Please submit your ideas to the Obama Administration

Note: Please visit www.change.gov. Click on American Moment. Share your ideas.

Here is what I submitted this morning:

I work at the Center for Independent Living of South Florida, and want to share an idea concerning enhancing services to rape survivors and domestic violence survivors with disabilities, particularly those who are deaf or hard of hearing and who rely on American Sign Language as their primary means of communication. Far too often, victims of rape or domestic violence who are deaf or hard of hearing are forced to communicate with law enforcement, rape treatment staff, and domestic violence staff without the assistance of a qualified sign language interpreter. On many occasions, the cost of hiring a sign language interpreter is a major concern to the service provider, particularly now, with the state of the economy.

My recommendation is to have the federal government subsidize these services. Can the Office on Violence Against Women, OVC, HHS, and other federal programs include money for these services when issuing grants?

In addition, many rape treatment centers and domestic violence shelters do not keep track of people with disabilities they have served. Can the federal government require them to keep track, to assess the demand for these services?

Thank you.
marc