Did you know that the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division was established through the work of Minnesota's Deaf community? The story is a great example of how people working together can lead to meaningful and lasting change.

In 1977 there was no Americans with Disabilities Act; there was not even a relay service! People who were deaf had to write letters or rely on hearing family members or neighbors to make phone calls. The Department of Human Services had just one Deaf counselor working with Minnesotans who were deaf across the entire state. You can learn more about the challenges this posed to the deaf community in this video with Bob Cook and Dale Finke.

Minnesota Association of Deaf Citizens (MADC) wrote to Governor Rudy Perpich to explain the challenges. Governor Perpich established a task force and hired Dwight Maxa to study the community's needs under the State Planning Agency. In a 2011 interview, Dwight Maxa, Ph.D. talked about the project.

By 1979, the task force had a bill to propose to the legislature. That bill proposed a Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division, with regional offices around the state. It passed with unanimous support in both the House and Senate!

On April 17, 1980, Governor Quie signed the Hearing Impaired Services Act (HISA) into law. The name was updated to the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Act in 1992.

The Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Division has now provided services for 42 years. It is exciting to look back and see how far we've come.

We look forward to continuing to serve you!

ASL translation of the text on this page with English voice over and captions: