TDI-L eNote - 4/18/07 - CEPIN Press Release - CEPIN Announces New Partnership and New Training Opportunities

From: TDI - Apr 18, 2007

TDI-L eNote - CEPIN Press Release
CEPIN Announces New Partnership and New Training Opportunities
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - April 18, 2007

CEPIN ANNOUNCES NEW PARTNERSHIP AND NEW TRAINING OPPORTUNITIES

SILVER SPRING, Md. – The Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN) is proud to announce a new partnership with the Rural Domestic Preparedness Training Center (RDPTC) at Eastern Kentucky University. This new partnership will allow CEPIN to provide six (6) deliveries of its “Emergency Responders and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Taking the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness” workshops to emergency managers and responders as well as Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers across the country.

“Emergency Responders and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Taking the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness” is the only US Department of Homeland Security-certified course that is geared toward a special-needs community. The goal of the course is to encourage networking, preparation and communication between the emergency responders and deaf, hard of hearing, and deaf-blind people prior to disasters or emergencies. The agreement will bring the training to rural and mid-sized communities throughout the United States.

The first workshop took place in Mobile, Alabama on Friday March 30, 2007 at the Alabama Institute for the Deaf and Blind’s regional center. CEPIN is grateful for the assistance of the Alabama Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation’s Office of Deaf Services in providing communication access services and ensuring the success of this workshop.

Upcoming workshops include:
· Faribault, MN – May 2nd
· Medford, OR – May 11th

Additional locations and dates are still being developed and we will announce them on our website at www.cepintdi.org.

According to the RDPTC’s Executive Director, Linda Mayberry, “the goal of the RDPTC is to develop and deliver training tailored for rural emergency responders and communities who face unique challenges in meeting their homeland security responsibilities. This course will serve as an important resource for the rural responder and special needs community.”

“CEPIN is very excited to enter this partnership with the RDPTC and EKU. While our previous efforts focused on high-threat cities, this new focus on rural and midsized communities allows this information to reach underserved populations in the deaf, hard of hearing and deaf-blind populations and the emergency responders who serve them,” said Neil McDevitt, National Coordinator for CEPIN.

Claude Stout, Executive Director of Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI) and CEPIN’s Project Leader added, “With this special focus on rural deliveries, CEPIN’s training efforts continue to highlight TDI’s commitment to ensuring equal access for all Americans”.

For more information about CEPIN and the "Emergency Responders and the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Community: Taking the First Steps to Disaster Preparedness" course, please visit our website at www.cepintdi.org.

About CEPIN:
The Community Emergency Preparedness Information Network (CEPIN) Project is coordinated by Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI). In 2004, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security awarded TDI nearly $1.5 million for the two-year CEPIN project, which focuses on developing model community education programs for emergency responders and Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers. For more information about CEPIN, visit www.cepintdi.org.

About TDI:
Telecommunications for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Inc. (TDI) promotes equal access to telecommunications, media, and information technology for 31 million Americans who are deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened, and deaf-blind. TDI educates and encourages consumer involvement regarding legal rights to telecommunications accessibility; provides technical assistance and consultation to industry, associations, and individuals; encourages accessible applications of existing and emerging telecommunications and media technologies in all sectors of the community; advises on and promotes the uniformity of standards for telecommunications technologies; works in collaboration with other disability organizations, government, industry, and academia; develops and advocates national policies that support accessibility issues; and publishes "The GA-SK" quarterly news magazine and the annual Blue Book, TDI National Directory & Resource Guide for Equal Access in Telecommunications and Media for People Who Are Deaf, Late-Deafened, Hard of Hearing or Deaf-Blind.

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