Needs 
A 
Assessment 
Repo 
ort 


PAH! 
Partners 
A 
Advocating 
for 
Heal 
ling 
Oaklan 
nd 
County, 
Michigan 
n 
FALL 
2010 


HAVEN 
Deaf 
Co 
ommunity 
Advocacy 
Network 
Deaf 
W 
Women’s 
Advocacy 
Services 




Needs 
Assessment 
Report 


PAH! 
– 
Partners 
Advocating 
for 
Healing 


Oakland 
County, 
Michigan 


Executive 
Summary 


The 
PAH! 
collaborative 
recently 
embarked 
on 
a 
fact 
finding 
expedition 
to 
assess 
the 
needs 
of 
the 
Deaf 
Community 
in 
Southeast 
Michigan 
in 
relation 
to 
domestic 
and 
sexual 
violence 
services. 
This 
document 
is 
a 
summary 
of 
the 
goals, 
process, 
data 
gathering, 
key 
findings 
and 
conclusions 
of 
this 
needs 
assessment. 


HISTORY 


PAH!: 
Partners 
Advocating 
for 
Healing 
is 
a 
community 
collaborative 
effort 
to 
increase 
responsiveness 
and 
accessibility 
of 
the 
service 
delivery 
system 
to 
Deaf 
and 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 
survivors 
of 
domestic 
and 
sexual 
violence. 
Our 
name 
comes 
from 
the 
American 
Sign 
Language 
sign 
of 
“PAH”, 
which 
represents 
success 
or 
achievement. 
We 
thought 
it 
was 
only 
appropriate 
to 
name 
our 
collaboration 
PAH! 
, 
thus 
incorporating 
both 
the 
hearing 
and 
Deaf 
communities, 
and 
symbolizing 
the 
bridge 
we 
are 
building 
between 
these 
communities 
to 
combat 
domestic 
and 
sexual 
violence. 
PAH!, 
established 
in 
October 
of 
2008, 
is 
a 
collaboration 
consisting 
of 
three 
community 
programs 
located 
in 
Oakland 
County, 
Michigan: 
HAVEN, 
Deaf 
Community 
Advocacy 
Network 
(DEAF 
C.A.N.!) 
and 
Deaf 
Women’s 
Advocacy 
Services 
(DWAS). 


The 
collaboration 
of 
HAVEN, 
DEAF 
C.A.N.!, 
and 
DWAS 
is 
the 
first 
and 
only 
partnership 
in 
Southeast 
Michigan 
that 
brings 
together 
the 
skills, 
leadership 
and 
experiences 
of 
both 
Deaf 
and 
hearing 
advocates. 
All 
members 
of 
the 
collaborative 
are 
committed 
to 
create 
sustained 
systems 
change 
within 
their 
organizations 
that 
will 
extend 
well 
beyond 
the 
parameters 
of 
this 
three 
year, 
federally 
funded 
grant. 
Each 
agency 
and 
individual 
member 
is 
committed 
to 
learning 
from 
one 
another 
and 
their 
agencies 
collective 



experiences 
in 
order 
to 
plan, 
evaluate, 
develop, 
and 
eventually 
implement 
culturally 
sensitive 
services 
for 
Deaf 
and 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 
victims 
of 
domestic 
and 
sexual 
violence. 


This 
collaborative 
is 
funded 
by 
a 
three 
year, 
multi-phase 
grant 
from 
the 


U.S. 
Department 
of 
Justice, 
Office 
on 
Violence 
Against 
Women 
(Grant 
# 
2008-FW-AX-K005) 
received 
in 
October 
of 
2008. 
The 
collaborative 
partners 
have 
been 
working 
together 
since 
December 
of 
2008, 
meeting 
weekly 
to 
establish 
the 
goals, 
values 
and 
mission 
of 
the 
group. 
The 
PAH! 
collaboration 
charter, 
which 
was 
developed 
in 
the 
first 
year 
of 
the 
grant, 
outlines 
the 
vision, 
mission, 
goals 
and 
philosophy 
of 
PAH! 
PURPOSE 


To 
explore 
how 
PAH! 
agencies 
are 
currently 
delivering 
services 
to 
the 
Deaf 
community, 
and 
how 
we 
can 
improve 
the 
delivery 
and 
accessibility 
of 
services 
to 
Deaf 
and 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 
clients 
that 
have 
experienced 
domestic 
and/or 
sexual 
violence. 
Ultimately, 
the 
information 
collected 
through 
this 
needs 
assessment 
will 
assist 
in 
establishing 
better 
programs 
and 
protocols 
within 
HAVEN, 
making 
HAVEN 
services 
more 
accessible 
to 
Deaf 
and 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 
clients; 
and 
assist 
DEAF 
C.A.N.! 
and 
DWAS 
in 
creating 
and 
establishing 
services 
more 
responsive 
to 
the 
needs 
of 
Deaf 
and 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 
survivors. 


BACKGROUND 
INFORMATION 


Information 
was 
gathered 
from 
collaborative 
agency 
staff, 
Board 
of 
Directors, 
clients, 
Deaf 
community 
groups 
associated 
with 
DEAF 
C.A.N.!, 
Deaf 
and 
hearing 
family 
members, 
and 
certified 
American 
Sign 
Language 
interpreters. 


With 
the 
information 
obtained 
from 
these 
groups, 
PAH! 
is 
seeking 
to 
make 
participating 
agencies 
more 
comfortable, 
accessible, 
and 
responsive 
to 
Deaf 
survivors. 
The 
compiled 
results 
will 
serve 
as 
support 
in 
developing 
tactics 
for 
the 
strategic 
plan, 
and 
chart 
a 
realistic 
and 
manageable 
course 
for 
the 
implementation 
phase. 



NEEDS 
ASSESSMENT 
GOALS 


Listed 
below 
are 
four 
areas 
that 
summarize 
the 
PAH! 
needs 
assessment 
goals. 
As 
a 
collaborative, 
each 
agency 
has 
committed 
to 
making 
the 
internal 
systems 
changes 
required 
to 
enhance 
and 
fill 
gaps 
in 
service. 
The 
data 
collected 
from 
our 
target 
audiences 
will 
help 
us 
answer 
the 
following 
questions: 


1. 
What 
are 
our 
current 
practices 
in 
terms 
of 
domestic 
violence 
services 
for 
our 
Deaf 
clients? 
What 
works? 
What 
doesn’t 
work? 
How 
can 
they 
be 
improved? 
2. 
What 
are 
the 
gaps 
in 
our 
programs 
and 
services 
and 
how 
can 
we 
address 
them? 
3. 
What 
do 
Deaf 
consumers 
want 
in 
terms 
of 
services 
in 
general? 
Who? 
What? 
Where? 
When 
and 
How? 
4. 
What 
are 
our 
organizational 
capacities 
to 
serve 
Deaf 
and 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 
clients 
in 
a 
more 
inclusive, 
engaging 
and 
safe 
way? 
a. 
Staff 
knowledge 
and 
comfort 
b. 
Formalized 
policies, 
practices 
and 
procedures 
c. 
Budgets 
NEEDS 
ASSESSMENT 
PROCESS 


Members 
of 
PAH! 
utilized 
interviews 
and 
focus 
groups 
to 
gather 
data 
from 
collaborative 
agency 
staff, 
Board 
of 
Directors, 
clients, 
Deaf 
Community 
groups, 
Deaf 
and 
hearing 
family 
members, 
and 
certified 
American 
Sign 
Language 
interpreters. 
All 
recruitment 
was 
done 
through 
face 
to 
face 
contact. 
All 
questions 
were 
designed 
by 
the 
members 
of 
PAH!, 
with 
technical 
assistance 
from 
the 
Vera 
Institute, 
and 
approval 
from 
the 
Office 
of 
Violence 
Against 
Women. 
Safety, 
accessibility, 
confidentiality 
and 
consent 



considerations 
were 
all 
discussed 
during 
participant 
recruitment 
and 
again, 
immediately 
prior 
to 
the 
interview 
or 
focus 
group. 


From 
June 
2010 
through 
August 
of 
2010, 
PAH! 
had 
projected 
a 
target 
audience 
between 
80-144 
participants. 
PAH! 
spoke 
directly 
to 
a 
total 
of 
122 
people, 
consisting 
of 
71 
agency 
staff 
and 
51 
program 
participants. 
. 


NEEDS 
ASSESSMENT 
KEY 
FINDINGS 


Through 
our 
focus 
groups 
and 
interviews, 
PAH! 
compiled 
the 
following 
key 
findings: 


Key 
Finding 
#1 


When 
seeking 
services 
from 
a 
hearing 
agency, 
the 
three 
most 
important 
aspects 
to 
creating 
a 
welcoming 
environment 
for 
Deaf 
clients 
are: 


1. 
A 
non 
judgmental 
attitude 
and 
sense 
of 
normality 
2. 
Access 
to 
interpreter 
services 
3. 
The 
comfort 
level 
of 
staff 
when 
working 
with 
Deaf 
clients. 
. 


Key 
Finding 
#2 


Due 
to 
issues 
of 
confidentiality 
and 
the 
fear 
of 
gossip, 
when 
dealing 
with 
a 
‘private 
matter’ 
the 
majority 
of 
Deaf 
people 
we 
spoke 
to 
preferred 
to 
speak 
with 
someone 
not 
involved 
with 
the 
Deaf 
community. 


Key 
Finding 
#3 


The 
primary 
barrier 
to 
service 
accessibility 
for 
the 
Deaf 
and 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 
community 
is 
communication. 


Key 
Finding 
#4 


There 
is 
a 
lack 
of 
knowledge 
and 
awareness 
(1) 
among 
HAVEN 
staff 
in 
regards 
to 
Deaf 
culture 
and 
the 
Deaf 
community; 
(2) 
among 
DEAF 
C.A.N.! 
staff 
in 
regards 
to 
domestic 
violence 
and 
sexual 
assault; 
and 
(3) 
among 
all 
PAH! 
agencies 
in 
regards 
to 
the 
specific 
needs 
of 
a 
Deaf 
or 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 
survivor 
of 
domestic 
violence 
and/or 
sexual 
assault. 


Key 
Finding 
#5 


No 
policies, 
procedures 
or 
protocols 
exist 
for 
responding 
to 
a 
Deaf 
or 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 
survivor 
of 
domestic 
violence 
and/or 
sexual 
assault. 



Key 
Finding 
#6 


Regrettably, 
during 
the 
needs 
assessment 
phase, 
the 
collaborative 
lost 
one 
of 
its 
key 
members 
– 
Kate 
Slosar-the 
President 
of 
DWAS. 
Currently, 
DWAS 
does 
not 
have 
leadership, 
and 
it’s 
foundation 
as 
a 
volunteer 
support 
agency 
has 
become 
unstable. 
PAH! 
will 
be 
assisting 
DWAS 
in 
capacity 
building 
to 
restructure 
and 
rejuvenate 
their 
volunteer 
agency 


CONCLUSIONS 


The 
goals 
of 
this 
needs 
assessment 
have 
been 
attained 
and 
the 
success 
is 
largely 
due 
to 
the 
strong, 
trusting 
relationships 
between 
the 
agencies, 
their 
mutual 
respect 
for 
one 
another, 
and 
their 
ability 
to 
work 
together 
as 
a 
hearing 
ally. 
Through 
the 
focus 
groups 
and 
interviews, 
the 
collaborative 
was 
able 
to 
identify 
not 
only 
the 
weaknesses 
that 
exist 
when 
serving 
the 
Deaf 
and 
Hard 
of 
Hearing 
population, 
but 
also 
the 
strengths 
this 
collaborative 
possesses 
to 
make 
positive, 
sustainable 
change 
in 
the 
months 
and 
years 
to 
come. 
The 
data 
collected 
will 
be 
directly 
responsible 
for 
creating 
a 
strategic 
plan 
consisting 
of 
realistic 
and 
manageable 
goals 
for 
the 
collaborative 
to 
achieve 
by 
Fall 
of 
2011. 


Staff 
of 
HAVEN 
and 
DEAF 
C.A.N.! 
and 
the 
volunteers 
of 
DWAS 
are 
very 
excited 
to 
embark 
on 
this 
journey 
together. 
Leadership 
at 
HAVEN 
and 
DEAF 
C.A.N.! 
have 
expressed 
their 
desire 
to 
research 
further 
into 
the 
needs 
of 
the 
Deaf 
community 
here 
in 
Southeastern 
Michigan, 
and 
both 
agencies 
are 
dedicated 
to 
making 
fiscally 
responsible 
systems 
change 
by 
Fall 
of 
2011.