Please Help Us Help Mi Asl Interpreters And Deaf Community

It isn't that they weren't certified. They are nationally certified and now that's not good enough for the state of Michigan. So now the tenured interpreters that the Deaf clients would request arent allowed to anymore.
 
Reba said:
I know that this is a hard thing but didn't you see it coming? In many states the path towards state licensure for terps took many years to work thru the legislatures.
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If anyone saw it coming they would all be able to work still. Its not really believable to think noone was paying attention. They didn't exactly consult anyone. And again its still good enough to work in every other state. Is Michigan supposedly better than everywhere else that the requirements are higher? Not likely.
 
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They didn't exactly give people enough time to get up to the new code. Enough time hasnt even passed to get them still. But they are supposed to pay for the new certs, take the time to matriculate through them, without being able to work as an interpreter.

I know all may not agree with what I want to do and that's understandable. However one of them is my mom and many are my family. The rest I've known for close to 20 years and everyone is devastated. Some have quit altogether because of this and other things MI has done to interpreters. Why, i dont know. What I do know is my mother hasnt worked in months and is in danger of losing her home, her business was halted and all the terps she employed are unemployed, she has had to close her church down because she cant support them financially and isnt emotionally able to shoulder it right now. There are legal matters in progress but that could take years. Years of retaining a lawyer when she doesnt even know how she can pay their rent right now.

I want to help her, and the rest of the community who either cant work in the state they live in, and the very active Deaf population who now have a miniscule pool of people to ininterpret, most of whom arent even through with their sign language courses and have no experience. Certification is great but if youve never applied it, should they have to suffer through it?
Nothing will be done otherwise. If at all possible, though i know you have no reason to care, I would appreciate any and all who could donate to our cause.
If you cant, please share my original post and link with any who may be interested in helping what is ultimately all of our Interpreting and Deaf Community.

Thank you. I will still monitor thread to answer any questions.
 
Ken Thomas said:
If anyone saw it coming they would all be able to work still. Its not really believable to think noone was paying attention. They didn't exactly consult anyone. And again its still good enough to work in every other state. Is Michigan supposedly better than everywhere else that the requirements are higher? Not likely.
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No one enjoys going thru a certification process. It's expensive, time consuming and stressful. In the long run, the goal is to improve services for our consumer base, and continue to refine and uplift the profession.

In my state, proposed legislation for interpreter licensure was initiated by the state RID chapter in equal partnership with the state NAD chapter. It's been a long struggle, well-publicized within the community. The promoters of licensure frequently sought input from terps and Deaf community, and provided regular updates on progress. They worked hard to gain support of individual legislators, and actively lobbied for their cause.

I'm not informed enough about the MI terp situation, so I couldn't say that MI is "better" or not. Perhaps MI citizens want services to improve for the Deaf community and see higher standards to be a pathway to that improvement.

I don't know the quality of the MI legislature, so I can't say what motivates its members. I can't imagine that they passed this legislation just to make life harder for terps and Deaf. That doesn't make sense.

The only negative motive I can think of is from your state's history of strong unionism. That could lead to an attempt to get yet another profession in MI under the thumb of union control. My state is a right to work state, so that could be a factor in perspective. :dunno:

(An aside: My Hubby was born and lived in Lansing until he was drafted at age 19 years. We've been back to MI often since then.)

Are you active in your statewide RID chapter? What is their stand on this issue? What about the state NAD? Pro or con?
 
Ken Thomas said:
They didn't exactly give people enough time to get up to the new code. Enough time hasnt even passed to get them still. But they are supposed to pay for the new certs, take the time to matriculate through them, without being able to work as an interpreter.
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I know that it's not easy. I've gone thru some of that process myself. However, I always looked at the acquisition of new skills and the refining and updating of old techniques to be a reasonable part of any profession, not just interpreting. Interpreters aren't the only professionals who have to do this.

I know all may not agree with what I want to do and that's understandable. However one of them is my mom and many are my family. The rest I've known for close to 20 years and everyone is devastated. Some have quit altogether because of this and other things MI has done to interpreters.
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If these laws were passed quickly and quietly, then I can understand the unfairness.

What else has the state "done to interpreters"?

Why, i dont know. What I do know is my mother hasnt worked in months and is in danger of losing her home, her business was halted and all the terps she employed are unemployed, she has had to close her church down because she cant support them financially and isnt emotionally able to shoulder it right now. There are legal matters in progress but that could take years. Years of retaining a lawyer when she doesnt even know how she can pay their rent right now.
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I'm trying to grasp the timeline of all this. It would be helpful if you could provide the dates of when these laws were being considered as bills, when they were made laws, when the changes took effect, and how much time is allowed to come under compliance.

Is it possible to go back to the legislature and propose some amendments that might grandfather in the process in stages rather than such an "off with their heads" deadline?

I want to help her, and the rest of the community who either cant work in the state they live in, and the very active Deaf population who now have a miniscule pool of people to ininterpret, most of whom arent even through with their sign language courses and have no experience. Certification is great but if youve never applied it, should they have to suffer through it?
Nothing will be done otherwise. If at all possible, though i know you have no reason to care, I would appreciate any and all who could donate to our cause.
If you cant, please share my original post and link with any who may be interested in helping what is ultimately all of our Interpreting and Deaf Community.

Thank you. I will still monitor thread to answer any questions.
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It might be too late for some now but when this legislation was first proposed would be the time to start looking into getting the necessary course work and testing done while still employed, before the hammer came down.

One thing that our state RID/NAD chapters did was to provide training, mentoring, workshops and testing for its members to get up to speed with the new requirements. Working together as groups helped bring down the costs for some of the process.
 
From what I can glean from the OP the "customers" seem to be happy. The phrase, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help" comes to mind. Sarcasm, of course!!

My SIL is an interpreter and I believe Illinois has its own cert. I may be wrong about that. I'm just remembering (prehaps incorrectly) a conversation with her about it some time back.

I'm all for states rights, frankly. However, this seems ridiculous on the surface. NO Deaf representation of input. That's just malicious and stupid!!
 
This may not be the best place to ask this but I don't know where is. I think I remember reading that national standards require any Bachelor’s degree even if it has nothing to do with interpreting! That does not make sense to me. What is the currant policy for strictly testing of skills rather than a degree or certain course?
 
. . . Marcy Colton, director of the Deaf Community Advocacy Network in Sylvan Lake, says legislation passed to protect the deaf also may limit the number of interpreters because all are required to take a certification exam.

Michigan has some of the nation’s toughest testing requirements for interpreters under rules that took effect in 2013.

“Some interpreters that have been working in their field, may not meet the qualifications now,” Colton said. “In a way, it’s good because you want to make sure someone is fully versed in sign language when visiting hospitals, schools or courts.”...
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http://www.detroitnews.com/story/ne...r-program-oakland-community-college/77638582/
 
Jane B. said:
This may not be the best place to ask this but I don't know where is. I think I remember reading that national standards require any Bachelor’s degree even if it has nothing to do with interpreting! That does not make sense to me. What is the currant policy for strictly testing of skills rather than a degree or certain course?
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Yes, the bachelor's degree can be in any major.

Interpreters need a good ITP (interpreter training program) but they should also have a well-rounded general education. (Those who use interpreters expect us to know everything, no joke.) If a terp wants to specialize in medical or legal interpreting it also helps to take relevant related courses.

I already had a bachelor's degree in political science before I decided to attend an ITP. So, I have a BS in political science and an associate's degree in interpreting. I was able to transfer for credit my core courses such as English, math, psychology and science subjects.

The degree requirement for interpreter certification only lets the candidate stand for the written interpreter certification exam. If the candidate passes the written exam then the candidate is eligible to take the performance exam. That's where the interpreting skills are evaluated.

http://rid.org/rid-certification-overview/nic-certification/
 
Reba said:
Yes, the bachelor's degree can be in any major.

The degree requirement for interpreter certification only lets the candidate stand for the written interpreter certification exam. If the candidate passes the written exam then the candidate is eligible to take the performance exam. That's where the interpreting skills are evaluated.

http://rid.org/rid-certification-overview/nic-certification/
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This just does not make sense to me! It seems to put more importance on a piece of paper (that is costly and time consuming to obtain) than on proving the skills needed.
 
The courses behind that piece of paper help provide the skills needed. There's more to professional interpreting than just learning signs.

Pieces of paper aren't guarantees of good quality work but they provide a minimum base requirement for measuring knowledge and skills.
 
Reba said:
The courses behind that piece of paper help provide the skills needed. There's more to professional interpreting than just learning signs.

Pieces of paper aren't guarantees of good quality work but they provide a minimum base requirement for measuring knowledge and skills.
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What I was referring to is the requirement of a bachelor's degree that does not have to be in a field that has anything to do with interpreting. Isn't there a way to test out of having a bachelor's degree?
 
Jane B. said:
What I was referring to is the requirement of a bachelor's degree that does not have to be in a field that has anything to do with interpreting. Isn't there a way to test out of having a bachelor's degree?
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In addition to producing a more well rounded person, getting the BA or BS show having the drive and initiative to see things through.
 
Yes there is more to it than learning signs. Which means just learning them and getting the certs doesn't equate to quality just yet. How many years of experience would you say was enough?
 
Ken Thomas said:
Yes there is more to it than learning signs. Which means just learning them and getting the certs doesn't equate to quality just yet. How many years of experience would you say was enough?
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Experience in what? Signing or interpreting?

If one has the skills and experience required, why not get the certifications?
 
Reba said:
Experience in what? Signing or interpreting?

If one has the skills and experience required, why not get the certifications?
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I have a feeling that for quite a number it is a matter of M O N E Y and T I M E.
It appears to me that no matter how much in the way of skills and experience a person has they need to pay for courses and take the time to take them. And where is the chance to work while paying for courses and taking the time to take them?
 
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