ACLU settlement with Georgia parole/probation agency
Alex (Daily Moth): The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) nationwide office announced on May 20 that they “fought for Deaf people on probation and parole in Georgia and won.”
The ACLU said after a five-year legal effort, they have reached a settlement that requires the Georgia agency responsible for supervising people on probation and parole, the Georgia Department of Community Supervision (GDCS), to stop discriminating against their deaf and hard of hearing clients.
The ACLU said the GDCS often failed to provide ASL interpreters during important meetings with deaf clients on parole or probation.
I asked West Resendes, a staff attorney with the ACLU Disability Rights Program, on what the new requirements are.
West Resendes: (The GDCS) is required to do a communication assessment for every deaf and hard of hearing person on supervision. It means that each person has to go through a process to figure out what is the best way to communicate with their officers/supervisors. The DCS (Department of Community Supervision) must do this for people currently under supervision and future people under supervision. This settlement applies to all.
One important point is that DCS agreed to provide Deaf interpreters for those who understand information better that way.
The second is ASL translation of documents. DCS will now make their written information easier to understand. Before it was only documents in English. Now they have to provide interpreters, or ASL videos, or simpler English. DCS has to be creative now. They can’t just hand over papers and tell clients to follow it.
The third thing, which is big, is that (DCS) is required to make classes in their program accessible. One part of supervision that people are often required to do is attend classes or programs such as anger management or on how to stop using drugs. But these classes are often not accessible. The groups that provide classes refuse to provide interpreters. But now the DCS has to make sure these classes provide interpreters or other accommodations. That’s a huge change.
These three things are big steps in making progress.
Alex: I reached out to one of the lead plaintiffs in the settlement, a Deaf man named Brandon Cobb. His name is here on the court document. He served prison time in Georgia and experienced firsthand various communication breakdowns. He will share one experience.
Brandon Cobb: I remember when I was in prison, I got out April 1, 2019. I was finally free after a long time in prison. Wow. Two days later I went to the parole office with my sister. My sister told them, “My brother is deaf and we need an interpreter.” The office was unprepared to bring in an interpreter. There were none. It was tough to communicate. They gave me a stack of papers that I couldn’t understand. My reading level is very low. I’m good at signing with ASL. I grew up in a Deaf school and I’m used to it. The papers had a lot of big words and I couldn’t understand. It required signatures. I thought in my head, if I refuse to sign and follow their rules, would that mean I have to go back to prison? I didn’t know. I didn’t want to risk my life. So I just went ahead with signing the documents. I didn’t understand anything. I just wanted it over with and I left.
Alex: Brandon said he’s pleased with the communication assessment because not every deaf person is the same.
Brandon: Are Deaf people all the same? No, they are different. Their education levels vary. It’s very important to do an assessment to see what clients’ skills are with books, languages, English, reading, or signing. The assessor can determine what skills people have. It depends on the person. I took an assessment two weeks ago. They said I was strong with ASL. My reading level is low. My English writing skills are bad. So they looked at everything and understood that I was to use a CDI only. That would calm things down. I told them to be sure that other Deaf people under probation/parole have an assessment to determine their skills. I care a lot and want to see others feel happy and comfortable.
Alex: The ACLU said GDCS is required to, for the next four years, to prove that they are complying with the agreement. ACLU said they will still be in touch with deaf clients to make sure they get accommodations they need.
-——
Sponsored video by Convo: www.convorelay.com
———
[Advertisement from DDH] If you or someone you know is Deaf or Hard of Hearing and needs emotional support related to a disaster, the Disaster Distress Helpline offers a direct videophone option for American Sign Language (ASL) users.
This 24/7 service is staffed by trained crisis workers fluent in ASL. You can access it by:Dialing 1-800-985-5990 on any videophone-enabled device.
Visiting the DDH website at disasterdistress.samhsa.gov & clicking "ASL Now"Don't hesitate to reach out if you or a loved one is struggling. Help is available.
———
Alex: I reached out to Vyron Kinson, a Certified Deaf Interpreter who is working out of Atlanta, Georgia. I asked him on his feelings on whether the GDCS will be ready and willing to provide interpreters and CDIs.
Vyron Kinson: Based on my gut feeling and vibes, I just hope they will do their job. Just do it. Zip up and just do your job. You know, the (DCS) staff has high turnover. I just hope that whoever has information will share it so it can be followed up on and not fall through the cracks. If they won’t, I guess it’s going to be another lawsuit and another round of expenses. Another time-consuming thing that should have been taken care of a long time ago. Do I feel that (DCS) will do it? I don’t know. Based on their attitude. But again, they don’t want to be sued. That means they should do it.
Alex: I asked Vyron to share any situations he’s seen where deaf people suffered because they didn’t have good communication access.
Vyron: Often, based on what I remember from others, if someone didn’t follow instructions that they didn’t know about, or missed, or didn’t realize something meant something, they’ll be put in jail. No questions asked. Police won’t be understanding. They’ll just put them in jail. That often causes (Deaf) people to feel discouraged. They think, “I’m back again. I just started getting a home. I just got into a relationship.” So it makes them feel depressed and disappointed. Really, often (Deaf) clients don’t know. Or they missed something. They didn’t know what a document meant. Or maybe a parole office in a certain area is the one they should have attended. They didn’t know. Or with telephone (VP) — often a parole officer will not want to leave a message or don’t know how to leave a message and hang up. But really, they should leave a message! Often (parole officers) don’t know that they typically will get an interpreter to answer the phone and they are willing to sign a message or type down a phone number. The deaf client will see the number eventually. But the parole officers don’t know.
Alex: Vyron said CDIs do use remote interpreting services so that would be an option for the GDCS and its deaf clients, but it is only effective if there is a good internet service.
I reached out to the GDCS to ask what they are now doing to make sure that they would comply with the terms of the settlement, but I did not get a response.