From ODHHNet

Most businesses, schools, non-profit organizations, governmental agencies, police departments, medical services and employers are required by federal laws like Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and the Americans with Disabilities Act to provide reasonable accommodations for consumers or employees. For deaf and hard of hearing people, reasonable accommodations often take the form of sign language interpreters or real time captionists. The Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (ODHH) administers the Service Fund program which has a limited amount of funding for situations that are not covered by these federal laws.

In order to apply for Service Funds, the organization providing a service (not the deaf or hard of hearing person) must contact ODHH at least two weeks prior to the date of the event or appointment. ODHH needs this time in order to consider the request and find out more information about the agency and situation if necessary. The only time a request will be considered without two weeks notice is if it is an emergency (someone's life or liberty is in danger) or if it is a situation like a funeral, when there obviously cannot be two weeks notice. It is not an emergency if you just found out about the program or just received the accommodation request.

If you would like to refer someone to ask about or apply for Service Funds, visit http://www.dhfs.wisconsin.gov/sensory/Interpreting/servicefund.htm. Bette Mentz-Powell and Marge Liberski are the two ODHH staff members who consider Service Fund requests. You can get their contact information and which counties they cover from the Website.