New staff, education conferences, mental health day treatment program, and more
6/7/2023 6:42:30 PM
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Hello everyone! I’m Darlene Zangara and I’m the Executive Director of the Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing. I am a white woman with blond hair, glasses, and wearing all black.
I’m happy to announce that Keith Doane has been hired to be our new Business Operations Director. Keith is originally from Minnesota and graduated from Gallaudet University in 2014 with a degree in Government with a concentration in International Relations. He has extensive work experience and most recently worked with the Genius Bar team at Apple, Inc. Please join me in welcoming Keith back to Minnesota!
Last March, I shared a little about Danelle Gournaris, the Collaborative Plan Program Director, attending two conferences related to Deaf Education. This month, I will share more about both conferences as well as a third conference.
The first conference was hosted by the Council of Exceptional Children, CEC. The CEC is the largest international professional organization dedicated to improving the success of children and youth with disabilities. Approximately 4,000 participants attended the in-person conference. Within CEC, there is a subgroup, the Division for Communication, Language, and Deaf/Hard of Hearing (DCD), in which Danelle participated in. DCD supports children with communication, language, and learning needs as well as the children’s families and service providers.
The second conference Danelle attended was the National Early Hearing Detection and Intervention Conference (EHDI). Conference participants learned more about the successful strategies for implementing comprehensive state-based EHDI programs, including screening, audiology diagnosis, early intervention services, reporting, tracking, and other related components of EHDI.
They also discuss the importance of creating new and ongoing working relationships among federal agencies, non-profit organizations, state health departments and educational agencies, advocacy groups, and families.
Danelle participated in an instructional session focusing on developing a coordinated Statewide System of Earliest Interactions for Families: A Family-centered Cyclical Approach. The development of this system required relationship building, thoughtful planning, coordination, and continuous reflection.
Through these activities, Danelle is happy to report that Minnesota is a progressive state with a great collaborative relationship with several different state departments, such as the Minnesota Department of Health, Minnesota Department of Education, etc. Most of the other topics that Danelle attended were related to language acquisition and tracking. She brought what she has learned back to Minnesota, and continues the relationship building, and making positive systemic changes with the Collaborative Plan group members.
In April, Danelle attended a third conference, the Conference of Educational Administrators of Schools and Programs for the Deaf (CEASD).
The Mental Health Day Treatment Program hosted by the Commission, Volunteer of America, MN & WI DHH Program, and the Minnesota State Academy of the Deaf
team sent out a statewide survey during January and February. At the end of February, the result of the survey was collected.
According to the study, our team learned the top four mental health issues people who completed the survey are seeing in our DHH youth are:
Most mental health issues are currently identified in the 11-14 age group. More than half use spoken English as a primary method of communication.
Currently, the team is discussing the implementation and curriculum of the program based on the results and will coordinate a program that is accessible to everyone, including consideration of communication modalities. The team continues to navigate the program planning and the educational components that fit the diverse needs of deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing students.
Our goal is to open this program by the fall of 2023, but this initiative all depends on the funding, staffing, training, and the progress of the program’s implementation.
On a side note, Mental Health Day Treatment Program for Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing Youth, is included in HF2497 and SF2684. This bill is part of the Governor’s proposed budget and will provide funding to create a sustainable statewide mental health day treatment program for deaf, deafblind, and hard of hearing youth. (Update: This was successfully passed into law since the date this video was recording. The Commission will send out a legislative wrap-up.)
I hope you’ve all seen recent information shared through email and seen videos regarding the Interpreting Forward 2030 Project! This initiative is laying the groundwork to improve the quality and availability of interpreting services in Minnesota. This is an exciting time for us as a community to come together and work collaboratively on this issue. The Commission has hired the Dendros Group to facilitate this project. This project will continue through the end of this year with implementation planned for that start of next year. Updates will be shared as the project progresses. Again, I invite each and every one of you to sign up for this project to be a part of the working groups or to be interviewed sharing your feedback and experiences about interpreting services in Minnesota. We need your perspective! Feel free to reach out with any questions or concerns to Dendros by email, InterpretingForward@dendros.com. sign up for the Commission’s social media to always be kept informed. In the future I’ll be announcing additional opportunities for participation, including community interviews and a survey.
The Minnesota Olmstead Implementation Office hosted a lunch and learn about Minnesota State Boards and Commissions on April 26th. They invited Rebecca Thomas (chair) and Michele Isham (vice-chair) to share information about their experience on serving on the board. Thank you OIO!
The Commission was able to participate in two community events and had an exhibitor booth. The first event was the Deaf Culture Language and Careers event on April 13. The second event was the Deaf Awareness Day on April 29. We had a great time connecting with community members at both events. Thanks for stopping by our booth!
Here are pictures of the recent events.
I will send out another update next month. Please let me know if there is any information you would like me to share in a future update. You can contact me by email, darlene.g.zangara@state.mn.us. Thank you!
Featuring Dr. Darlene G. Zangara, Executive Director. The Minnesota Commission of the Deaf, DeafBlind & Hard of Hearing thanks:
Daria Goede for voiceover.
Keystone Interpreting Solutions for film production.
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