Closing the education and employment gap
Did you know that more than 3% of Oregonians are deaf?
How about the fact that 57% of Oregon’s deaf population attends some college, compared to the nationwide average of 49%?
Or that only 46% of deaf Oregonians are employed, compared to 71% of the general population?
Those statistics come from The National Deaf Center (NDC) report on post-secondary achievement in Oregon. The NDC used data from the 2017 American Community Survey to examine how employment and education after high school compares for deaf and hearing people in every state.
This report is one of many resources created by the NCD’s Engage for Change initiative—a project that aims to shrink the gaps in education and employment for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Engage for Change operates at national, state, and local levels. At the national level, NCD task groups create resources to share data, best practices and strategies to drive change forward. Each state gathers a team of leaders to look at ways to address the needs and trends unique to their state. At the local level, the work involves bringing community members together—including leaders from both the deaf and the hearing populations.
Engage for Change in Oregon
The Oregon Engage for Change committee is based in Salem, but aims to grow statewide. The members include leaders from Vocational Rehabilitation, Youth Transition Program, the Oregon School for the Deaf, Western Oregon University, and the Oregon Department of Education. Among them are Eivind Sorensen, Transition Network Facilitator for the Willamette ESD, and Eleni Boston, Interim Executive Director at the Willamette ESD.
“As we grow statewide, we are focusing on partnerships to enhance services for youth and young adults who are deaf and hard of hearing. In my experience, deaf individuals can be overlooked because of gaps in communication. Those of us who don’t use spoken language as our primary communication can’t access some things without help. That makes this an equity issue,” said Sorensen.
Boston sees the Engage for Change initiative as a way to build capacity for deaf individuals. “We want to strengthen the network of support so that it becomes seamless, whether a person is in LaGrande or Portland or Klamath Falls,” she said. “For example, students who move to new locations or who leave school should not lose their access to the communication tools and supports they depend on for success.”
Building capacity through better communication
To accomplish these goals, the committee has begun work on specific projects.
The first is a statewide directory of the resources that are most important for people who are deaf or hard of hearing, including sign language interpreters. As Boston explained, this directory would be online and openly available, allowing support professionals to quickly locate services for new clients as needed.
Along with listing services, Boston and Sorensen would like to identify resources that would address the unique needs of deaf and hard of hearing youth as they move into the working world. One example would be connecting students to deaf adults from a variety of careers who could serve as mentors and role models.
Prior to 2020, the committee hosted the Engage for Change resource fair for students and families. This event included over 25 agencies and organizations with information on technology and equipment options, advocacy groups, and county-level services. The committee hopes to bring back the resource fair or support similar efforts around the state.
Mostly, the Engage for Change initiative works to build awareness of the need for inclusive communication. That means building more understanding among the hearing population that not everyone uses spoken language, and that alternative communication should be included on a regular basis.
“We need more of the general public to get on board with non-auditory communication and technology, like ASL and sign interpreters. Another example is to always use closed captioning during virtual meetings, because you may be unaware that someone needs that. Making this universal is the key to progress in student success,” said Boston.
Learn more about the Engage for Change and National Deaf Center resource tools, or Stay current on Engage for Change progress by following their Facebook page.
