Support Children in Your District with Deaf-Blindness DEADLINE: March 15, 2010 by C.O.B

This is a programmatic request.

Please join us in sending a letter to the Labor-HHS-Education Subcommittee requesting a $5 million increase in funding for technical assistance and dissemination program at the Department of Education aimed at helping children who are both deaf and blind ("deafblindness"). This important program assists children who are deafblind in every district across the nation.

Today there are twice as many children with deafblindness requiring special education technical assistance services as there were 20 years ago. Yet federal funding for deafblind programs has not received any increase over those 20 years.

In 2007, approximately 10,000 children and youth in the United States were identified as deafblind (National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness, 2008). When you include families and education professionals, about 110,000 people rely on these important services.

Advances in medical science and technology have greatly enhanced the care available to infants born prematurely. Children with deafblindness are now surviving in greater numbers resulting in an increase in demand for specialized care for the deafblind.

The national project and the many state projects across the country that support the deafblind community have not had a budget increase in over 20 years. As a result, many families miss out on important services for their children such as on-site technical assistance and family instruction.

Many programs operate with personnel trained only in special education with no skills or competency in deafblindness, leaving children who are deafblind with entirely inadequate instruction.

The modest increase of $5 million in funding would expand access to on-site technical assistance, teacher training, information dissemination and training support to educational teams. We hope you agree that an increase in funding for the deafblind technical assistance and dissemination program is long overdue and that you will join us in sending this letter. For more information or to co-sign the attached letter, please contact Mitchell Robinson in my office at Mitchell.Robinson@mail.house.gov (5-2836) no later than Monday, March 15, 2010.

Sincerely,
/s Edward Markey Member of Congress
/s Michael McCaul Member of Congress