You may know that Maine’s government has a budget deficit (which means not enough money to pay all it owes) right now in the millions of dollars. To make up the budget shortfall (cut what Maine’s government owes), Maine’s Governor announced in mid-December that the government would “curtail” or stop payment on a bunch of contracts and programs it has.

This “curtailment” affects almost every part of Maine’s government, including a ton of programs run by Maine’s Department of Health and Human Services (“DHHS”). One of the programs run by DHHS is a contract for advocacy services on behalf of Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing people with mental health or developmental disabilities issues. MCD has the contract now to deliver this advocacy service, and the money we get each year under this contract will now end. The “curtailment” is effective for MCD – meaning MCD will no longer be funded by DHHS to provide advocacy to Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing consumers – as June 30, 2008. The MCD Civil Rights Program, which does the advocacy work, will lose about one-quarter of our yearly Civil Rights Program budget. We are not sure yet if or how we will have to change our Civil Rights Program to deal with the budget cut, but will keep you posted as we figure it out.

In the meantime, we will keep doing our best to serve all the Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and Late-Deafened people who come to us for help with requesting accommodations and access and addressing discrimination. Please feel free to write to your lawmakers to tell them how much Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and Late-Deafened people with mental health or developmental disability issues need specially trained advocates like those at MCD. A link to the names and addresses of the lawmakers who control the state dollars – the Appropriations Committee –is at this website: http://janus.state.me.us/house/jt_com/afa.htm.

At the same time, the other contract MCD has for advocacy – a contract with the Maine Division of Deafness – is up for public bidding. This DoD contract provides the vast majority of our funding for the Civil Rights Program, and without this contract the MCD Civil Rights Program would probably cease to function as it does now – providing individual advocacy, system advocacy at the legislature, and outreach to the communities in which you all live and work. We will be submitting a bid this spring, and we need your support – please write to the DoD (Director John Shattuck, Maine Dept. of Labor, Bureau of Rehab Services, Division of Deafness, 150 State House Station, Augusta, ME 04333-0150 or John.G.Shattuck@maine.gov) and tell them how MCD has helped you, your family, friends, neighbors and clients.

Thanks from the Civil Rights Program staff!
Legislation Update
Maine’s legislature – the bunch of state senators and representatives that we all elect to represent us – meets on a two-year cycle. One year there is a long session when the lawmakers meet, and the second year there is a shorter session in which only time-sensitive or “emergency” legislation is supposed to be heard.

Last year, we were in the long session, and MCD’s Civil Rights Program was extremely busy up at the State House in Augusta. MCD was the lead advocate on three bills, and helped to get two of them passed outright; one law, which required health insurers to provide hearing aids for kids, went into effect January 1, 2008, and the other law went into effect immediately last summer to make more money available for the Telephone Equipment Program. The third bill we were the lead advocate on, a push to get hearing aids for low-income seniors, was sent to be studied more. MCD’s Civil Rights Program testified on a total of 14 laws during the long session! Over the past six months, the time between sessions, MCD has been participating in five groups that are studying proposed laws affecting Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and Late-Deafened folks. One was the group studying hearing aids for low-income seniors, one was a group to come up with a symbol that D/HH/LD drivers could have on their drivers’ licenses if they wanted to do so, one was a group to discuss defining “service dogs”, one was a group to study whether Maine’s laws should use language that is more respectful to Maine’s disabled persons, and one was a large group looking at whether Maine should adopt a Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Educational Bill of Rights.

The legislature is back in now, in the short session. The working groups that MCD’s Civil Rights Program was involved with, groups that studied so many issues – hearing aids for low-income seniors, Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Educational Bill of Rights, service dog, and respectful language – have all been working hard and have submitted or are submitting reports to the legislature. Then we will wait to see if the lawmakers will push these initiatives forward at all. MCD’s Civil Rights Program also has been involved with opposing changes that Maine’s Department of Education proposed to Maine’s special education laws.

We’d be glad to tell you more about any of these issues, or get your input or support on them too. Please call, TTY, or e-mail Amy Sneirson (asneirson@mcdmaine.org) or Beth Gallie (bgallie@mcdmaine.org) to talk more about these issues!

Last year, we were in the long session, and MCD’s Civil Rights Program was extremely busy up at the State House in Augusta. MCD was the lead advocate on three bills, and helped to get two of them passed outright; one law, which required health insurers to provide hearing aids for kids, went into effect January 1, 2008, and the other law went into effect immediately last summer to make more money available for the Telephone Equipment Program. The third bill we were the lead advocate on, a push to get hearing aids for low-income seniors, was sent to be studied more. MCD’s Civil Rights Program testified on a total of 14 laws during the long session! Over the past six months, the time between sessions, MCD has been participating in five groups that are studying proposed laws affecting Deaf, Hard-of-Hearing and Late-Deafened folks. One was the group studying hearing aids for low-income seniors, one was a group to come up with a symbol that D/HH/LD drivers could have on their drivers’ licenses if they wanted to do so, one was a group to discuss defining “service dogs”, one was a group to study whether Maine’s laws should use language that is more respectful to Maine’s disabled persons, and one was a large group looking at whether Maine should adopt a Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Educational Bill of Rights.

The legislature is back in now, in the short session. The working groups that MCD’s Civil Rights Program was involved with, groups that studied so many issues – hearing aids for low-income seniors, Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing Educational Bill of Rights, service dog, and respectful language – have all been working hard and have submitted or are submitting reports to the legislature. Then we will wait to see if the lawmakers will push these initiatives forward at all. MCD’s Civil Rights Program also has been involved with opposing changes that Maine’s Department of Education proposed to Maine’s special education laws.

Last summer, you and MCD finally gt  a law passed requiring health insurers in Maine to provide coverage for children's hearing aids.  Hooray!  Governor Baldacci signed the bill into law on June 28, 2007.  Congratulations, and huge thanks to you all for your passionate - and sustained over several years - advocacy on this issue.  Here are the details.  The law will went into effect as of January 1, 2008.  If you have a health insurance policy that is either issued or renewed after that date, your insurer must provide your children with a $1,400 per ear benefit once every three years.   We believe that this benefit will apply whether your insurer is in Maine or your insurer is out of state but providing a policy in Maine.

• As of January 1, 2008, children aged zero to five will be eligible for the benefit. 
• As of  January 1, 2009, children aged six to 13 will be eligible for the benefit. 
• As of January 1, 2010, children aged 14 to 18 will be eligible for the benefit. 

Here's a link to the version of the bill that passed, finally:  http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/billtexts/LD151404.asp

We’d be glad to tell you more about any of these issues, or get your input or support on them too. Please call, TTY, or e-mail Amy Sneirson ( asneirson@mcdmaine.org ) or Beth Gallie ( bgallie@mcdmaine.org ) to talk more about these issues!

Amy Sneirson, Esq.
Civil Rights Manager
Maine Center on Deafness
68 Bishop Street, Suite 3
Portland , Maine 04103
Voice/TTY: 207-797-7656
Toll free (outside of Portland)
1-800-639-3884
Facsimile: 207-797-9791

Build community connections for Maine's Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing!  Your tax-deductible gift to MCD (whether a check payable to MCD, or via payroll deduction using www.MaineShare.org  and checking the MCD box) will support our Equipment Program, peer support and language development programs, civil rights legal services, Maine Relay outreach, and Deaf notary service (by appt).

Maine's Emergency Notification System (ENS) provides its deaf and hard-of-hearing residents with emergency information. The ENS sends written versions of Emergency Alert System (EAS) notices and county-specific alerts to participating deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals via email. Participants may use their own pagers or other email compatible devices to receive alerts, or they may apply to the Maine Center on Deafness (MCD) for equipment/service for reduced or no cost.

BACKGROUND
In January 1998, a major ice storm caused widespread power outages and treacherous driving conditions across the state of Maine, trapping many residents inside of their homes. While the hearing-enabled were able to obtain information about the storm through battery-operated radios, the deaf were isolated in their homes without any information on the storm, driving conditions, or power situation.

Following this incident, the non-profit MCD began sponsoring formal discussions on the issue. Arthur Cleaves, director of the Maine Emergency Management Agency (MEMA), and Jan Devinney, director of the Maine Division of Deafness (DoD), attended these discussions and recognized the need for their agencies to partner with the MCD to provide a solution to this problem. The MCD, MEMA, and DoD then began a collaborative effort to increase public and legislature awareness of the issue.

In 2001, the Maine legislature created a study group to examine an emergency alert notification system for deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals. Two years later, the legislature implemented the study group?s legislative recommendation to include emergency alert equipment in Maine's Communications Equipment Program, a program which provides specialized telecommunications equipment for persons with disabilities.

The MEMA agreed to develop the technical components of the system to receive and forward emergency alerts automatically. Following the completion of the system, the MCD began promoting the program and distributing equipment within the deaf and hard-of-hearing community. In March 2005, Maine's ENS was officially launched.

GOALS
Maine's ENS provides the deaf and hard-of-hearing residents of Maine with immediate emergency information.

DESCRIPTION
Maine's deaf and hard-of-hearing can immediately receive various kinds of emergency alerts from the MEMA. The MEMA uses a web-linked database, which automatically receives, filters, and forwards emergency information. Maine's deaf and hard-of-hearing can also apply for free or price-reduced pagers to receive such messages at the MCD.

Alerts
ENS participants automatically receive all EAS notices and MEMA alerts. EAS notices?the most significant emergency alerts?are issued statewide to all counties. EAS notices include National Weather Service (NWS) Warnings and Maine Department of Public Safety (DPS) Amber Alerts.

In addition to EAS notices, participants have the option to receive county-specific alerts. Individuals can choose to receive county-specific emergency alerts from the following agencies:

• NWS alerts concerning the weather, hydrology, and climate; DPS alerts concerning the protection and safety of Maine's citizens; and Maine Department of Transportation (DoT) alerts concerning Maine's highways, bridges, airports, ports, railroads, and public transportation.

Alert Notification
Maine's Office of Information Technology (OIT), under the funding and direction of MEMA, developed a database to receive and recognize all NWS and DoT digitally coded messages automatically. Received messages are automatically filtered to include only messages of significant emergency information. For example, a major bridge or highway closure would be recognized as significant, while a neighborhood road closure would not. Emergency messages are then automatically sent via email (in groups of 25 or less to avoid spam recognition) to appropriate individuals, according to their county residence and alert preferences. Most participants are immediately notified as they receive an instant text message on their individual pager. The entire process takes about 5-10 minutes.

The MEMA and DPS are integrated into the database as well, but they issue their alerts manually. Public Information Officers (PIOs) in each agency have password-protected access to the database. Protocols enable the PIOs to submit emergency information into the database in a timely manner, usually immediately following a press release or public information notice. Information is entered into a standard template to ensure concise, consistent, and appropriate language.

Equipment and Service Costs
The MCD provides equipment and service to deaf citizens of Maine on a sliding scale. Individuals whose income is less than 225% of the poverty level are eligible to receive equipment and service free-of-charge. The MCD provides:

• One-way pagers by Northeast Paging that receive unlimited text messages; and National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Emergency Weather Alert Radio with LCD screen that receive only NWS alerts and are not compatible with the ENS

All free equipment becomes the property and responsibility of the participant. Free pagers will not be replaced for at least three years. The MCD will provide the individual with a NOAA emergency alert stationary radio if a free pager is stolen, lost, or damaged. Deaf citizens of Maine who own their own pagers may request to receive emergency alerts free-of-charge.

Information Manual
The MCD, with assistance from the MEMA, developed an emergency information manual which contains instructions on how to stay safe during different types of emergencies. The manual is used as a reference companion for emergency alerts. For example, following a NWS tornado warning alert, the MEMA may send a follow-up alert with additional information. This follow-up alert may instruct the participant to refer to a certain page number of the manual for recommended actions during a tornado. Utilizing the manual in this manner helps to relay important information without exceeding pager character limits (incoming pager messages are restricted to 220 characters). This manual is given to all participants receiving equipment.

Joining the Program
The ENS is only available to Maine residents with proven hearing loss. To join the program, individuals must contact the MCD office or visit the MCD website for an application. Applicants who do not wish to receive free or reduced equipment need only to provide Proof-of-Disability with the application. If an applicant chooses to receive alerts beyond the standard EAS notices, he or she may specify the additional alerts they wish to receive and the county they wish to receive it for. Applicants who wish to receive free or discounted equipment must also provide Proof-of-Income to determine eligibility.

REQUIREMENTS
Keys to Success

• Awareness of Issue. Many hearing individuals are not aware of the difficulties deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals have in receiving emergency information. A deaf community advocacy group was important for promoting public and legislature awareness of the issue. Jan Devinney and other deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals provided compelling testimony of the need for the system to a number of key individuals. This was important in getting support and cooperation from various organizations.
• Partnerships. Close collaboration and coordination between the MEMA, MCD, and DoD was key to the success of the ENS. Each organization contributed its respective expertise and available resources in developing and executing the program. They were also successful in gathering support from other organizations, such as the DPS and OIT, in developing the system.

Resources
The MEMA provided $15,000 out of its annual budget for the development of the database and other technical components of the ENS. Maine's Communications Equipment Program provided $26,000 for the purchasing and distribution of emergency notification equipment. Funding for the Communications Equipment Program comes from the Maine Universal Service Fund, which is financed by surcharge on telephone use in Maine.

We all have done it - the Legislature passed LD 1514, a law requiring insurers in Maine to provide health insurance benefits to cover hearing aids to Maine's children! Governor Baldacci signed the bill into law on June 28, 2007. Congratulations and huge thanks to you all for your passionate - and sustained over several years - advocacy on this issue.

Here are the details. The law will go into effect as of January 1, 2008. If you have a health insurance policy that is either issued or renewed after that date, your insurer must provide your children with a $1,400 per ear benefit once every three years. We believe that this benefit will apply whether your insurer is in Maine or your insurer is out of state but providing a policy in Maine.

As of January 1, 2008, children aged zero to five will be eligible for the benefit. As of January 1, 2009, children aged six to 13 will be eligible for the benefit.

As of January 1, 2010, children aged 14 to 18 will be eligible for the benefit.

Here's a link to the version of the bill that passed, finally: http://www.mainelegislature.org/legis/bills/billtexts/LD151404.asp

COMMENTS OR SUGGESTIONS REGARDING IMPORTANT INITIATIVES ARE WELCOME.

If you have questions or need any additional information, please contact Amy Sneirson or call 1-800-639-3884 Voice/TTY