{"id":16627,"date":"2011-11-14T02:55:28","date_gmt":"2011-11-14T07:55:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/?p=16627"},"modified":"2011-11-14T04:28:15","modified_gmt":"2011-11-14T09:28:15","slug":"david-myers-of-dars-dhhs-retirement-highlight","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/11\/14\/david-myers-of-dars-dhhs-retirement-highlight\/","title":{"rendered":"David Myers of DARS-DHHS – Retirement Highlight"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>David Myers of DARS-DHHS – Retirement Highlight<\/strong><\/p>\n

News Flash!<\/p>\n

David Myers who has served for 18 years as Director of DARS, Office for Deaf\u00a0and Hard of Hearing Services (DHHS) and as Executive Director, Texas\u00a0Commission for the Deaf has announced that he will retire on December 31,\u00a02011. Among his most noteworthy accomplishments are the Resource Specialist\u00a0Program that provides services statewide, the development of new BEI\u00a0interpreter tests and development of Hispanic Trilingual interpreter tests,\u00a0both in partnership with the University of Arizona.<\/p>\n

In recent months he again partnered with the University of Arizona to obtain\u00a0federal funding to develop deaf interpreter tests. Below is a listing of the\u00a0accomplishments of David and his staff over the period of 1993-2011.<\/p>\n

* Staff increased from 7 to the current 45, which includes 18 in the DHHS\u00a0office, plus 27 full-time contracted staff providing services at locations\u00a0throughout the state and budget increased by over 400% from a budget of a\u00a0little over a million to over 4 million.<\/p>\n

* Created a Hard of Hearing Program and established a Hearing Loss\u00a0Specialist position to focus on the needs of hard of hearing and late\u00a0deafened populations.<\/p>\n

* Created a Trilingual Task Force to assess communication and services\u00a0needs of the state\u2019s Hispanic deaf and hard of hearing population and to\u00a0focus on trilingual interpreting needs.<\/p>\n

* Created a Hard of Hearing Task Force to assess and give input to the needs\u00a0of the hard of hearing and late-deafened populations.<\/p>\n

* Partnered with Texas PUC and with the deaf and hard of hearing communities\u00a0to effect legislative enactment of the Specialized Telecommunications\u00a0Assistance Program, a voucher program that provides assistance for eligible\u00a0persons who need assistance for accessing the telephone systems. The program\u00a0issued more than 27,000 vouchers in the past year.<\/p>\n

* Created the Resource Specialist Program through the legislative budget\u00a0process to provide outreach services statewide. The Program currently funds\u00a014 Deafness Resource Specialists and 12 Hearing Loss Resource Specialist and\u00a01 Transition Outreach Specialist through contracts with community partners.<\/p>\n

* Created a Training and Education Program to coordinate and provide\u00a0training and advocacy for deaf and hard of hearing consumers, their\u00a0families, service providers, employers and government agencies. The\u00a0activities of this program includes leadership training for deaf and hard of\u00a0hearing adults and for youth groups.<\/p>\n

* Created a funding mechanism and with the BEI Board initiated test\u00a0development activities with the University of Arizona to develop new valid\u00a0and reliable BEI interpreter certification tests. Two states, Michigan and\u00a0Illinois, contract for use of these tests.<\/p>\n

* Created a Court Interpreter Certification process through legislation\u00a0that has enhanced equal access in the courts for the deaf and hard of\u00a0hearing populations. Court Interpreter training is provided on a continuous\u00a0basis.<\/p>\n

* Created the Texas Interpreter Education Series in partnership with SWCID\u00a0at Big Spring to annually offer week -long training for interpreters to\u00a0upgrade their skills. This includes specialty training for ASL interpreters,\u00a0Hispanic trilingual interpreters, and deaf interpreters.<\/p>\n

* Created a team to partner with the University of Arizona to obtain federal\u00a0grant funding for the Texas Trilingual Initiative, to develop the first-ever\u00a0Hispanic trilingual interpreter certification tests.<\/p>\n

* Created a team to partner with the University of Arizona to obtain federal\u00a0grant funding for the Deaf Interpreter Certification Project which is
\ncurrently in the beginning stages of development.<\/p>\n

* Maintained continuity of Camp Sign, a summer program for deaf and hard of\u00a0hearing children now in its 30th year; continuation of the Senior Citizens\u00a0Program that provides support for deaf and hard of hearing senior citizens\u00a0projects in local communities statewide; and continuation of an expanding\u00a0statewide program of interpreter services coordination for state agencies\u00a0that has greatly enhances access to services for consumers who are deaf or\u00a0hard of hearing.<\/p>\n

To learn more about DARS-DHHS, go to http:\/\/www.dars.state.tx.us\/dhhs\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

David Myers of DARS-DHHS – Retirement Highlight News Flash! David Myers who has served for 18 years as Director of DARS, Office for Deaf\u00a0and Hard of Hearing Services (DHHS) and as Executive Director, Texas\u00a0Commission for the Deaf has announced that…<\/p>\n

Read more →<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[2],"tags":[6083,167,5243,87,1387,11137,11547,2740,24,11544,11546,3127,1412,11552,3247,11545,4657,3323,11149,11543,11550,3305,71,884,11548,11549,11553,3502,11551],"class_list":["post-16627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-deaf-news","tag-asl-interpreters","tag-bei","tag-camp-sign","tag-children","tag-consumers","tag-court-interpreter","tag-court-interpreter-certification","tag-david-myers","tag-deaf","tag-deaf-interpreter-certification-project","tag-deaf-interpreters","tag-deafness-resource-specialists","tag-hard-of-hearing","tag-hard-of-hearing-task-force","tag-hearing-loss-resource-specialist","tag-hispanic-trilingual-interpreters","tag-puc","tag-resource-specialist-program","tag-retirement","tag-senior-citizens-program","tag-specialized-telecommunications-assistance-program","tag-stap","tag-swcid","tag-training","tag-training-and-education-program","tag-transition-outreach-specialist","tag-trilingual-task-force","tag-university-of-arizona","tag-vouchers"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p752R-4kb","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3720,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/07\/24\/darsdhhs-trilingual-interpreter-training\/","url_meta":{"origin":16627,"position":0},"title":"DARS\/DHHS Trilingual Interpreter Training","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"July 24, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"DARS\/DHHS Trilingual Interpreter Training DARS\/Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (DHHS) has Hispanic trilingual interpreter training under way this week at SWCID in Big Spring. This training, from July 20-25, is the second such trilingual training offered by DARS-DHHS, and is a pioneering effort, since this is a\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":10352,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2010\/05\/03\/bei-hispanic-trilingual-interpreter-certification\/","url_meta":{"origin":16627,"position":1},"title":"BEI Hispanic Trilingual Interpreter Certification","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"May 3, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Terrell I. Murphy Commissioner Texas BEI Hispanic Trilingual Interpreter Certification Begins Texas has more than 1,200 miles of border with Mexico and an ever-growing population of citizens of Hispanic descent, and Spanish is still the first language for many of them. Deaf children of Spanish speaking families go to school\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":6732,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2009\/06\/16\/dars-dhhs-sponors-interpreter-training-at-swcid\/","url_meta":{"origin":16627,"position":2},"title":"DARS-DHHS Sponors Interpreter Training at SWCID","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"June 16, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"DARS-DHHS SPONSORS INTERPRETER TRAINING AT SWCID Once again the DARS Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (DHHS), as a part of its 2009 Texas Interpreter Education Series, made a gallant effort to upgrade interpreter skills by providing what is called \u201cweek-long training\u201d at SWCID in Big Spring. This\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":15970,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2011\/09\/23\/deaf-interpreter-test-development\/","url_meta":{"origin":16627,"position":3},"title":"Deaf Interpreter Test Development","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"September 23, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Deaf Interpreter Test Development This is to share some great news. In January of this year DARS\/DHHS\/BEI partnered with the National Center for Interpretation Testing, Research and Policy (NCITRP) University of Arizona, to draft and submit a grant funding proposal to the U.S. Department of Education, entitled DEAF INTERPRETER CERTIFICATION\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4402,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/10\/06\/dars-dhhs-drs-accomplishments-2008-fiscal-year\/","url_meta":{"origin":16627,"position":4},"title":"DARS: DHHS & DRS Accomplishments 2008 Fiscal Year","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"October 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"This is DARS update report regarding services and accomplishments for the 2008 fiscal year that ended August 30. This includes the Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services (DHHS) and The Division of Rehabilitation Services (DRS). DARS Serves More Deaf and Hard of Hearing Consumers \u201cThe number of deaf,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3874,"url":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/2008\/08\/16\/texas-darsdhhs-activities\/","url_meta":{"origin":16627,"position":5},"title":"Texas DARS\/DHHS Activities","author":"Grant Laird Jr","date":"August 16, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Terrell I. Murphy Commissioner DARS\/OFFICE FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING SERVICES ACTIVITIES PROVIDE BENEFITS FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN AND COURT INTERPRETERS Not even Hurricane Eduardo could spoil the fun and learning experience for 110 children who are deaf or hard of hearing who were enjoying Camp\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "General"","block_context":{"text":"General","link":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/blog\/category\/deaf-news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16627"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16637,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16627\/revisions\/16637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/deafnetwork.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}