last but not least our co-chair jim blacksten. >> good afternoon. i have learned a lot from your presentation and from the questions that have been posed by colleagues here and i think that the programs that you are putting together here are excellent. so i as a person who is a disabled person in the business world i'm always interested in finances. i'm just wondering, can you -- i don't know if you're in a position to do this, but can you tell us how many families are being served to date? and how that might look like in six months, to a year? >> we haven't gotten to the numbers yet, jim, but every year our numbers increase. and jen and i have both been with the department for only three years. so in regards to the actual number we can get back to you and how it looks like from last summer. if we could email that to you is that something that you'd be interested in. >> yeah, that would be fine. so now are you saying that you have been involved for three years, is that as long as your program has been going or does it pre-date that? >> it pre-dates

. >> clerk: co which of chair jim blacksten. >> i'm here. >> clerk: and council member tatiana kostanian, absent. and council member alex madrid. >> present. >> clerk: couple member sally coghlan mcdonald. >> present. >> are. >> clerk: and council minister orkid sassouni. >> present. >> clerk: and council member helen smolinski. >> present. >> clerk: and council member kate williams. absent. item 1, welcome, introduction and roll call. item 2, action item. reading an approval of the agenda. item 3, public comment. on today's jurisdiction within the m.d.c. we welcome the public's participation during public comment at the beginning and the end of the meeting and as well as after every item on today's agenda. each comment is limited to three minutes and the council will respond to your comments following the meeting if you provide your contact information. you may complete a speaker's card available in the front of the room, approach the microphone during public comment, or call our bridgeline at 1-415-554-9632. where a staff person will handle the requests to speak at the appropriate time

council member cochair jim blacksten. >> yes. excellent presentation. so i know time's moving on. i'll be brief. i'm really interested in people who are hard of hearing and visually impaired, and you had mentioned something about you're addressing hearing and speech. can you talk a little bit more about what you are doing with hard of hearing and blind children. >> so in terms of -- of the -- the specific program for -- that we're funding with hearing -- hearing and speech, is that your question, cochair? >> yes. does that include children with visual disabilities, too? >> it -- i don't know the specifics of their actual work plan of hearing -- hearing and speech's work plan. i can look into that and then get back to you on that. >> yeah, that would be great if you would. thank you. >> thank you thank you. council member had he len smolinski. >> i think in terms of getting out the work you're doing and the resources that are available for families with kids with special needs, disabilities, a good idea is partnering with sf unified in more ways than you're already doing. i underst