SSA Discriminates Against Deaf and Hard of Hearing

Incredible as it seems, the systems that promote equality abuse it themselves. One such system is the Social Security Administration (SSA). While Social Security provides social security disability income for people with disabilities (SSDI), they promote a program known as the "ticket to hire" program. It is their effort to afford people with disabilities as a way for them to ease back into a job that might one day be permanent. The program’s idea is to get people with disabilities off of SSDI government funds.

SSA is known for having many people with disabilities working in their office. However, one group of individuals unlikely to be found there is the Deaf and Hard of Hearing people who use captionists during meetings and during training. Sure they have many Deaf and Hard of Hearing people there who use interpreters, but the SSA treats this particular group of people like outcasts.

A few years ago, the SSA contacted many federal agencies touting many job openings for Deaf individuals, preferably with Master’s degrees. They wanted a whopping nine people (or thereabouts) for positions. Many Deaf people showed up that day including one Deaf person that SSA DENIED accommodations for their deafness simply because this person didn’t sign and use an interpreter. Yet, interpreters showed up for the Deaf people! When asked why that was, the interviewer said because the SSA doesn’t fund captionists!

Most of the job seekers had less than Master’s degrees. Almost all of the Deaf interviewees were hired, except the Deaf person who used their own captionist! An SSA insider said there were about three people with Master’s degrees and one was not hired – the qualified one with the Captionist!

The insider also noted that the interviewee not hired was just as suitable if not more suitable for the job then the majority of the hired interviewees. What happened? How could this be? The answer is simple. The cost to have one interpreter for nine or more employees outweighed the cost of having one Deaf person using a captionist!

While many Deaf people do get jobs, the outlook for Deaf and Hard of Hearing people is grim. The cost of captioning services is high and many employers will avoid Deaf and Hard of Hearing people at all costs. The only reasonable solution would be to allow employers to have full tax deductions for the costs incurred by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing individuals whom use interpreters and captionists. How do we promote this idea? YOU, the READER, must speak out to your representatives!

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tt
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
https://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtml
http://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/

Simply ask them to represent you by writing up a proposed bill that would allow employers to make full tax deductions for money spent on Deaf and Hard of Hearing accommodations. Be proactive! It really does work to voice your concerns!

Breaking the Ice with Employers Not Hiring Deaf Candidates

Breaking the Ice with Employers Not Hiring Deaf Candidates

It is true. Many employers are not hiring Deaf and Hard of Hearing candidates. Why? Simply answered, extravagant costs related to communication. So what can we do to help more employers to hire these able-bodied citizens?

According to the Census Bureau, an astonishing [1]54.4 million people have disabilities. Sixty-nine percent of Individuals aged 21 to 64 in 2005 were unemployed. While recent public policy in the US concerning disability is focusing on improving the socioeconomic conditions for people with disabilities, it lags behind in helping with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population. A major factor with this community is the cost of communication. Communication is ongoing in terms of costs, as opposed to putting in special lighting, ramps, grab bars, architectural barriers etc, all of which are generally one time fees.

What can we do to break the barriers between the Deaf/Hard of Hearing and the employer? First, I think it would help for them to understand that hiring 1 captionist for every 6 Deaf or Hard of Hearing person who uses captioning, and hiring 1 interpreter for every 6 Deaf or Hard of Hearing person who uses an interpreter would cut internal costs to pay one salaried person, rather than hiring a person on an as-needed basis.

A person now asks, “Who wants to have to pay for a translator or captionist? How insane is that?” Point noted. Guess who’s paying for prospective employee’s Social Security Disability Income? Yes, you and your employer! The government in some way will be paying for their cost of living, so it is always in everyone’s best interest to bring them into the working world!

That being said, we need to address the need for more tax credits and write-offs for having to hire interpreters and captionists. I think as long as an employer hires a minimum agreed amount of disabled employees, the government should reimburse the employer in full for the interpreter and or captionist’s full salary.

Once the person becomes employed, other issues need addressing. The first issue is training. Some training may need captioning or signed media. Technology is there to assist the employer. To go further, there are actually some employers who offer all their employees sign language classes during lunch. Sign Language Classes would be considered a tax write off since the employer would be hiring a teacher to help facilitate communication between Deaf, Hard of Hearing, and Deaf employees.

While interpreters and captionists are there during training, they can be there in the lunch room, breaks, conferences, and if needed to communicate with other employees. [2]Wireless handheld devices for the captionist replace cumbersome laptops for going mobile. The auto text makes communication faster on small cumbersome devices. While they are not perfected, there is a market out there for them.

Contrary to belief, Deaf and Hard of Hearing people DO use telephones. Many employers are not aware that technology allows for voice translation into text and text translation into voice. These services are called relay services. Relay services allow deaf and hard of hearing people communicate on the telephone, using either a TTY or the internet. There are two types of relay services: traditional and broadband, high-speed video. Traditional relay services have all communication in text only, through a TTY or via the internet. A video relay service uses a videophone or a webcam, and a sign language interpreter.

Another kind of interesting service geared more towards the hard of hearing and the late deafened individual is CapTel Telephone captioning service.[3] The Captioned Telephone (CapTel) uses captioning services to provide near-instant captions of what the caller is saying, giving the CapTel user the ability to listen and read the words at the same time. These captions are displayed on a screen that is part of the captioned telephone. Deaf and hard of hearing people who can talk clearly can use a captioned telephone.

Another service for employers not willing to hire their own captionists or interpreters is a service called VRI. VRI uses video conferencing equipment to connect a sign language interpreter or a captionist to an individual on a job site. This saves the cost of mileage, travel and time and required onsite minimums. Many businesses can use the teleconferencing equipment that they already have on site.

Can a Deaf or Hard of Hearing person with speech answer a telephone? The answer is yes. The service is called Two-Line VCO and Reverse Two-Line VCO: Two-Line VCO (2LVCO) makes it possible for both parties --the person who is deaf/hard of hearing and the person who is hearing-- to speak and hear each other while making it possible for the deaf/hard of hearing person read what the hearing person has said. Plus, there is no need to say "GA" or "Go Ahead."

Other rarely talked about services include Voice Carry-Over (VCO): This enables people who have difficulty hearing on the phone to voice their conversation directly to the hearing person. The OPR then types the hearing person's response to the VCO user. VCO can be used with either a TTY or a VCO phone.

Voice Carry-Over (VCO) with Privacy: VCO users can request this feature if they want privacy on their call. With this feature, the OPR drops off during the VCO user's part of the conversation. The VCO user MUST TYPE "GA" at the end of his/her turn voicing. This will bring the OPR back online to continue relaying the hearing person's response. Simply tell or type to the OPR that you want VCO with Privacy when the call begins.[4]

While most of the services are free, the equipment or the cost of extra telephone lines or conference call is not free. A business that does not already use that service would be reluctant to pay for it. In this case, the government needs to allow for a tax write off specifically for conferencing and telephone lines dedicated for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing employee.

Most of all, we need more supporters to contact their government representatives and demand that there be more tax write off and tax credits for employers wishing to hire Deaf and Hard of Hearing people. With everyone being proactive, it would boost our economy with millions of more people who can now have a job and spend more money! Visit http://tinyurl.com/5nexf4 today.

Thanks for your support!

[1] http://www.census.gov/prod/2008pubs/p70-117.pdf

[2] http://ncam.wgbh.org/mm/

[3] http://www.dors.state.md.us/DORS/ForEmployers/Deaf/tech/relay.htm

[4] http://www.mdrelay.org/How_VCOtoVCO.asp

YOU, the READER, must speak out to your representatives and suggest ways to improve job relations with the Deaf and Hard of Hearing population. Be proactive! Share this web site with your friends, family, and coworkers. Ask them to help support the cause, too!http://www.congress.org/congressorg/directory/congdir.tthttp://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfmhttps://writerep.house.gov/writerep/welcome.shtmlhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/CONTACT/Simply ask them to represent you by writing up a proposed bill that would allow employers to make full tax deductions for money spent on Deaf and Hard of Hearing accommodations. Be proactive! It really does work to voice your concerns!