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Deaf and hard-of-hearing advocates ask for $2M to modernize statewide interpreter and CART referrals, expand housing and training
Summary
Advocates and service providers told the Ways and Means committee the Massachusetts Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing is underfunded, its referral system is outdated and statewide capacity for CART and housing for deaf elders is inadequate. They requested $2 million to modernize referrals and additional funding for residential capacity.
Representatives of the Deaf and hard-of-hearing community urged the Ways and Means committee to add funds for interpreter referral systems, Communication Access Realtime Translation (CART) capacity, and housing for deaf seniors.
"The Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing has been level-funded for the past couple of years while other agencies received increases," said Nini Silva of the Disability Policy Consortium. "Their referral computer system is out of date and they need $2,000,000 to update it so requests are filled in a timely, high-quality manner."
Speakers described long waits for CART services, a shortage of qualified interpreters and a seven-year waiting list for the New England Home for the Deaf. Advocates noted demographic pressures as the population ages and said failing to expand services will increase isolation, cognitive decline and emergency-care needs.
Why this matters: Access to qualified interpreters and realtime captioning is a civil-rights and health-equity issue that affects people in hospitals, courts, schools and workplaces. Advocates framed the requested investment as a measure that protects access and reduces downstream costs by enabling fully accessible services.
Ending: Witnesses asked the committee to include a $2,000,000 modernization allocation in FY26 for the Commission's referral platform and to increase support for housing and interpreter-training opportunities.
