The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Branch assists individuals with hearing loss seek and/or maintain employment.
Rehabilitation Counselors for the Deaf (RCD) serves Deaf and Deafblind individuals who communicate using American Sign Language (ASL) or other forms of communication with hand gestures and/or nonverbal communication.
Communication Specialists serve individuals who are hard of hearing or late deafened who communicate using verbal/oral communication.
Overview of Services
This brief video describes an overview of services offered by the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation, is captioned, and signed with ASL.
Deaf Services
Individuals who use sign language are served by a Rehabilitation Counselor for the Deaf (RCD). There are Rehabilitation Counselors for the Deaf statewide to provide services.
Examples of specialized services are:
- Information and counseling about jobs
- Information and referral for other services
- Assessment about job skills
- Training programs with support services to learn job skills
- Technology (including training) - for work-related technology
- Job Placement assistance
- Educational training programs with support services such as note-takers, interpreters, assistive listening devices
- Interpreting Services
Other services can be provided on a case-by-case basis.
Amanda F. Friend, MRC, CSE
Branch Manager, Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Late Deafness Services
Videophone: 502-385-0701
Hard of Hearing-Late Deafened Services
The Office of Vocational Rehabilitation Communicatinon Specialists serves individuals who are hard of hearing and late deafened whose communication mode is the use of amplification (hearing aids, and/or assistive listening devices), lip-reading, large visual display, or real-time captioning.
Some examples of these specialized services for individuals who are hard of hearing/late deafened include:
- Assessment of technology needs
- Onsite work/task analysis
- Technology training
- Communication/Coping skills training
- Educational training programs with support services such as note-takers, interpreters, assistive listening devices
- Community training programs such as employment preparation and training
Other services can be provided on a case-by-case basis.
Ashley Hadden
VR Administrator for Hard of Hearing and Late Deafness
Voice Phone: 502-764-0869
DeafBlind Services
The DeafBlind Program coordinates services to individuals who have been identified as having a combination of hearing and vision loss in varying degrees.
Several staff may work together to provide the services needed by a deaf-blind individual. Services may be provided by a rehabilitation counselor for the deaf, a communications specialist, and a rehabilitation counselor for the blind.
Depending on the needs of the individual, services for a deaf-blind individual may be provided by:
- Rehabilitation Counselors for the Deaf
- Rehabilitation Counselors for the Blind
- Communication Specialists
- Deaf-Blind Specialists
- Staff at the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Training Center
- Staff at the Charles McDowell Center
- KYOVR Interpreters
A deaf-blind individual can receive the following services to help get and keep a job:
- Testing to decide what technology can help both hearing and vision
- Training to learn to use assistive technology
- Guidance and counseling from a rehabilitation counselor trained in hearing and vision loss
- Finding out what can help an individual at the job site
- Training to improve communication and deal with problems
- Help to get services from other agencies
- Help to decide what the individual's abilities & interests are
- Support services (interpreters, notetakers, etc.) while an individual goes to school
- Training and preparation for a job
- Help to learn job tasks and be successful at work
For more information, please visit the
DeafBlind Services webapge.