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News

Proposed Bill Threatens Commission Closure

Governor M. Jodi Rell recently submitted HB 6375  Section 2 (e) #6 which calls for the termination of CDHI by July 1, 2014. 

If you are opposed to this action,  please copy/paste the below in an email with "Vote NO to Governor's HB 6375 Sect. 2 (e) #6" in the subject line, include your contact information at the end of the last paragraph and also add your name to the bottom of the email and send it to the GAE committee members listed beneath the email.  
 

As a Sign Language interpreter working in Connecticut, I strongly encourage you to vote NO to the Governor's HB 6375 Section 2 (e) #6, which states that the Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired (CDHI) is to be terminated July 1, 2014.  Listed below are a few bulleted reasons why I believe CDHI should not be terminated:  

  • CDHI enables the State of Connecticut to be in compliance with federally mandated laws such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, (ADA), Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act, (IDEA) and No Child Left Behind (NCLB) to name just a few. 
  • Closing CDHI will cause more of a financial burden for state agencies (DCF, DDS, DMHAS, DOC, etc.) to comply with federally mandated laws (ADA, PL 94-147, Section 504, etc.) as CDHIʼs competitors charge substantially more than the current rates at CDHI.
  • Closing CDHI will no longer provide the State of Connecticut with a governing agency to oversee the statutory law (CGS Section 46a-33a) requiring all interpreters to be registered in the State and working with proper certification.
  • Closing CDHI will directly affect and negatively impact the quality of life for all persons who are Deaf and Hearing Impaired, as well as the community at large, due to the limited access to services such as interpreting, counseling, and advocacy.  

Thank you for taking the time to read this email during this busy time.  If you need further information or specifics regarding this e-mail, please feel free to contact me at ___________.

Your name here.... ______________________________

 

 *********************************************************************************

 

Here are the email addresses of each member of the GAE committee:

         
S14 - Slossberg, Gayle S. Co-Chair   D           Slossberg@senatedems.ct.gov


036 - Spallone, James Field Co-Chair   D         James.Spallone@cga.ct.gov  


S12 - Meyer, Edward  Vice Chair   D               Meyer@senatedems.ct.gov


030 - Aresimowicz, Joe  Vice Chair   D           Joe.Aresimowicz@cga.ct.gov


S24 - McLachlan, Michael A. Ranking Member   R   Michael.McLachlan@cga.ct.gov


125 - Hetherington, John W. Ranking Member   R   John.Hetherington@housegop.ct.gov


132 - Drew, Thomas J. Member   D           Thomas.Drew@cga.ct.gov        


018 - Fleischmann, Andrew M. Member   D       Andrew.Fleischmann@cga.ct.gov


149 - Floren, Livvy R. Member   R           Livvy.Floren@housegop.ct.gov


129 - Grogins, Auden  Member   D           Auden.Grogins@cga.ct.gov


131 - Labriola, David K. Member   R           David.Labriola@housegop.ct.gov


099 - Lawlor, Michael P. Member   D       mlawlor99@juno.com


145 - Miller, Patricia B. Member   D           Patricia.Miller@cga.ct.gov


024 - O'Brien, Tim  Member   D               tim@timobrien.org


143 - Reeves, Margaret  Member   D       Peggy.Reeves@cga.ct.gov

 

 

RID Launches New Government Affairs Program

November 17, 2009 – Alexandria, VA – The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) is pleased to announce the establishment of a new Government Affairs Program to advocate on behalf of professional sign language interpreters at both the state and federal levels.  The program will be a part of the RID Communications Department managed by Tina Schultz, Director of Communications, supported by Sarah Fieldhouse, Communications Manager, and Lindsey Walter, Communications Specialist.  RID Past President, Janet L. Bailey, CSC, NIC Master, SC:PA, will serve as RID’s Government Affairs Representative.

“Janet is an ideal candidate for the interpreter advocate as she has been in the profession for over 30 years, she served in a leadership capacity for RID, understands the issues impacting interpreters on a daily basis and has a perspective that is fully encompassing of the profession,” stated Clay Nettles, RID Executive Director.

 “The field of interpreting has gone through significant changes in recent years,” said Janet Bailey.  “I am excited to work with RID and its members to identify and prioritize current needs.  We want to ensure that RID is included in all discussions that lead to laws and regulations that impact an interpreter’s work.” 

The program will include working within the organization and membership to set goals and objectives while strengthening outside relationships with professional organizations, consumer groups, industry partners and government agencies. 

Communication will be a key component and will consist of regular articles in RID’s quarterly news magazine, VIEWS, and RID’s monthly newsletter, e-NEWS, as well as personal appearances and town hall meetings at RID regional and state meetings. 

 

Region I Conference

 

Region I will be holding a conference in Albany, NY on August 13-15, 2010. We will be gathering at the Albany Marriott on 189 Wolf Road for a weekend of learning, professional development and fun.

RID Region I Representative Rebekah Barkowitz announced on June 9th that Trudy Gilbert, CI and CT, and Kelly Decker, NIC Advanced, have been appointed as co-chairs for the conference. Please be sure to read their conference introduction letter, which is located on the Region I Web page.

We hope you will consider attending, presenting, interpreting and/or joining a committee to help make this region conference the best it can be.  

 

More information will be available soon. Be sure to check the Region I page on the RID Web site for updates.

 

 

 

 

 

A new film entitled I Sign and I Live is currently in production, and the directors are seeking actors, crew members, and financial support.  For more information on how you can participate, click on this link:  www.isignilive.wordpress.com

Region I News - click here for information on joining a Yahoo group that provides information from the Strategic Challenges and Bylaws Review Task Force and gathers input from you.

 

CRID Fall 2009 Newsletter  - click here to download

RID Region I Fall, 2009 Newsletter - click here to download

 

The draft, proposed, RID K-12 Standard Practice Paper is now available for member comment and can be found on the RID website at:

 

RID Test Site at Northwestern Connecticut Community College Re-Opened

Test Site Coordinator Paul Atkinson announced on May 1st, 2009 that enough new local test administrators have been recruited to allow the re-opening of the site for NIC Interview and Performance Test appointments.  More test administrators are still needed, and Atkinson urges any CRID member who would like to help staff the site in Winsted to contact him as soon as possible.  For more information on how to become an LTA, follow this link.  Paul Atkinson can be reached at PAtkinson@nwcc.commnet.edu or 860-738-6388.

 

New Resource from the National Task Force on Deaf-Blind Interpreting

The National Task Force on Deaf-Blind Interpreting (NTFDBI) in conjunction with DB-LINK at the National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness is pleased to announce the completion of a new resource - an Annotated Bibliography on Deaf-Blind Interpreting. This document is intended for interpreters, interpreter educators and deaf-blind people who are looking for books, articles and videos about deaf-blind interpreting, communication, advocacy and rights, culture and community, Support
Service Providers (SSPs) and more. The bibliography is available on the web at http://www.nationaldb.org/ISSelectedTopics.php?topicCatID=767. This site also has a downloadable PDF version of the document in both regular and large print and a plain text document.  If you have any resources that are not included in this listing, please send the article or information to NTFDBI@gmail.com.

The NTFDBI, which began via a motion passed at the 2005 RID national
convention,  is a national collaboration among the American Association of the Deaf-Blind  (AADB), Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) and National Consortium of  Interpreter Education Centers (NCIEC) (lead agencies), with representation from the Conference of Interpreter Trainers (CIT), the National Alliance of Black  Interpreters (NAOBI), the National Family Association of the
Deaf-Blind and from several state-level agencies and community members. The mission of the NTFDBI is to establish a standard of effective practice to ensure the quality and availability of interpreters for deaf-blind people.

Other recent work by the NTFDBI includes a compilation of resources for people  wanting to learn more and become more involved in the community and in  deaf-blind interpreting entitled Deaf-Blind Interpreting: Many Paths on the Road  (RID VIEWS, February, 2008). Upcoming activities include a needs assessment of  interpreter educators and program administrators regarding deaf-blind  interpreter
education (coming in the fall) and a workshop to be presented at the CIT conference in Puerto Rico in October 2008 on strategies to include deaf-blind interpreting materials in currently established interpreter education curricula.

For questions or more information, please contact NTFDBI@gmail.com.

The NTFDBI is made possible with funding support from the NCIEC which
is funded through the Dept. of Education, Rehabilitation Services
Administration.

This article was submitted byRandy Klumph (klumphr@wou.edu)
The National Consortium on Deaf-Blindness
The Teaching Research Institute
345 N Monmouth Ave
Monmouth, OR 97361
 

Emergency medical interpreting services

for nights and weekends will continue past August, 2009!

 

 

 

A collaborative effort by members of the Deaf community, the Office of Protection and Advocacy (OPA), the Connecticut Hospital Association (CHA), Family Services- Woodfield (FSW), the Connecticut Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired (CDHI), and the Connecticut Chapter of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (CRID) has succeeded in re-establishing the hospital emergency interpreting service program. Deaf Citizens can now feel comforted.  Sign Language Interpreters will be dispatched to hospital emergencies whenever possible on nights, weekends and during holidays, “24/7”.  

 

How it will work:

It will work pretty much like it has in the past!

 

A Deaf patient in a hospital “Emergency Room”………….

 

[The hospital may try “video relay interpreting (vri)” for information collection (forms and paperwork) and early preparation, or “ triage”,  until an interpreter arrives.]

 

Protocol I:

 

The hospital will call “211”   (or CDHI and CDHI will refer to “211”).

 

“211” will check the FSW list.

“211” will call and dispatch the available FSW “on-call” interpreter to the Hospital.  

 

Protocol II:       

 

 If no FSW interpreter is available,

 

“211” will tell the hospital to call (860-231-7623) , the CDHI emergency interpreting telephone number.

 

The hospital will call the CDHI emergency number.  The CDHI answering service will contact  CDHI Coordinators.  CDHI Coordinators will call the hospital for details.  The Coordinators will try to locate an available interpreter and dispatch the interpreter to the hospital.

 

Protocol III:

 

If no CDHI interpreter is available,

CDHI coordinators will encourage the hospital to write a brief note to the patient stating:  “No FSW interpreter, No CDHI interpreter available now.   Still trying.  Time don’t know.”

 

The hospital should then call private hospital resources for interpreter( s).

 

[If still no interpreters, start over with Protocol I and then Protocol II ].

Dr. Brenda Nicodemus, a researcher at San Diego State University, is conducting a survey of ASL/English interpreters to gather data for a study on language direction, interpreting that occurs from one's L1 (primary or native language) to L2 (one's second language) and vice versa.  To find out more about participating in this survey, click here:  <more>

 

“RID Announces Degree Requirement Extension for Hearing Candidates for Certification: Associate’s Degree Requirement Deadline Postponed until June 30, 2009. Read more at http://www.rid. org/UserFiles/ File/pdfs/ News/Degree_ Requirement_ Extension. pdf.” 

 

CRID wishes to express special appreciation to the following individuals for their generous financial contributions:

Keith Vinci, Zoe Ann Kaminski, Karen Tuozzolo, Cat Lanser, Roberta Goldberg, Anna Marie Cartagena, Nicholas G. Dionne, Dawn Priore, Doreen Simons-Marques, Arlene Rice.

 Thank you!!!

New Region I Representative

Region I has a new Representative! Rebekah Barkowitz.  More information about Rebekah's background and current activities will posted soon.

CRID Position on EIPA

On January 28, 2006, the CRID Board of Directors held a forum to discuss the possible Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA) and RID partnership with the intent to solicit feedback from our members in order to create a position paper.  Below is the final statement submitted to RID by CRID President Tammy Boutin.    

"CRID supports the concept of the Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment (EIPA).     Albeit a much needed and comprehensive assessment tool, working interpreters in the state of Connecticut must operate within the parameters of the state law, Connecticut General Statues:  Section 46a - 33a, which states that a person providing interpreting services in the state of Connecticut must be registered with the Commission on the Deaf and Hearing Impaired and hold (1) a Comprehensive Skills Certificate from the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, (2) a Certificate of Interpretation or a Certificate of Transliteration from the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, (3) a Level Four Certification from the National Association of the Deaf, (4) a Reverse Skills Certificate or is a Certified Deaf Interpreter under the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf."