their funding source is? She stated that Sheri Collins from Arizona sent her a spreadsheet with contact information for the various groups around the country. Mr. Adams stated he was confused as to what he needed to do with the work groups. He asked for clarification of what was expected of the workgroups and recommended Commission members work together.Ms. Hammond recommended to the whole group to work with other members of the group. Ms. Hammond thought the Commission meeting could focus on two things. The workgroups reports, updates and feedback; and voting in the new chair and vice chair for the next year. Mr. Schwartz clarified this would be the final meeting; not the next meeting.Ms. Hammond suggested the Commission have an extra meeting and that extra meeting would include the discussion of the structure and each workgroup report, and the focus of the last meeting would be voting and another workgroup updates. Ms. Montoya stated to Mr. Adams that she would like to work with him on the education/IEP topics.

V. Approve Jeff Beardsley being added to the legislative work group (For Possible Action)Eli Schwartz, Commission

After discussion it was agreed that persons wanting to join any work group can do so; and to let the chair person know. Ms. Berman and Ms. Montoya want to be added to the education work group. Ms. Montoya stated an interest in joining the Emergency Response group. Ms. Hammond stated she would join the Employment group.

VI. Questions/Answers regarding Report from Deaf Centers of Nevada Kevin Carter, Executive Director DCN

Laura stated that she did not have the report with her, that she was actually scheduled to present on Agenda Item 11. She stated that she would be in a meeting later in the week to cover some of this item.

Mike Eifert stated that everyone had received the report and had opportunity to read it. He stated that it seemed that things were moving along nicely and asked if anyone had any questions.

Eli Schwartz stated that he had a question about the waitlist for the center and if the waitlist had gotten better or worse.

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This item was moved further down on the agenda until Kevin Carter could be there to give his report and answer questions.When Kevin Carter called into the meeting, Eli Schwartz asked if the waitlist was getting better or worse.

Kevin Carter stated that, “Right now currently it's getting -- we're moving out, I think we're moving into three weeks again. We just hired two new people. We have an amazing team. They're doing a great job. But in the Las Vegas market, the two new case specialists that were added back in August are now -- August in September, they are now at about a two-week getting into a three-week waiting list. We just had an issue yesterday where we had a high-risk situation happen, and when we looked at the calendars, our newest person is already at two and a half weeks. We were fortunate enough to get that person in on Friday, but it is busy. The Reno office not so much. We did hire Jennifer who's on the commission, and she's really stepped up. She's handling both some youth cases as well as adult cases and I know she wants to be a little bit busier and she's doing a phenomenal job. But Las Vegas, we definitely are once again finding ourselves with a wait. For equipment we don't have a which the list. The equipment we're able to get out same day. We run about a week turn rates we means we have a week's worth of phones. That way we have a system and as soon as we hit one phone we order more. So, we have no wait time on equipment. And we're able get those out. We have some great people on our equipment distribution that are doing a great job. But as far as the adult case in Las Vegas, we're behind. Deaf mentors, we have a waiting list. We're in the process of getting some possible additional funding to hire some more deaf mentors, this is a long process. Not as easy as saying this is a deaf mentor primarily because we partnered with Utah State University and the sky high program and they want specific caliber of candidates that can get through their certification and their training and are able to together into the homes and teach ASL and native language. So, they have to be profoundly deaf, culturally Deaf. They need to be deaf at birth and go through that process and the reason being is that they're able -- they're better suited to help the families and the children navigate what that looks like. So, it is a process. Utah is helping us with our search. We have interviewed several candidates, but we have not been able to find one that would fit the criteria that we would want. The other piece of the deaf mentor program is that they need to show an unbiased approach, meaning they might have a bias, but if the family decides they want to go cochlear or in the process the family decides we want to go oral, that we support that process and that the deaf mentor is able to navigate that without a bias and we did have a pretty good candidate, but she did tell us that we gave her an example for -- you're in the home, they let you know that they've decided to go with Coke collar and her response was I would quit, walk out, because I think that's completely wrong. So, they do need to be able to navigate that even if they have the bias, they need to be able to navigate that without showing that bias. So, we are having a challenge in Utah did share with us that it's taken them a long time to get their 22 or 25 deaf mentors over the years. And they just needed to fill about two positions, I think, and she said it took them

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about nine months to find that right candidate. So, we do have that wait list but I'm hoping we can come up with some strategies to support that piece from an early intervention services. So, things are going well. Great team. We have some really great employees who are absolutely invested with -- certainly have a bias but I would say all the teams I've led over the years, this is a team that I am really proud of. They really want to do a good job, they really want to do the right thing. They are helping people and we're getting busier and busier. So next year that will be topic of we need to increase case specialists, because right now one case specialist has -- is getting close to 50 active cases. And, remember, each case can usually run about three hours a week and the other case specialist who is new, I think she hit her 40th case this week that's an active case where we see this person on a weekly basis. So, it's just -- non-stop. Team is little overwhelmed in Las Vegas. But they're still doing a great job, we are still trying to provide the service. So that's really where we're at right at this moment.”

Eli Schwartz asked if DCN had anything where a representative goes to the hospital when a newborn is identified as hearing impaired and provides information and support to the new parents.

Kevin Carter stated, “If I understand the question, it was hard to hear, if I understand the question, we are -- we backed away from that just a little bit, because early intervention -- not early intervention, any program which is the -- a program that is here in the state, they wanted to take the lead on that piece of it and refer to us. However, I had already made -- I've talked about kids, identifying kids that are deaf and hard of hearing, if I understood your question, correctly. If I didn't, get me back on track. The hospitals, we already made contact. We are still getting referrals. We are still getting some referrals from those hospitals with parents who have had a child that's failed a newborn hearing screening and they're referred directly to us. Quite a few parents said they just found us on the internet and they've come in. So that's where that stands. Now, your question was related to teaching or getting more involved in educating the hospitals. We are actively doing that. Jeff Beardsley and I have actually had a meeting about that recently and come up with some strategies and some ideas. So, I think we'll continue to progress with that with Jeff's help.”

Maureen Fradianni asked what the status was of Nevada Hands and Voices helping in the South with family playgroups, who would be involved in that and what that’s going to look like.

Kevin Carter stated, “Summer is working with Beth down in the south. I don't know all of the obstacles. We have said look, you can use your space, we'll advertise, we'll do whatever we want. So, summer is committed to that. Beth has mentioned it's been difficult to get the families involved in that and she didn't know if it was an early intervention issue or what was going on there. But -- so that's where we were at with that piece of it.

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So, Summer is involved in it. Summer wants to actively get involved. We're trying to work through exactly why they're not successful. Up north they're very successful. And I had an opportunity to sit through a couple of them and they were incredible. So, from DCN's standpoint we absolutely want to support that. We want to figure out how we can better help and support that piece of it. But I don't have the answer of how we are going to get Vegas more in tune with it.”

VII. Review, discussion and possible approval of Draft By-laws (For Possible Action)Eli Schwartz, Commission Chair

Discussion regarding changing the name of the Commission, which would require a change in NRS (Nevada Revised Statutes). Additionally, if a Director role is defined; that verbiage would need to be added to the by-laws. Mr. Fiorentino motioned to approve the bylaws. Mr. Beardsley seconded. Motion carried.Ms. Hammond added during discussion that if member see something later that needs to be changed to email her. She would then put the bylaws into another draft for a future meeting.

VIII. Make recommendation to post Vision and Mission statements from By-laws onto ADSD website (For Possible Action)

Eli Schwartz, Commission ChairMr. Schwartz made a motion for the Vision and Mission statements to be placed onto ADSD website. Mr. Fiorentino seconded. Motion carried.

IX. Report from ADSD Interpreter Pool update – Approval of Standard Operating Procedures

(SOPs) for Pool (For Possible Action) Discussion and approval of services for Request for Application (RFA) for

Deaf Services (For Possible Action)Betty Hammond

Ms. Hammond stated she would like for the Commission to approve ADSD’s concepts for their standard operating procedures for the Interpreter Pool. Mr. Beardsley asked about screening for the interpreters. Ms. Hammond stated this topic was not on the agenda and cannot speak to it at this time. Ms. Fradianni asked about mentoring services and if she can refer interested parties to Ms. Hammond. Ms. Hammond was in favor of the concept of mentees contacting her. She also added the Pool will actively interpret up to 25-30 hours a week as individuals. She stated the mentoring is part of the strategic plan of assisting interpreters in increasing their skill levels. Mr. Schwartz asked if the Pool interpreters would work after standard working hours. Ms. Hammond stated they may do that in terms of mentoring and interpreting for the Legislature which has odd meeting hours at times. Ms. Hammond stated Pool Interpreters must be certified by RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf). Mr. Beardsley stated not all RID certified interpreters have the skill level needed for assignments. Ms. Hammond acknowledged that and asked Mr. Beardsley to email suggestions to her. Ms. Fradianni made a motion to accept the SOPs. Mr. Beardsley seconded. Motion carried.

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Ms. Hammond asked for feedback on the RFA service list of services. Mr. Schwartz asked about employment. Ms. Hammond stated that the current grantee provides job development and job placement with a grant or being paid through vocational rehabilitation. Mr. Schwartz asked that this type of work should be mentioned on the list. Mr. Beardsley suggested a side by side comparison with the bullet points and the Strategic Plan. Ms. Berman expressed concern about services for newly identified babies with hearing loss and their families. Ms. Hammond mentioned that this is the work of Nevada Hands and Voices. Mr. Adams stated they did not get contacted. He stated the service and information his family received was inadequate. He also stated he brought this up at an ICC meeting. Ms. Hammond mentioned that Mr. Adams could contact Nevada Hands and Voices to discuss his experience.Ms. Hammond mentioned a new service which would have one of the staff member in each location will be trained by ADSD staff to learn how to use No Wrong Door, and 211, and the purpose would be for those people who are trained to interview consumers to find out what their needs are and be able to give them specific referrals and information.Ms. Pasquale added that beyond the information and referral, they will help individuals with implementing the plan through resource and service navigation so that means if they need assistance in filling out applications or things like that, then the service navigator would assist with that as well. Mr. Schwartz mentioned working on a resource guide with Ms. Hammond and Ms. Pasquale. Ms. Montoya stated Colorado has a program where they send someone, a deaf professional, to go to the hospital or other locations where a deaf baby has been identified to talk to the parents, explain their different options, provide support to the family, and the like. Mr. Schwartz motioned to approve the request for services with the added changes. Motion amended to add other input from Commission members as needed. Mr. Fiorentino seconded. Motion carried.

X. Report regarding contract between Washoe County and the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disability for Emergency Responder training.

Sherry Manning and Betty HammondMs. Hammond stated Ms. Manning was unable to come to the meeting today due to a family situation. She gave a report on the contract between Washoe County and the Governor's Council on Developmental Disabilities for emergency responder training, and how it evolved to include hearing disabilities in their training curriculum. She stated she and Staff Interpreter, Ms. Johnson met with Ms. Dayton, looked over her work for the training and provided input. She stated there were two training curricula; one for a five-minute refresher and another for an hour-long training where CEU’s would be offered to first responders. She shared that Ms. Dayton would like to invite commissioners, ADSD, interpreter groups or others who could present at the training in the future. She also stated that this could provide in-roads to the commission working with first responders on various programs and projects.

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XI. Reports and Discussion, including next steps from Work groups: Emergency Response – Eli Schwartz on behalf of Kim Johnson

Mr. Schwartz spoke on behalf of Ms. Kim Johnson who is the lead on this project. He stated the overall goal was to have qualified and trained interpreter to provide interpret services in case of an emergency. Having interpreter on TVs, joint press briefings, and evacuation sites, shelters and hospitals and at the front lines where there may be people needing interpreting services. The plan calls for minimum qualifications for those interpreters who would like to be considered a part of this emergency response. They would have to go through a screening for emergency preparedness, an interpreting screening to assess skill level, and emergency response interpreting training program. He explained there are two agencies who have established a master service agreement with the state and are based in the state willing to participate in the developing plan.He stated that Ms. Johnson was researching federal and state laws regarding the assets and functional needs for joint emergency requirements. He stated the Commission may need to propose new or change current laws in legislation, in regard to emergency response, during the 2019 session. Mr. Eifert suggested members share with him what NRS changes might need to change. Ms. Hammond stated that Ms. Johnson is working with a PIO, public information officer, within the department of division of emergency management group to try to get the laws that govern what they do. Mr. Beardsley expressed concerns about the screening for participating interpreters. Ms. Fradianni suggested using CDI’s (certified Deaf interpreters) for televised emergency announcements. Ms. Montoya stated she knows a person in Las Vegas who is training to become a CDI. Ms. Fradianni stated someone like Gina at DCN could act as a CDI. Ms. Hammond suggested Deaf Interpreters who are not certified might be able to be used in emergency events. Ms. Montoya stated her husband works as a firefighter and she would be able to help the emergency workgroup with inroads to meet people who work in the network of police officers, firemen, etc.

Education/Part C – Maureen Fradianni/Jeff Beardsley/Jason AdamsMr. Beardsley stated Ms. Fradianni attended a Lead K meeting in November. He explained that the acronym stands for Language, Equality and Acquisition for deaf children, so they can be kindergarten ready when it comes to English, literacy and foundations. The goal is to get deaf children kindergarten ready and use assessment tools that will measure their success. Visual Communication modalities would be used such as cued speech or other ways to access the spoken word. The philosophy is also to raise public awareness and change public policy related to deaf children who use ASL and English both and to be ready for kindergarten. Ms. Fradianni added that the meeting had a video conference with Sheri Farinha, who is the Executive Director of Deaf services in Sacramento, who gave a presentation explaining about LEAD-K. There was a second meeting on January 20, 2018 which Both Mr. Beardsley and Ms. Fradianni attended. She informed them about this Commission and the strategic plan. She stated some people thought that the Commission would take over the plan; and Ms. Fradianni impressed upon them that the Commission wished to collaborate with the

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existing LEAD-K team. She stated she spoke with Gina Burnaugh and was given a brief history how the LEAD-K movement started in Nevada. Miss Burnaugh explained that when she graduated from Gallaudet University, she was planning to go back to California, but she decided to move back to her home state here in Nevada two years ago. She was already familiar with LEAD-K from other states, and she definitely was aware of the need for deaf and hard of hearing children here in Nevada. So, she started the idea and she said that she contacted Sheri Farinha. Sheri is operating on the national level with LEAD-K. Miss Burnaugh stated that Sheri provided a four-day LEAD-K training in Sacramento. Gina Burnaugh, Nancy Bennett and Gary Olsen all attended the training. She also stated there were 35 states that participated in that training. Ms. Fradianni state this happened about 2 years ago and the group planned to have monthly meetings. They also want to invite Deaf leaders from the community and from all over the US to come here so that they can start fund raising. An example of a Deaf leader would be someone like Nyle DeMarco, a very famous deaf dancer who was on “Dancing with the Stars” and he was also on “America's Next Top Model”. She also stated she went to Las Vegas recently for the Nevada Hands & Voices retreat, which was a two day retreat last weekend where she brought up to them the strategic plan. Many of the attendees had questions about it, and there were five people who showed interest and want to be involved in workgroups. She reported that she also met with the teacher of the Deaf at Wooster High School because we've been trying to recruit him to be a member of the commission in regard to education. But he reported he has a lot on his plate right now and he wouldn't be able to come to the meeting. More discussion revealed he is paid less than some of the other teachers and is teaching an ASL course on top of his work with students. Ms. Montoya added he had difficulty getting interpreters for himself. She also stated that a teacher who works at the elementary school at Hidden Valley will be retiring at the end of the school year. And that there is a rumor that the middle school teacher of the Deaf and hard of hearing might be leaving at the end of this year. She also said as far as Carson City, they're still looking for a teacher of the deaf and hard of hearing. It's been almost a year now that position has been vacant. Ms. Hammond stated that teachers might be able to be paid additional for being teachers of the Deaf; as the State used to compensate for persons who could speak another language who worked within the state.

Ms. Fradianni spoke briefly about the IDEA Part C meeting and also referred to her written report. She stated she went to a Part C meeting on November 16th,2018 and Mr. Adams was also there at the meeting in Las Vegas. So, for the IDEA Part C workgroup, the plan was to review and revise the state IDEA Part C policies for early intervention services, personnel standardizations for providing instruction to infants who are deaf and/or hard of hearing and their families. They also wanted to establish practice guidelines for Nevada’s Early Intervention service system. The purpose of the meeting was to provide support for the IDEA Part C office in their attempt to update NEIS’s policies for designing and providing instruction for intervention for the children and families they serve. They were seeking recommendations for standardization related to employee licensing and certification requirements, in order to get highly qualified personnel available for the work with the

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children and families. They wanted to provide quality training for employees which would have a positive outcome for infants and toddlers who are deaf and hard of hearing. She stated the plan was to have a monthly meeting to revise what they had in place. She stated she had heard nothing about a subsequent meeting. She stated she had some follow up with Brenda, who ran the meeting. Brenda was at a previous Commission meeting and felt it was very overwhelming; and at the time and there was not much time left to finish the project; so, the monthly meetings were dropped. Ms. Fradianni thought the Commission could consider having her part of the strategic plan in the future. Mr. Adams stated he was at the same meeting and confirmed the agency ran out of time to get the information when it was needed. He stated that Brenda told him the agency considered sending a representative from the agency to the Commission meeting to get our input about our thoughts about the deaf professionals who work with babies in regard to early intervention; what we want the credentials of those professionals to look like. Ms. Hammond stated she spoke with Brenda and recommended smaller group meetings with some of her staff and some of the commission on those topics because there were so many people in the room, nothing was really happening. Their staff has knowledge about what's available in Nevada for CEUs, and Commission members are aware of the needs. But she said they're putting it on hold because they feel they can't meet the March deadline.

Legislative – Mike EifertMike Eifert stated that he felt that much of his information had already been covered in prior agenda item discussions. He stated that the legislative workgroup has had a rocky start. One meeting was cancelled due to technical problems. The next meeting dealt with the job description of the director’s position needing to be defined. He stated that Senate Bill 481 gives this commission the authority to define what the director does. They also discussed the defining of the voting members, particularly the members that are users of telecommunication relay service. They agreed that having a deaf parent as well as an educator were important as well as having as many deaf people on the commission as possible. He stated that they needed to have a firm understanding of what the director is going to do, in order for them to go to the legislature.

They also discussed the title of this commission. There was general agreement among the commission members for the title to be, “Nevada Commission for Persons Who are Deaf and Hard of Hearing.” They would still like the commission to support people with speech impairments as mentioned in the bylaws. He stated that either Arizona or Utah have a commission that is “The Commission for Persons Who are Deaf”, yet they advocate for the deaf, hard of hearing, speech impaired and for deaf-blind.

He stated that he attended a meeting with Betty Hammond and Rique Robb to talk about what is this director. They looked at the structure of the Governor’s Council on Developmental Disabilities and saw that it was referred to as an Executive Director. He

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stated that this would be beneficial when going forward to the legislature, asking for permanent funding for that position and having a really, good argument. Some of the productive tasks they came up with for the director would be to direct the Strategic Plan, orchestrating the individual goals, doing break-out workgroups, trying to prioritize how that happens. This would free up the commission to do more activities toward accomplishing whatever those goals are.

Another item discussed was outreach to other states who have developed successful programs to see how they handle things like balancing the budget, balancing their own schedules and personal responsibilities. They discussed the program in Pennsylvania that already has a plan in place, workable goals and objectives that start as soon as a person is identified as hard of hearing or deaf, on through the education process.

They discussed that this director’s position may not be full-time. He mentioned that the current budget is for only two years and that possibly it could be expanded on that monetary amount by a small amount, be permanent.

He also stated that he felt that structure of the commission is necessary to this discussion.

Eli Schwartz asked what the process is, in getting ready for the next legislature.

Mike Eifert stated that to move forward with the director position, renaming the commission and maybe redefining the positions on the commission, the commission would want to approach the interim committee, he and Rique Robb feel that Assemblywoman Teresa Benitez Thompson would be the person that needs to be approached. She helped the commission with AB200 in the 2015 session. After her, they would approach the Health and Human Services Interim Committee to see about getting a sponsor for the bill and then they would start working on the language.

Eli Schwartz asked about a deadline.

Mike Eifert stated that he was not sure but that they did have some time and they might be working with some new people once the November elections were over. It was discussed that July 1st would be a good target date for getting these things put together.

Maureen asked if she could get some information regarding the role of the director and the salary from Betty because Betty had done some research on this previously. Betty stated that she would send this to Maureen as well as everyone else.

Resource Guide through Nevada Care Connection – Eli Schwartz

Eli Schwartz stated that he had been working with Cheyenne Pasquale, Betty Hammond and Kevin Carter on an online resource guide 211. People could go online

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and find resources. He stated that she is coming to the next meeting to give a presentation.

Employment- Sal Fiorentino

Sal Fiorentino stated that the report on employment is on different methods. The workgroup consisted of himself, Maureen and Betty. At the last meeting, they discussed objectives 1.4.2 and 1.5.3 from the strategic plan. At this meeting he would be discussing 1.4.2 which has to do with employment. He stated, “vocational rehabilitation or VR. The second one is the Deaf Centers of Nevada or DCN. VR and DCN are in partnership to develop services for deaf and hard of hearing clients. So, I'll first explain what the VR team looks like in regards to the deaf and hard of hearing clients. For right now we're short-staffed. And it looks like the team -- the team includes the counselor and assistants. So that's it. We really have just two people for all of the deaf and hard of hearing clients in Las Vegas. So, I feel like there's definitely room for improvement there by changing their organizational structure. And one example could be to have two deaf and hard of hearing counselors as well as two assistants. And in addition to a rehabilitation supervisor that specializes in deaf and hard of hearing clients as well. So that seems to be what's missing from VR for right now. To be able to provide timely services and quality services, and the ability to give the clients the one-on-one needs, because right now if it stays the way that it is, the counselor will be more focused on paperwork instead of the clients themselves. So, I feel the clients need more attention that way. There needs to be more balance there. Just reading through my paperwork here. Also, we have an in-house job developer. They are employment specialists. They do see some deaf and hard of hearing clients, but with interpreters. And my feeling is that with direct communication, the client would be able to benefit more from that relationship. So, I have already made a suggestion to the employment specialist team so I'm still waiting for a response to that suggestion to see what happens. Like I mentioned before, VR does collaborate with the Deaf Centers of Nevada or DCN. I did receive a report from the deaf centers and I'm looking at the report, Kevin did just update the information based on the report so there is updated information. There is an improvement I do see more staff at DCN, more support there for clients and that is great. So currently it seems that VR and DCN are the only state and/or local agencies that specialize in the deaf and hard of hearing population to assist with successful employment outcomes. From my own observations and other input, I've gotten from the community, for work readiness training programs, many tend to be under good will or other organizations that are not designed specifically for deaf and hard of hearing people and through the

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interpreter having a third-party help with communication. So, it would be nice to have maybe the deaf centers or another agency to provide deaf friendly curriculum to provide that training for deaf and hard of hearing clients who need training to get the necessary skills for employment. So, like vocational training, summer camp for the youth to get work experience, and the like. All right. So, another observation. There's limited funds. The reason for that typically is interpreting. That is a high cost for employment reasons for a job interviews, for training, especially for training, I mean that could be a three-month long process. It's not community college or university program, it's a vocational training. So that could be 180 hours. So, you could do the math for the cost of an interpreter there. Funding should be set aside to provide more training. Also, I've been notified, I don't know if you're aware, but some state agencies like VR get some federal funding which has been cut recently. So that kind of affects our budget. So that's goal 1.4 on the strategic plan. And I just want to add, it's not on my report but I have noticed some other states that have VR services, their organizational structure, they have deaf and hard of hearing specialists called RCD's, rehab counselors, for the deaf but here in Nevada we do not have that position. So, it would be nice if Nevada could do something similar here like taking California as a model within the whole state, they have all kind of specialties within different counties and in Las Vegas I'm the only one. Also, this is not in my report, but I did want to add a personal note. I'm still looking for nor resources available for deaf and hard of hearing people looking for jobs. If you run down a list, they're not very much availability. I plan to continue communication with DCN staff to see if they can come up with ideas and collaborate more with them like was mentioned before, if anybody is willing to offer a room, if we needed something. So maybe there's something we could discuss with them, so they could help maybe be there one time a month as an example, to serve some of the deaf and hard of hearing clients. Provide something like a job club or job readiness training. But, again, I'm one person trying to do all of this. So, let me check over my notes here. So, ideas and suggestions, maybe not now, but when commissioners are ready, that's something that we can work on possibly something to add later to legislation, to be add more State positions within VR or to develop a deaf union for all state agencies, not just for VR. So, regarding resources, I did get one contact that I found very interesting. It's called employment literacy. The employment literacy center for the deaf. This is new to me. I just had a meeting with them two weeks ago. And they're very interested in working with us on a statewide basis, not just in Las Vegas, north and south. They are based in California. But they already have a contract with Florida, I believe Colorado, and a few other states in regards to their VR services in addition to other agencies as well.

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They can provide one-on-one or group assistance for work readiness related to reading and writing their literacy skills, to gain those skills. And also, to learn how to appropriately interact with an employer. So that's definitely a need there. So, I'm in the process of seeing if we would be -- if they would be willing to contract with the state of Nevada. So, I will give you updates on that.”

Jen asked if there was work like this going on in Reno.

Sal stated that there was not and that they needed to do some more work there. He offered to work with her on this issue.

There was a general discussion about hiring the Interpreter pool and including the deaf community as possible candidates. Betty explained that the pool would have mentoring responsibilities and interpreting for other agencies and how that would be paid for. She stated, “I’m actually thinking of them really setting up and helping some people and that would be their goal, their employment goal, but then as a secondary, that restaurant would agree to train others, or they have, what is it, the test that they -- yeah, the CBA it's called, community-based assessment. So, it means that we can either use like Easter Seals or another company that's willing to hire someone temporary, VR pays their salary, and that boss or company, whatever, looks at what the employee is doing right, wrong, what they need to learn, and they report it back to VR. They get free help, but they in turn offer an assessment back to the counselor who then decides what to do, do they need more training, are they this ready to go to work, do they understand they have to be on time. Wouldn't that be nice if deaf people could do that CBA in a place that was a deaf-owned business? And there may be or funds that could be looked into where maybe there's federal money or money for minority-owned businesses.”

XII. Discussion and Determination of Agenda Items to be Considered at the Next Meeting (For Possible Action)

Eli Schwartz, Commission Chair

Eli Schwartz stated, “Moving on back to the agenda, 4. Where I discussed those three options. We heard what the group has to say. You heard what everybody had to say. So, I would like some feedback from the commission what would you like to do. I did the option I present having an extra commission meeting, having just a workshop for the structure, whatever, or -- and/or just save the money for additional workgroup meetings. And I want to understand, Mike and I talked during lunch going back for the structure, it's probably just be a half a meeting and we could do the other half a commission work. So, I don't think we need to spend the whole day. And I would like -- whatever we do the workshop, it would be a commission meeting so that way we can take action on whatever we came up with. So, we want to move forward. So, I would appreciate some feedback from the commission. Which option would you like? I personally would like to see a workshop to work on the structure because I don't think we can get any further if we don't know what we're doing

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and what direction we're taking, whether we need a director or want a director, we're still in limbo. We need to define what our duties are. I know we were mandate today do the strategic plan, but we need to go one step further saying exactly what we should be doing.” There was discussion and about using the upcoming, April 11 th meeting as a regular meeting or as the extra meeting to discuss commission structure. There was also discussion about having another face to face meeting with members either traveling to Las Vegas or to Reno. The group decided to have the next meeting in Reno.

Jason Adams motioned for the next meeting in Reno be to a committee and workgroup to fix the commission structure. Jeff Beardsley seconded.

It was decided that each commissioner have a three-minute span to discuss whatever issue or idea they have. This will become a permanent agenda item.

Cheyenne will come to present to the commission.

Possibly having Sherry Farina from California as a Lead K person present. Jen agreed to reach out to Sherry for travel expenses and presentation details.

Jeff suggested inviting the Gallaudet University President to come and discuss the commission and its makeup.

Betty volunteered to reach out to Sherry Collins regarding Bobby Coronado to come and meet the governor and come to our meeting for organization tips.

Maureen suggested having three of the leaders of the deaf community come to the meeting, Bobby, Nial and Sherry.

XIII. Confirm Dates for Future Commission Meetings and Workgroups (For Possible Action)Eli Schwartz, Commission Chair

April 11, 2018

Eli Schwartz let the group know where the April 11 th meeting will be held and when the June meeting could happen.

XIV. Public Comment (No action may be taken upon a matter raised under public comment period unless the matter itself has been specifically included on an agenda as an action item. Please state and spell you name for the record. Public comment may be limited to three minutes per person at the discretion of the chair.)

Gary Olsen stated, “I do -- just have a very brief comment. I wanted to give you some exact facts. But first of all, I am very impressed and excited to see how you're all working together and the process. I'm very impressed so I applaud you for your efforts. And reaching our goals and our dreams for the commission. I did want to talk about Lead K. It's important that you understand the reason behind what Jason had mentioned. People can't find much information.

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We have a battle on the national level with the Alexander gram bell association and to some extend Hands & Voices in other states, that doesn't seem to be the case here but there are these issues that have popped up and I've been running to the legislature that has been in multiple states where deaf efforts have been destroyed. So, Lead K is to establish a bill, legislative bill, that will lead to how children will get language. So that's really the purpose of Lead K. So, we will have a collaboration, it's great. We definitely need it. Because we are also working with the grassroots movement to be able to build up a strong voice within the legislature for the 2019 session. We want that to happen. So, it can definitely help VR and help other groups as well be able to speak up and help them to be involved.” There are four other states that have already passed Lead K bills. California, Ohio, Kansas, and Oregon. They all have different, a little bit varied types of how it will work within their states in regards to children and the school system and at home. But those four states have passed. There are nine that are in the works currently with other states, West Virginia, Michigan, and others, nine in total. And they are working well. We are inviting Sherry to come in April so perhaps that would fit with your meeting schedule. If you do have it here in Reno, that would be perfect. The deaf centers is not far. So, we are having her and perhaps we can help iron out our vision of what it is that we're trying to do. It's all by way of getting deaf people involved and understanding what it's about. And inviting all parents, other businesses and companies, to work with the schools and get them involved as well. I do want to give you an example of the intervention. Rhode Island has been trying to get this bill passed for the last three sessions. A.G. Bell has thwarted their efforts and it's become a bitter issue and we don't want that to happen here. We want to find a good way to collaborate with different organizations including the schools too, because Lead K is 0 to three years of age. Not 0 to five, it's 0 to three. For the child to learn signs, for hearing parents find out, they will sign to their baby, milk, food, doggy, mommy, daddy, and we want to increase that and make sure that parents really understand that it's not a sign language thing, meaning that it's against speech, it's not one or the other. Lead K really believes that sign plus English. We're not worried about cochlear implants, what have you. That's not our concern. So, it's to have a better picture, we want the parents to understand that they are different when their child grows up, their child will be different as well. They're not the same. So, I do want to impress upon that and, again, I really want to be honest with you, I'm very impressed with your progress and your work and I'm really happy about it. So, I am a strong advocate for the two other things as well, deaf grassroots movement and advocating for Lead K and you are all welcome to join any time. And finally, I do want to make sure that you make sure to involve deaf people in this process. They have a right to speak up. We can't make all the decisions for them. So, I do strongly encourage that. Thank you for your good time.

XV. Adjournment

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Eli Schwartz, Commission Chair

Meeting adjourned at 1:56 PM.

NOTE: Items may be considered out of order. The public body may combine two or more agenda items for consideration.  The public body may remove an item from the agenda or delay discussion relating to an item on the agenda at any time.  The public body may place reasonable restrictions on the time, place, and manner of public comments but may not restrict comments based upon viewpoint.

NOTE: We are pleased to make reasonable accommodations for members of the public who have disabilities and wish to attend the meeting. ASL Interpreters will be available at the meeting. If special arrangements for the meeting are necessary, please notify Wendy Thornley at (775) 687-0551 as soon as possible and at least ten business days in advance of the meeting. If you wish, you may e-mail her at wthornley@adsd.nv.gov. Supporting materials for this meeting are available at 3416 Goni Road, D-132, Carson City, NV 89706, or by contacting Wendy Thornley at 775-687-0551, or by email wthornley@adsd.nv.gov.

Current Commission MembersEli Schwartz (Chairperson), Sal Fiorentino (Vice Chairperson), Jason Adams, Jeff Beardsley, Allison

Berman, Mike Eifert, Maureen Fradianni, Betty Hammond, Jennifer Montoya.

DirectorRique Robb

NOTE: To provide a safe environment for Aging and Disability Services Division meetings, please refrain from wearing perfume, scented hairspray, cologne, scented deodorant, essential oils aftershave or any other scented products when you attend. Scented products contain chemicals which can cause migraines, nausea and even breathing problems for people with asthma, allergies, and environmental illness. No Scents is Good Sense! If you are unsure if a product is safe to wear, a good rule of thumb to just not wear it.

Agenda Posted at the Following Locations:

1. Aging and Disability Services Division, Carson City Office, 3416 Goni Road, Suite D-132, Carson City, NV 897062. Aging and Disability Services Division, Las Vegas Office, 1860 East Sahara Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 891043. Aging and Disability Services Division, Reno Office, 9670 Gateway Drive, Suite 200 Reno, NV 895214. Aging and Disability Services Division, Elko Office, 1010 Ruby Vista Drive, Suite 104, Elko, NV 898015. Nevada Community Enrichment Program, 6375 West Charleston Boulevard, Ste. L200 Las Vegas, NV 891466. Southern Nevada Center for Independent Living, 6039 El Dora Street H-8, Las Vegas, NV 891017. Disability Resource Center, So. E. Greg St., Suite 102 Sparks, NV 89431 8. Nevada State Library and Archives, 100 North Stewart Street, Carson City, NV 897069. Desert Regional Center, 1391 South Jones Boulevard, Las Vegas, NV 8914610. Sierra Regional Center, 605 South 21st Street, Reno, NV 8943111. Rural Regional Center, 1665 Old Hot Springs Road, Carson City, NV 8970612. Northern Nevada Center for Independent Living, 999 Pyramid Way, Sparks, NV 8943113. Dept. of Health and Human Services, 4126 Technology Way, Carson City, NV 8970614. Early Intervention Services, 2667 Enterprise Road, Reno, NV 8951215. Deaf Centers of Nevada, 6490 S. McCarran Blvd. Bldg. F Suite 46&47 Reno, NV 8950916. Deaf Centers of Nevada, 3120 S. Durango Drive, Ste. 301 Las Vegas, NV 89117

Notice of this meeting was posted on the Internet at: http://www.adsd.nv.gov/ and https://notice.nv.gov

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