Addressing disparities in access to behavioral health services to deaf or hard of hearing Coloradans: Assessment of provider capacity and readiness for training and technical assistance

The Daylight Project is funded by a grant from Colorado's Statewide Strategic Use Fund to the Mental Health Center of Denver in collaboration with the Colorado Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and is a direct outcome of Colorado's Deaf & Hard of Hearing Mental Health & Substance Abuse Action Plan. The Project has several key objectives, including the statewide assessment of provider needs, development and implementation of training curricula that address providers' administrative, technology, and clinical needs to serve d/hoh individuals, consumer and family advocacy and leadership development, the development and adoption of Guidelines for Care, and sustainability planning.

This presentation will focus on the development, conduct, and results of 1) statewide Training and Technology Assessment of public mental health and substance abuse providers' capacity to provide and readiness to enhance culturally/linguistically competent services to d/hoh individuals, particularly those in poverty and at risk of family destabilization, and 2) assessment of providers' needs from the perspective of consumers/family members. We will describe:

1.The engagement of internal and external stakeholders 2.The online survey instrument for providers, including approaches to assess clinical and assistive technology experience, use of sign language interpreters, skills, knowledge, cultural/linguistic policies, and accommodations 3.The methods used to engage and collect data from consumers who are d/hoh and their families, many of whom have had little or no voice in the service community 4.Results 5.How the results informed the project's training and technology component