Strategic Vision for a National Collaborative Service Delivery System

Meeting the needs of low functioning deaf individuals to assist them to be meaningfully employed and function independently at home and in the community

The NAD has always had an ongoing interest about the unmet need for access to effective services for those youths and adults identified as "low functioning," to allow them to be meaningfully employed and to function independently at home and in the community of their choice.

To address this important issue, a "LFD Strategic Workgroup" was formed with the NAD as a leading member. The workgroup put together existing research and data to come up with a proposed collaborative national service delivery system to individuals identified as "low functioning deaf" (LFD). To further this goal, a Position Paper was developed.

The Position Paper presents a strategic vision for a collaborative, national approach designed to address the unmet needs of deaf and hard of hearing individuals that are most at risk, those individuals traditionally identified as low functioning deaf (LFD). The paper is the product of the LFD Strategic Work Group, a group convened by the Postsecondary Education Programs Network (PEPNet) through their grant with the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) and endorsed by the Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA), both components of the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education.  The Work Group includes federal program managers, national consumer leaders, researchers and professionals from the field. 

The paper is intended to expand the ongoing discussion between service programs, educational programs, schools, advocates, research centers and federal program representatives regarding the challenges that individuals who are labeled LFD present to the public education and rehabilitation systems. More importantly, this paper should result in a call for action to mobilize the deaf community, policy makers and federal program professionals toward the establishment of a national approach that will assist at risk LFD individuals to become meaningfully employed through traditional and non-traditional means, and to function independently at home and in the community.

National consumer groups, federal policy makers, researchers and concerned professionals in the field have struggled with how to best provide services and social supports to this population since the 1940s. One area of consensus among these groups is clear – the needs of the LFD population will continue to go unmet through existing service delivery systems.  Experience has demonstrated when comprehensive, specialized services are provided by skilled professionals and the appropriate environmental and social supports are available in the community, LFD youth and adults can become economically and socially self-sufficient and lead full and productive lives.  The model for a National Collaborative Service Delivery System outlined in the LFD Position Paper provides the framework for meeting that goal.

Envisioning the National Collaborative Service Delivery System is only the first step toward realizing this goal.  Much still needs to be done to educate Congressional decision-makers and to achieve the buy-in and support of the deaf community.  With the dissemination of this Position Paper, we move toward the next phase of our work, obtaining the support and endorsement of key stakeholder and constituents, including organizations such as your own.  To that end, we invite you to join in the creation of the future for those left behind and ask you to endorse this effort. We welcome your feedback and any ideas you have on how we may more effectively collaborate towards realizing the vision outlined in our paper.

URL for this site: http://www.nad.org/lfd