The commission shall function as an agency of the state to advocate public policies, regulations and programs to improve the quality and coordination of existing services for deaf and hard of hearing persons and to promote new services whenever necessary. The commission shall: (1) Promote deaf awareness to the general public and serve as a consultant to any public agency needing information regarding deafness; (2) Develop a system of state certification for those individuals serving as interpreters of the deaf by: (a) Conducting evaluations; and (b) Developing a fee scale for different classes of interpreters; (3) Maintain the quality of interpreting services by: (a) Conducting interpreter training workshops to update knowledge and skills; and (b) Working closely with the institutions of higher education which provide, or plan to provide, instructional programs for learning sign language; (4) Conduct and maintain a census of the deaf population in Missouri; (5) Promote the development of a plan which advocates the initiation of improved physical and mental health services for deaf Missourians; (6) Conduct or make available workshops or seminars as needed for educating nondeaf individuals of the problems associated with deafness and ways by which these groups or agencies can more effectively interact with those who are deaf; (7) Promote the development of services for deaf and hard of hearing adults, such as shelter homes, independent living skill training facilities and postschool educational training which will help provide for those deaf and hard of hearing individuals requiring such services an opportunity to live independently; (8) Establish a network for effective communication among the deaf adult community and promote the establishment of TDD relay services where needed; (9) Develop and establish interpreting services for state agencies.
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