Funding Sources: Office of Deaf and Hard of Hearing, City of Seattle, private
donations, fundraising events and foundation grants
Eligibility: DeafBlind Washington residents, ages 18 and older receive up to
20 hours a month. New DeafBlind persons must be a Washington resident
before receiving any CN services and once s/he becomes a resident, the person
will then go through intake screening to determine eligibility. Guidelines are reviewed with all new
consumers. New DeafBlind participants
with no experience of using a CN are required to take “How to Use CN Service”
training.
Number of Individuals Served: 73
Preferred Terminology: CoNavigator
Certification/Endorsement: We do not have training CEUs but have created a professional
development team to look into options.
Types of Service Requests: grocery shopping, errands, material reading, basic banking, self-care
activities such as exercise and attending social activities, and transportation
to airport, train or bus station.
Training Requirements: CNs - (10-15, depending on experience) 15 hours of training and must already be fluent in ASL (minimum ASL
3). Exemption from ASL skills depends on
the need for hearing CNs to work with non-ASL hard of hearing consumers
preferring oral communication. DBSC
provides training on guiding, how to convey visual and environmental
information to DeafBlind participants, and includes some basic Protactile
techniques. DBSC also provides workshops
about DeafBlind culture and other workshops.
Program Coordination: 10 – 20 hours month depending on available funding by the state.
Transportation: CNs provide transportation.
SSP Pay Rate: The program pays CNs $25/hour.
The DeafBlind client is responsible to pay for mileage. If the assignment takes over one hour to get
to and from home, then we add travel time but that only occurs occasionally.
Other: Some
CN services are paid and some are volunteered. CNs are required to have
driver’s license and auto insurance to be copied and filed. A background check
is also required. CN mentorships are also offered to CNs to gain skills
and confidence. During mentorship, the mentor is paid while the CN
volunteers their time.