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http://desmoinesregister.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050616/NEWS02/506160366/1004
Des Moines Area Community College officials hope a federal grant will help to create a Midwestern center for sign language education.
The college hopes to use the nearly $400,000 U.S. Department of Education appropriation as seed money to establish a Deaf Services Center, which could provide interpreter training and support services for the deaf community.
"There's a crucial need for interpreters for the deaf," said Steve Young, DMACC's American Sign Language instructor. "Our hope is . . . to create a program that teaches interpreters the process at the top of their game."
Currently, DMACC teaches four levels of American Sign Language, which students can apply toward foreign language requirements. There is no certificate program.
Young said only a few other colleges in the country - and none in the Midwest - teach American Sign Language at the level he hopes to offer in the center.
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, announced the appropriation Tuesday, saying improved sign language instruction will make life easier for thousands of deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
By 2010, a bachelor's degree will be required for a person to be a nationally certified sign language interpreter. Iowa adopted a law last year requiring sign language interpreters to be licensed.
Poorly trained interpreters mean "a lack of communication, misunderstanding and a lot of hardship for the deaf community," Young said.
Young will spend the next two years trying to get the center off the ground. A total of about $4 million would be needed to hire instructors and construct a free-standing building, he said.
Iowa Western, Kirkwood and Scott community colleges offer the state's only sign language interpreter training programs.
Des Moines Area Community College officials hope a federal grant will help to create a Midwestern center for sign language education.
The college hopes to use the nearly $400,000 U.S. Department of Education appropriation as seed money to establish a Deaf Services Center, which could provide interpreter training and support services for the deaf community.
"There's a crucial need for interpreters for the deaf," said Steve Young, DMACC's American Sign Language instructor. "Our hope is . . . to create a program that teaches interpreters the process at the top of their game."
Currently, DMACC teaches four levels of American Sign Language, which students can apply toward foreign language requirements. There is no certificate program.
Young said only a few other colleges in the country - and none in the Midwest - teach American Sign Language at the level he hopes to offer in the center.
U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, announced the appropriation Tuesday, saying improved sign language instruction will make life easier for thousands of deaf and hard-of-hearing people.
By 2010, a bachelor's degree will be required for a person to be a nationally certified sign language interpreter. Iowa adopted a law last year requiring sign language interpreters to be licensed.
Poorly trained interpreters mean "a lack of communication, misunderstanding and a lot of hardship for the deaf community," Young said.
Young will spend the next two years trying to get the center off the ground. A total of about $4 million would be needed to hire instructors and construct a free-standing building, he said.
Iowa Western, Kirkwood and Scott community colleges offer the state's only sign language interpreter training programs.