Committee advances bill reorganizing Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education, adopts stakeholder-driven amendment

The House committee voted to pass as amended a health bill that restructures the Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Education and clarifies roles and data requirements for family navigators and deaf mentors.

Amendment 13, offered after meetings with four stakeholder groups, was accepted by the committee by consent. Tammy Dominguez of the Indiana Association of the Deaf, Lindy Powell of Saint Joseph Speech and Hearing, Christina Commons of FSSA (First Steps) and Rachel Swartwood of the Department of Health each described steps the amendment takes to define family navigators, continue use of deaf mentors, and require transparency on center policies and posted data.

The amendment followed stakeholder discussions held the previous week and was drafted, chairman Barrett said, to ensure the center operates “in an unbiased manner.” Dominguez told the committee that “with 90 percent of deaf babies born to hearing parents, their ability to acquire language and thrive ……