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Kansas deaf and hard-of-hearing commission appeals to restore $455,000 for statewide interpreter coordination
Summary
The Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and advocates told the committee that a proposed $455,000 Communication Access Fund was left out of the governor's recommendation; witnesses said coordinated funding would make interpreter access more timely and cost-effective across rural Kansas and courts.
Robert Cooper, executive director of the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (KCDHH), appealed to the Committee on Social Services Budget to restore a $455,000 request for a Communication Access Fund that the governor's budget excluded.
Cooper said the fund would ensure timely, effective communication access for deaf and hard-of-hearing Kansans across state agencies and courts. "This communication access is not an option. It's a mandate," Cooper said, noting that Kansas established a precedent for communication access in 1982 and that federal law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act, supports access obligations.
Cooper said the request would not create a new service but would help the state meet existing obligations by coordinating referrals and interpreter services. He said the commission previously received pilot funding but not a permanent appropriation for a statewide fund.
Leonard Hall, chair of the Kansas Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, described the current statewide shortage and the travel and cost issues that occur when interpreters must be brought in from the Kansas City area for hearings in Topeka and other regions.
Mike Burgess of the Big Tent Coalition supported the request and provided a funding breakdown the commission had submitted: $245,000 and 1 full-time equivalent (FTE) for state-agency communication access coordination; $175,000 and 1 FTE for court-related interpreting coordination; and $35,000 in state general fund support for deaf-blind services.
Committee members asked about the population affected and current coverage. Cooper estimated roughly 242,000 Kansans with hearing loss and suggested about 75,000–85,000 could directly benefit from better coordination of interpreter and communication services; he also said that many other people with communication disabilities would benefit.
Representative questions also raised Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act and whether managed-care organizations provide interpreter services; Cooper said Section 1557 targets health-care providers and that MCO-provided interpreting has been limited.
Ending: Advocates asked the committee to restore the $455,000 request so state agencies and courts could more reliably provide interpreters and other communication access services; no formal vote took place at the hearing.
