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About Our History
1974 - Beverly and David McKee, Sr. obtained funds for the provision of needed and specialized services to the Deaf community through the Department of Human Services (DHS) and established the Central Deaf Association (CDA).
CDA hired its first Director, Dean Santos. CDA shared its first facility with the San Diego Community College – Deaf Supportive Services located at 4033 Ruffin Road.
October 1974 - CDA became affiliated with Episcopal Community Services (ECS). CDA moved into ECS offices at 601 Market Street. When Dean left, John Acosta was appointed Acting Director until January 1975, when John was made the official Director.
1975 - Maggie Blansett and Jay Schufeldt came aboard as staff and volunteer. Interpreting and telephone relay services were provided for the community.
January 1977 - Bill Davidson became CDA’s new Director. That same year, the Department of Human Services increased its funding. Vocational rehabilitation and peer counseling services were added.
October 1977 - Florian Caliguri became Director. CDA was renamed as Deaf Community Services when it underwent reconstruction with the establishment of a new advisory board.
January 1979 - Florian Caliguri left the agency and Bob Fay became the Director.
1980 - Patricia Sieglen and Bob Taylor became co-directors. New funding sponsored by the Regional Employment Training Consortium (RETC) allowed DCS to provide employment services.
November 1980 - Bob Taylor left DCS and Pat became the Director.
February 1981 - DCS staff was expanded to include a support services position through the Department of Social Services (DSS).
May 1982 - DCS moved to a much-needed larger office at 3788 Park Boulevard. With continued funding from DSS, RETC and DHS, DCS was able to expand personnel and services.
January 1984 - DCS established a Board of Directors with a majority of its members being Deaf. In July 1984, DCS became an independent agency and was no longer affiliated with ECS.
1985 – DCS obtained a contract from the Employment Development Department (EDD), to address the employment shortage among the Deaf community by providing Job Placement & Employment services.
January 1987 - AT&T took over telephone relay services for the state of California and DCS closed down Relay Services, but continued to assist with out-of-state relay calls.
February 1987 - DCS expanded the office at 3788 Park Boulevard by adding 6 more offices, thus occupying the entire building.
1989 - A North County Outreach office was opened to meet the needs of members of the Deaf community living in the North County area.
During the same year, the DCS Store was established to meet the demand for TTYs, literature on deafness and related products.
1989-1990 - Based on increasing incidence in the Deaf community, alcohol/drug abuse services for Deaf people were established with a contract from the County Health Department (CHD).
1991 - Pat Sieglen left to work for the city. S. Kay Vincent came aboard as Executive Director in May 1992 to manage the agency and its services.
1992 - Due to the state of California’s budget crisis during the summer, most of the staff was temporarily laid off. Only three staff members remained to maintain the office.
September 1992 - When the budget was finally passed, the staff slowly expanded back to a roster of 20 full-time employees. DCS contracted with Sprint Relay Services to offer a new outreach program. Computers for each program were added to improve the database and record keeping.
The North County Outreach office in Escondido was closed due to financial strains.
May 1994 - DCS obtained a contract to provide outreach relay services with Sprint, then the Deaf and Disabled Telecommunications Program (DDTP), covering Riverside/San Bernardino Counties.
1994 - Funding received from the Ryan White Care Act allowed DCS to add new services, providing support and access for persons infected with HIV/AIDS.
September 1994 – DCS marked 20 years of services. A new agency logo was unveiled.
1995 - Closed-captioned movies at local movie theaters were shown. EDD services relocated from Mission Gorge to Lemon Grove.
1996 – Funded by the United Way, the DCS North County branch office was opened in collaboration with LifeLine Community Services.
August 1996 - DCS moved into a new and bigger facility located in Mission Valley.
1997 – Leslie Elion stepped in as Interim Executive Director.
DCS established an ongoing collaboration with Georgia Robins Sadler, Ph.D, Associate Director for Community Outreach at the University of California, San Diego, which led to a pioneering cancer education program for the Deaf community and numerous grants and awards.
DCS Espresso was born. It was a small-business opportunity to give Deaf persons job training and experience operating a coffee cart.
April 1998 - Thomas A. Galey joined DCS as Executive Director.
Sign Language Interpreting Services (SLIS) was renamed the Communication Services Department (CSD) due to an expansion of services to meet diverse communication needs.
1998 – Michael Brennan, M.A., a Gallaudet graduate in Counseling, convinced the County of San Diego to fund a new Mental Health Services for the Deaf and Hard-of-Hearing program at DCS.
1999 – Supported by the County of Imperial, the Imperial County outreach office became available for clients who live in the El Centro area.
1999 – DCS became the official sponsor of the annual Deaf Awareness Day event held at the Balboa Park Club.
DCS implemented a literacy program with funds from the City of San Diego and a Hispanic Outreach office with the assistance of volunteers.
September 1999 – DCS celebrated 25 years of services. The DCS Store, a rapidly growing business, is 10 years old.
2000 - DCS moved to a new facility located in the Hillcrest area of San Diego.
2003 - A Parent Link Consultant was added to DCS to provide services for new parents of deaf and hard-of-hearing babies.
2003 - Thomas A. Galey left DCS to accept a position with Communication Service for the Deaf (CSD) in South Dakota.
December 2003 - EDD services moved to 4389 Imperial Avenue, San Diego.
March 2004 - Raymond J. Trybus joined DCS as Executive Director.
The Employment Development Department (EDD) received funding for an expanded program, adding two staff to the North County Coastal Career Center in Oceanside to provide job placement and employment services for the North County Deaf community.
September 2004 – DCS marked 30 years of services.
2006 – DCS established an Educational Interpreting program to provide sign language interpreting services to San Diego school districts under the direction of Bonnie Sherwood and Joni Dunn.
May 2007 – DCS hosted a major fundraiser, Sip.Savor.Sign, to raise funds for a Deaf Interpreter training workshop.
December 2007 – Raymond J. Trybus resigned.
October 2008 – DCS offered the first of several cultural enrichment events with “The Future of Sign Languages,” a presentation by UCSD Professor Carol Padden, Ph.D.
November 2008 – Leslie Elion, Chair of the DCS Board, hired as Executive Director.
December 2008 – DCS was awarded a grant by the HIV Funding Collaborative to continue services to Deaf and hard of hearing clients with HIV/AIDS and to create videologs to teach Deaf teens facts about HIV/AIDS prevention.
April 2009 – DCS continued its cultural enrichment offerings with “The Abababa Road Tour,” a one-man show by interpreter and Coda (child of Deaf adults) Alan R. Abarbanell.
April 2009 – DCS was awarded a new grant by the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency to expand mental health services to adults and youth and hire a Clinical Director to oversee the mental health program.
April 2009 – In collaboration with the San Diego Chapter of the Registry of Interpreters of the Deaf (RID), DCS co-sponsored a Deaf Interpreter workshop presented by Trenton Marsh, using proceeds from the Sip.Savor.Sign fundraiser.
May 2009 – DCS celebrated 35 years of service to San Diego with a fiesta fabuloso (fabulous party) at the Spanish Village Art Center in Balboa Park.
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