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Times Record News: Local News
One man's legal trouble highlights area shortage
A deaf man's effort to erase his guilty plea has helped highlight the need for deaf interpreters throughout the area.
An appeal filed by John Wayne Loyd, a deaf 52-year-old resident, was not served because of a filing error. Loyd said the interpreter who should have been provided by the municipal court never arrived. Thus, a guilty plea to a charge of driving without insurance was mistakenly made. What's more, his family claims, the court doesn't have a certified interpreter, which would constitute another violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Municipal Judge Larry Gillen has said that all interpreters are certified.
How Loyd's situation will turn out remains unclear, but the accusation that too few interpreters are available has some backing. Gerry Smith wrote as much in an e-mail.
"There is a shortage of interpreters everywhere," said Smith, regional specialist for the state's Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services' Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Region 2. "It's the metropolitan areas that have better luck with interpreters."
And the shortage isn't just felt in the legal system. At Midwestern State University, for example, just two students are deaf but many others are hard of hearing. Finding a certified interpreter for students has taken some legwork.
"Every semester, if something happens to the interpreter, it is a scramble" to find a replacement, said Debra Higginbotham, Director of Disability Support Services. "We have been able to balance things. We've just been able to manage."
Legal issues can pop up.
The law allows some wiggle room in terms of services.
"Government agencies are responsible for doing the work and making their services accessible," said Jennifer Pesek, staff attorney for the California Center for Law and the Deaf.
Part of the problem, though, can be the uncertainty of demand. At MSU, for instance, the number of deaf students isn't a lot, nor is it stable.
"That is my wild card," Higginbotham said. "Our big problem is that we don't know the number and hours we will need these people."
The key, though, is providing some alternative means, Pesek said. So at MSU, for instance, if an interpreter isn't available, someone who can take notes for the student is another option.
"ADA will say we have to allow all students access to the information," Higginbotham said. "You have to show that the university is doing what we can do."
But arrangements can also worsen the lack of interpreters.
"Video Relay Service is another reason why we have a shortage of interpreters anywhere," Smith said. "Video Relay is a new technology that uses videophones and an interpreter. It works simliar to Texas Relay, which uses the telephone lines and (teletypewriters). Video Relay is a much faster way for the deaf and hard of hearing community to communicate over the phone."
Plus, Smith added, there's just a problem with training enough people.
"There are not that many Interpreter Training programs across the state. The two closest ones that we have to our areas are Big Spring (SouthWestern Collegiate Institute for the Deaf) and Fort Worth (Tarrant County College-Northwest Campus)."
Dealing with the issue could come from school work.
"I wish we had a sign language course for credit," Higginbotham said. "I would have taken that one. It would have been a lot more helpful than French."
Exposing the issue is also a big part of solving it.
"Another problem with deaf or hard of hearing consumers not getting interpreters is because the community isn't knowledgeable about the rights of people with disabilities," Smith said. "That's what I do for my job for the most part is to educate the community about the deaf and hard of hearing communities."
One man's legal trouble highlights area shortage
A deaf man's effort to erase his guilty plea has helped highlight the need for deaf interpreters throughout the area.
An appeal filed by John Wayne Loyd, a deaf 52-year-old resident, was not served because of a filing error. Loyd said the interpreter who should have been provided by the municipal court never arrived. Thus, a guilty plea to a charge of driving without insurance was mistakenly made. What's more, his family claims, the court doesn't have a certified interpreter, which would constitute another violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Municipal Judge Larry Gillen has said that all interpreters are certified.
How Loyd's situation will turn out remains unclear, but the accusation that too few interpreters are available has some backing. Gerry Smith wrote as much in an e-mail.
"There is a shortage of interpreters everywhere," said Smith, regional specialist for the state's Department of Assistive and Rehabilitative Services' Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services Region 2. "It's the metropolitan areas that have better luck with interpreters."
And the shortage isn't just felt in the legal system. At Midwestern State University, for example, just two students are deaf but many others are hard of hearing. Finding a certified interpreter for students has taken some legwork.
"Every semester, if something happens to the interpreter, it is a scramble" to find a replacement, said Debra Higginbotham, Director of Disability Support Services. "We have been able to balance things. We've just been able to manage."
Legal issues can pop up.
The law allows some wiggle room in terms of services.
"Government agencies are responsible for doing the work and making their services accessible," said Jennifer Pesek, staff attorney for the California Center for Law and the Deaf.
Part of the problem, though, can be the uncertainty of demand. At MSU, for instance, the number of deaf students isn't a lot, nor is it stable.
"That is my wild card," Higginbotham said. "Our big problem is that we don't know the number and hours we will need these people."
The key, though, is providing some alternative means, Pesek said. So at MSU, for instance, if an interpreter isn't available, someone who can take notes for the student is another option.
"ADA will say we have to allow all students access to the information," Higginbotham said. "You have to show that the university is doing what we can do."
But arrangements can also worsen the lack of interpreters.
"Video Relay Service is another reason why we have a shortage of interpreters anywhere," Smith said. "Video Relay is a new technology that uses videophones and an interpreter. It works simliar to Texas Relay, which uses the telephone lines and (teletypewriters). Video Relay is a much faster way for the deaf and hard of hearing community to communicate over the phone."
Plus, Smith added, there's just a problem with training enough people.
"There are not that many Interpreter Training programs across the state. The two closest ones that we have to our areas are Big Spring (SouthWestern Collegiate Institute for the Deaf) and Fort Worth (Tarrant County College-Northwest Campus)."
Dealing with the issue could come from school work.
"I wish we had a sign language course for credit," Higginbotham said. "I would have taken that one. It would have been a lot more helpful than French."
Exposing the issue is also a big part of solving it.
"Another problem with deaf or hard of hearing consumers not getting interpreters is because the community isn't knowledgeable about the rights of people with disabilities," Smith said. "That's what I do for my job for the most part is to educate the community about the deaf and hard of hearing communities."
