Deaf people and advocates are fighting to preserve state-funded interpreter referral and independent living services, saying they are vital to helping members of the deaf community operate in the hearing world.

But the Department of Human Services says it’s too early to worry.

An announcement from the state Division of Vocational Rehabilitation that the services would end on June 30 was premature, officials said, and DHS continues to search for funds to pay for the programs.

"The programs are still operating and the department is optimistic it will re-procure these valued services in the next fiscal year," DHS Director Patricia McManaman said in a statement. "We are making every effort to ensure continuity of these services."

Advocates and members of the deaf community aren’t convinced that there is no cause for concern.

The Division of Vocational Rehabilitation told them in early February that two contracts would be terminated because of lack of funds: one to provide the interpreter referral service and the second for services to help with the adjustment to becoming deaf and/or blind.

After public outcry, DHS said the contracts were in fact still being reviewed.

The two-year contract for the interpreter referral service, which assists employers, hospitals, schools and deaf people themselves in finding qualified interpreters, costs $160,000.

The state spent $200,000 over two years, meanwhile, for the adjustment services contract, which includes training, classes and counseling to help deaf, blind and deaf-blind individuals live independently.

Hundreds of deaf and hard-of-hearing people use the services, advocates say.

Ami Tsuji-Jones, a spokeswoman for the deaf community, said she was in shock when the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation informed her the services would be cut.

She also said, through an interpreter, that without the referral service, deaf people will be left scrambling to find qualified interpreters for different situations, including at work.

The referral service matches the needs of clients with the right interpreters, who must be highly qualified to be members of the referral roster.

Lisa Ann Tom, chairwoman of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Advisory Board, said that if the deaf community had been informed earlier about the lack of funds, it could have helped secure money through grants, donations or the Legislature.

"We feel they have not dealt in good faith," Tom said through an interpreter. "We are very frustrated. They owe us an explanation."

Deaf advocate Colleen Cidade-Matusof agreed, saying the services are already bare-bones and that cutting them could leave many deaf and hard-of-hearing people without opportunities to be participating members of their communities.

"It is irresponsible to have these services removed," she said, through an interpreter. "How can we live without these services?"