What We Do & How

Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans

FIVE YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN 2009-2014

PURPOSE
The Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans is a Governor appointed Commission that advocates for equality of opportunity for Minnesotans who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing. The key to its effectiveness is its ability to provide a voice to people who are often unheard.

MISSION
Our purpose is to… advocate for equal opportunity for and with Minnesotans who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing

VALUES
For Minnesotans who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing, we believe in…

• Promoting and protecting their rights and dignity
• Developing and enhancing their skills and capacity to determine and accomplish their goals
• Providing equal access to information and services
• Working in collaboration with diverse groups
• Including a broad representation of community members

APPROACH
We accomplish our mission by…

• Building on the rich history of contributions from leaders who are deaf, deafblind and hard of hearing, their families, and allies
• Advising elected officials and government agencies
• Advocating for effective legislation, regulations, and services
• Forming collaborations and partnerships to achieve a common mission
• Raising public awareness and understanding of deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing issues
• Promoting best practices and basic rights

WHAT WE ENVISION FOR THE FUTURE
Minnesotans who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing…

• Have access to the highest quality education, health care, and economic opportunity
• Are able to advocate for themselves effectively in a broad range of settings
• Have increased involvement in the political process as citizens and as elected officials
• Have more access to government services electronically
• Are better able to communicate effectively with the broader community through advanced technology
• And whose rights are protected through an educated and accessible justice system

OUR PLAN
In 2007, Commission of Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Minnesotans (MCDHH) launched a planning process to develop a vision and a strategic direction for the organization. The Commission heard from over 375 individuals who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing their families and supporters through 27 phone interviews, over 300 online surveys, and 10 focus groups with a wide variety of groups such as parents, seniors, immigrants, families, service providers, educators and more. The goals listed below, if implemented, will result in:

• State dollars being used more effectively,
• Millions of dollars being saved in the long term,
• More people off public assistance, employed and paying taxes,
• Reduced risk of lawsuits to the state.

GOALS AND STRATEGIES

EXTERNAL

GOAL: Ensure all legislation is implemented as intended

Building on efforts community leaders and volunteers, MCDHH has worked to address over 15 legislative or community issues since 2002 and, in the next 5 years, MCDHH’s role will be to…

• Take a direct role in ensuring that legislation is implemented
• Work with legislators and state departments to enforce the laws
• Educate people about their rights related to new legislation and train them to be self-advocates
• Dedicate more staff time to teaching, advocating and community education

GOAL: Advance priority issues identified by constituents through advocacy and legislation

The following are current or emerging strategic issues identified by constituents that MCDHH and community members will work to address in the next 5 years:

• Adequate and sustainable funding for Deaf Mentors and Parent Guides
• Implement Early Hearing Detection and Intervention law with an emphasis on Early Childhood Education outcomes
• Measure and improve outcomes in K-12 Education
• Hearing aid coverage for adults and seniors
• Improve accessibility of state technology (websites, software and hardware)
• Increase employment through employment advocacy and planning for deaf and hard of hearing
• Increase employment through employment advocacy and planning for deafblind
• Improve health care access through increased use of Commmunity Health Workers and educational material that is captioned and produced in ASL
• Increase interpreter and captioning access
• Address interpreter, cued speech transliterators, and CART shortages and quality
• Increase airport access
• Increase communication access in courts, jails, prisons, court ordered treatment and probation
• Community Capacity Building – youth and adult civic education, online education and support of advocacy organizations that support deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind.
• Increase MCDHH capacity to serve through technology

GOAL: Improve systems access to services and enable a better quality of life for individuals who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing and who are refugees, immigrants, from culturally diverse or underrepresented communities.

INTERNAL- MCDHH CAPACITY BUILDING

The final four goals are targeted to strengthening the Commission’s capacity to advocate for and with Minnesotans who are deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing and meet the hopes and expectations of those communities. Briefly, the capacity building goals for MCDHH are:

GOAL: Enhance and demonstrate MCDHH’s effective performance through appropriate tools that measure the success of its activities.

GOAL: Strengthen the Commission by recruiting, training, recognizing, and utilizing the skills of current and future members and their networks.

GOAL: Maximize MCDHH’s capacity to change systems and communicate more effectively with stakeholders.

GOAL: Expand MCDHH’s capacity to meet the challenges and opportunities of the next 5 years by growing its staffing, volunteer, and funding capacity.