Miss-Delectable
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Deaf services funds threatened | The News Star | thenewsstar.com
Services to the northern Louisiana deaf community are threatened.
For more than two decades, I've had the pleasure of serving as executive director of several nonprofits in our region. The Betty and Leonard Phillips Deaf Action Center has been the envy of nonprofits in northern Louisiana for its quality of interpreting and assisted listening device services provided to their clients, their strong programming, and their 30 years of diligent hard work.
According to DAC's management, the organization recently lost two critical contracts they've held for more than 28 years. These contracts are worth $260,000 over a 3-year period and are essential for the center to continue to operate at its high standards.
Without regard for their rich history, the current executive director of the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf has provided limited, and in some cases, inaccurate, information to the LCD regarding DAC's performance. Consequently, LCD, acting with limited time before the new state fiscal year, awarded these contracts to another agency with very little working knowledge of deafness, deaf culture, limited experience in working with the deaf community and no qualified or certified interpreters. The northwestern Louisiana deaf community was not consulted and will be losing some of the vital services it has had in the past and which they certainly deserve in the future. This is a terrible blow for a group that has worked hard to be an important and productive part of northwest Louisiana.
I recently attended an open community forum addressing this issue and the deaf community is justly outraged. DAC clients made it clear that they not only support DAC, but they are very happy with the services they have received.
I believe the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf should have consulted the deaf community about how they felt before making this change. I do not support giving contracts to an agency that does not have the experience, the knowledge or the resources to serve the deaf.
Legislators, I implore you to lead and represent our deaf community. Look into this injustice, which appears to be nothing more than a revengeful personal conflict between two personalities, which is negatively affecting our community.
Robert K. Darrow
Services to the northern Louisiana deaf community are threatened.
For more than two decades, I've had the pleasure of serving as executive director of several nonprofits in our region. The Betty and Leonard Phillips Deaf Action Center has been the envy of nonprofits in northern Louisiana for its quality of interpreting and assisted listening device services provided to their clients, their strong programming, and their 30 years of diligent hard work.
According to DAC's management, the organization recently lost two critical contracts they've held for more than 28 years. These contracts are worth $260,000 over a 3-year period and are essential for the center to continue to operate at its high standards.
Without regard for their rich history, the current executive director of the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf has provided limited, and in some cases, inaccurate, information to the LCD regarding DAC's performance. Consequently, LCD, acting with limited time before the new state fiscal year, awarded these contracts to another agency with very little working knowledge of deafness, deaf culture, limited experience in working with the deaf community and no qualified or certified interpreters. The northwestern Louisiana deaf community was not consulted and will be losing some of the vital services it has had in the past and which they certainly deserve in the future. This is a terrible blow for a group that has worked hard to be an important and productive part of northwest Louisiana.
I recently attended an open community forum addressing this issue and the deaf community is justly outraged. DAC clients made it clear that they not only support DAC, but they are very happy with the services they have received.
I believe the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf should have consulted the deaf community about how they felt before making this change. I do not support giving contracts to an agency that does not have the experience, the knowledge or the resources to serve the deaf.
Legislators, I implore you to lead and represent our deaf community. Look into this injustice, which appears to be nothing more than a revengeful personal conflict between two personalities, which is negatively affecting our community.
Robert K. Darrow