NJ Human Services official announces $1.7M in grants to expand communication access for deaf and hard-of-hearing residents

Elizabeth Hill, director of the Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing at the New Jersey Department of Human Services, announced a Communication and Language Access Grant Program that has funded projects in at least three New Jersey counties. She said the program partners with county governments to remove barriers and expand services for people who are deaf and hard of hearing.

"The ability to communicate connects us," Hill said, explaining why the state is investing in access measures. She cited examples of funded measures — sign language interpreting, captioning and hearing-loop systems — and said these improvements target settings such as health care and homelessness services as well as "other essential human services."

Hill disclosed the program's cumulative investment: "Since the grant program began, New Jersey has invested more than $1,700,000 to support projects that strengthen communication access for people who are deaf and hard of hearing." She identified Burlington, Mercer and Monmouth counties as recent grant recipients but did not provide detailed project-level budgets, timelines or specific implementing agencies.

The department framed the initiative as a step toward inclusion and dignity for residents with hearing differences. Hill said accessible communication "helps us understand, it helps us ask questions, it helps us make decisions" and described accessibility as "essential, not optional." The statement did not include application deadlines, the mix of state or federal funding sources, or a schedule for future awards.

The announcement comes from the New Jersey Department of Human Services' Division of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. For more detail on individual projects or grant criteria, the department would need to provide the grant notices or program guidance, which Hill did not include in this statement.