History of Organization

The Connecticut Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf (CCOSD), Inc. was established on December 1, 1969 in West Hartford, and chartered under the laws of the State of Connecticut as a non-profit organization on April 6, 1971.

The CCOSD is the first state-level coalition-type organization of the deaf to be established in the United States. Although the national Council of Organizations Serving the Deaf became defunct in the mid-1970's, the CCOSD has remained active since the inception.

The CCOSD has one major goal - to serve the deaf and hard of hearing residents of Connecticut through their local and autonomous member organizations of or for the Deaf.

As the CCOSD enters in its third decade, it maintains its responsibility to define and defend equal rights for the Deaf citizens of the state. It looks back on some important milestones:

• Initiated an Adult Basic Education for the Deaf in 1970
• Formed a Special Department of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) staff position in 1974
• Supported a coordination of the Services to Deaf DVR clients
• Advocated the passage of an Interpreter Law in June 1973
• Established the permanent State Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired as signed into the law on May 31, 1974
• Established Deaf Senior Citizens in the Greater Hartford area in 1976