[EAS] FCC Grants $10M for Deaf-Blind Equipment

Mon Jun 22 15:17:46 CDT 2015

Released by the Commission today.

DA 15-722

June 22, 2015 

CONSUMER AND GOVERNMENTAL AFFAIRS BUREAU 

announces 2015-2016 allocations for the 

national deaf-blind equipment distribution program

Washington, D.C. – The Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau (CGB or
Bureau) of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announces the funding
allocations for the National Deaf-Blind Equipment Distribution Program
(NDBEDP), also called “iCanConnect,” for the 2015-2016 fund year.

The NDBEDP is a program mandated by section 105 of the Twenty-First Century
Communications and Video Accessibility Act (CVAA) that provides funding of
up to $10 million annually for the distribution of communications equipment
to low-income individuals who are deaf-blind.[1]  In 2011, the Commission
established the framework for a pilot program to fulfill this CVAA
mandate.[2]  The Bureau launched the NDBEDP pilot program on July 1,
2012.[3]  At present, there are 53 entities certified by the Commission to
participate in the NDBEDP – one entity to distribute communications
equipment in each state, plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands.[4]   

For each year of the pilot program, the Commission sets aside $500,000 of
the $10 million annually allocated for the NDBEDP for national outreach
efforts.[5]  The remaining $9.5 million of annual funding is used to
reimburse NDBEDP certified programs for the reasonable costs of operating
their programs in compliance with the Commission’s NDBEDP rules.[6]  Funding
allocations for each year of the pilot program have been calculated by
allocating a minimum base amount of $50,000 for each jurisdiction plus a
portion of the remaining available funding in an amount proportionate to the
population of each jurisdiction.[7]  Allocations for the upcoming 2015-2016
fund year have been calculated by using the same formula, using the most
current census population estimates.  These allocations are as follows:[8]

State

NDBEDP Certified Program

Funding Allocation

for 2015-2016

Alabama

Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind

$152,998 

Alaska

Assistive Technology of Alaska

$65,648 

Arizona

Perkins School for the Blind

$192,974 

Arkansas

Perkins School for the Blind

$113,004 

California

Lighthouse for the Blind and Visually Impaired

$874,147 

Colorado

Colorado Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

$163,756 

Connecticut

Connecticut Tech Act Project

$126,392 

Delaware

University of Delaware – Center For Disabilities Studies

$69,872 

Florida

Florida Telecommunications Relay, Inc.

$472,524 

Georgia

Georgia Council for the Hearing Impaired

$264,463 

Hawaii

Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults

$80,151 

Idaho

University of Idaho – Idaho Assistive Technology Project

$84,715 

Illinois

The Chicago Lighthouse for People Who Are Blind or Visually Impaired

$323,577 

Indiana

Perkins School for the Blind

$190,114 

Iowa

Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youth and Adults

$115,994 

Kansas

Assistive Technology for Kansans

$111,680 

  _____  

[1] Pub. L. 111-260, 124 Stat. 2751 (2010); see also Pub. L. 111-265, 124
Stat. 2795 (2010) (providing technical corrections to the CVAA).  Section
105 of the CVAA adds Section 719 to the Communications Act of 1934, as
amended, and is codified at 47 U.S.C. § 620.  The CVAA allows the Commission
to allocate these funds from the Interstate Telecommunications Relay Service
Fund (TRS Fund).

[2] See Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and Video
Accessibility Act of 2010, Section 105, Relay Services for Deaf-Blind
Individuals, Report and Order, 26 FCC Rcd 5640 (2011) (NDBEDP Pilot Program
Order).  The NDBEDP pilot program was established to run for two years, with
an option for the Commission to extend it for another year.  Id., 26 FCC Rcd
at 5649, ¶ 22.  In 2014, the Bureau extended the pilot program for a third
year.  See Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and
Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Section 105, Relay Services for Deaf-Blind
Individuals, Public Notice, 29 FCC Rcd 1234 (CGB 2014).  In 2015, the
Commission extended the pilot program for an additional year, until June 30,
2016.  See Implementation of the Twenty-First Century Communications and
Video Accessibility Act of 2010, Section 105, Relay Services for Deaf-Blind
Individuals, CG Docket No. 10-210, Order, FCC 15-57 (rel. May 27, 2015).

[3] Commission Announces Launch of the National Deaf-Blind Equipment
Distribution Program, Public Notice, 27 FCC Rcd 7403 (CGB 2012).

[4] A full list of the entities currently certified to participate in the
NDBEDP is provided below.  Contact information for these entities is
available at  <http://www.icanconnect.org/state-partners>
http://www.icanconnect.org/state-partners.   

[5] See NDBEDP Pilot Program Order, 26 FCC Rcd at 5675-76, ¶ 80.  The
Commission announced the selection of the Perkins School for the Blind to
conduct national outreach efforts to promote the NDBEDP.  See Perkins School
for the Blind to Conduct National Outreach for the National Deaf-Blind
Equipment Distribution Program, Public Notice, 27 FCC Rcd 6143 (CGB 2012).
For this effort, the Perkins School for the Blind is partnering with the
Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults, FableVision,
Inc., and other national and local consumer groups, parent groups, agencies,
and associations.  Id.

[6] NDBEDP Pilot Program Order, 26 FCC Rcd at 5677, ¶ 85.  See also 47
C.F.R. § 64.610.

[7] NDBEDP Pilot Program Order, 26 FCC Rcd at 5677, ¶ 84.  

[8] Population figures for these calculations are derived from U.S. Census
data.  See National, State, and Puerto Rico Commonwealth Totals Datasets:
Population change and rankings:  April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014
(NST-EST2014-popchg2010-2014), available at
<http://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/totals/2014/NST-EST2014-popchg20
10-2014.html>
http://www.census.gov/popest/data/national/totals/2014/NST-EST2014-popchg201
0-2014.html (last viewed June 15, 2015).  See also U.S. Census Bureau,
Population of the U.S. Virgin Islands:  2000 and 2010, available at
<https://www.census.gov/2010census/news/xls/cb11cn180_vi.xls>
https://www.census.gov/2010census/news/xls/cb11cn180_vi.xls (last viewed
June 15, 2015).  The Bureau reviews funding data as it becomes available
during the year and works with certified programs to reallocate funding
between programs to maximize the use of available funding during each fund
year.  See id., 26 FCC Rcd at 5677, 5679, ¶¶ 85, 90.  