Monroe County Bar Assn. unveils Deaf Equal Access Fund

Daily Record (Rochester, NY), Mar 29, 2005 by Jill Miller

Deaf and hard of hearing residents of Monroe County now have unrestricted access to the services offered by the legal community thanks to the efforts of the Monroe County Bar Association.

The MCBA has launched a new program called the Deaf Equal Access Fund (DEAFund) in order to meet the legal needs of the local deaf and hard of hearing population. The MCBA has partnered with DePaul Interpreting Services in an effort to offer access to affordable and competent interpreter services to attorneys who have deaf or hard of hearing clients.

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This new program also ensures the MCBA is in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requirements. Michael Wolford, president of the MCBA established the Deaf Awareness Task Force to address the issue after a local attorney allegedly failed to provide services to a deaf client.

Some say, from every problem rises an opportunity, Wolford said. We didn't want a situation like this to happen again. The task force was asked to come up with guidelines in order to ensure our compliance with the ADA.

Thanks to a grant from the Foundation of the Monroe County Bar, the MCBA will reimburse any member attorney the cost of an interpreter for the first client meeting, (not to exceed two hours). The bar association will also reimburse any member attorney for up to 50 percent of the cost of an interpreter, up to $150 per client.

In order to be reimbursed interpreters must be secured through DePaul Interpreting Services. Reimbursement forms are available at the MCBA.

Often people assume that lip reading is a good way to communicate with people who are deaf. It is not true, explained Matthew Starr, director of DePaul Interpreting Services. In addition, writing back and forth is not always the best way to communicate especially in situations involving complicated legal matters. A professional interpreter is the best way to communicate. It benefits both the deaf and hearing person.

The MCBA is also working to educate its members about their obligations to clients with disabilities under the ADA, with a special focus on clients who are deaf or hard of hearing. The bar association will send copies of the DEAFund guidelines to every member.

In addition, it is also hosting a continuing legal education program, titled, Deaf and Hard of Hearing Clients: How to Expand Your Practice and Stay Out of Trouble, from 12:15 to 2 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6.

We want to make sure attorneys understand what their obligations are, explained Bryan Hetherington, chair of the task force.

In addition, Spencer Phillips an attorney who runs the deaf and hard of hearing project for Greater Upstate Law Project/ Public Interest Law Office will write an article for Views. He will focus on sign language interpreters as an essential requirement for effective communication and the ADA requirements and how it affects attorneys.

The bar association will continue to seek out grant money to ensure the program continues.

Approximately 50,000 deaf and hard of hearing people call Rochester home - one of the largest deaf and hard of hearing populations in the country.

I'm thrilled the MCBA has decided to establish this program, said Alan Hurwitz, dean of the Rochester Institute of Technology's National Technical Institute for the Deaf. This program does not benefit the deaf alone. It benefits everyone involved.

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Monroe County Bar Assn. unveils Deaf Equal Access Fund

Daily Record (Rochester, NY), Mar 29, 2005 by Jill Miller

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