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[ Image here ] [ Image here ] CHIP Staff
CHIP Director	CO-Hear Regional Coordinator
CHIP Facilitator	Parent Consultant
Consumer Advisor	Sign Language Instructors
D/HH Adult Role Models	Advisors and Consultants
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Overview

The Colorado Home Intervention Program (CHIP) employs professionals who work with families of deaf and hard-of-hearing individuals in a variety of ways. Some professionals are primarily involved with policy-making and funding issues, while others provide direct services to families.

The program director oversees the type and quality of intervention that CHIP provides, acquires funding for the program, manages monetary issues, and maintains contact with local agencies to provide collaborative services for families.

Colorado Hearing Resource (CO-Hear) Regional Coordinators are responsible for hiring and supervising interventionists, collaborating with local agencies, interacting with families in order to discuss options, locating funding for intervention services, and matching each family with an interventionist. Regional coordinators normally make the initial contact with families and introduce the family to the interventionist with whom they will be working.

Early intervention providers are responsible for the primary interaction with the family. The interventionist implements the intervention program, provides the family with information and resources, participates in the development of the Individual Family Service Plan (IFSP), conducts assessments, and maintains communication with the regional coordinator.

Aside from the primary service providers, CHIP has additional personnel who provide services on an "as needed" basis. Consumer advisors, who are deaf or hard-of-hearing adults, monitor the program to ensure that it is properly meeting the needs of young deaf/hard-of-hearing children. It is important that the consumers feel a program for deaf/hard-of-hearing children adequately and accurately represents the perspective of members of the deaf culture and hard-of-hearing adults as well. The Deaf/Hard-of-Hearing Adult Role Model Program is available to provide role models for deaf and hard of hearing individuals to educate them, and others, about deafness. Deaf adult role models visit with families to share their life experiences, expose them to the deaf community, and provide positive input regarding deafness. A parent advisor consults with parents in order to provide resources for families and help parents become advocates for their child. Finally, for families who choose sign language as a communication option, instructors are available to assist the family in the acquisition of sign language.

For Program or Administrative Questions:

Program Director:
Jennie Germano
Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind
33 North Institute
Colorado Springs, CO 80903
(719) 578-2116
(719) 578-2139 (fax)
e-mail: jgermano@csdb.org

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