Push on for state licensing of interpreters

Sunday, June 11, 2000 | 9:39 a.m.

A simple visit to the doctor or a government agency can be a nightmarish experience for thousands of deaf Nevadans because of a lack of qualified interpreters in this state.

A movement is now afoot to convince the Nevada Legislature next year to pass a law requiring all professional sign-language interpreters to be licensed. That is already the case in 25 other states.

But Linda Raymond, president of the Nevada Association of the Deaf, and a leading advocate of the state licensing effort, said that alone will not solve all the problems. Raymond, who is deaf, said the state also needs interpreter training programs.

"We don't have any here in Nevada," Raymond said. "What we have in Southern Nevada are deaf studies programs that teach sign language. But those aren't certified interpreter programs. A lot of people who graduate from sign language programs are really not competent enough to become interpreters."

There are about 45,000 Nevadans who are deaf or hard of hearing, according to the state Office of Community Based Services. Raymond estimated that only about 2,000 to 3,000 of those individuals need interpreters on a regular basis. But she also said there are only about 50 or 60 interpreters in Nevada who would be qualified to get a state license should one be required.

"We may get some interpreters who will resist," Raymond said of potential licensing opponents. "There are some interpreters who have been here 10 years and they just wouldn't take a test."

Shortage

Government agencies field complaints daily about the lack of interpreters, Donny Loux, Nevada's chief of community-based services, said. She said her office has hosted conferences in Las Vegas where they needed to fly in extra interpreters from Reno. Loux said there are so few qualified interpreters in Nevada that deaf clients sometimes must make appointments weeks in advance to book one for visits to a government agency.

Professional interpreter Debbie Gonzalez of Las Vegas said her deaf husband ran into problems dealing with the Department of Motor Vehicles and Public Safety.

"We had to call three days in advance for an interpreter," Gonzalez said. "An interpreter was provided, but the interpreter was deaf and didn't understand all of our questions."

Adam Smith, a deaf student at Valley High School who just completed 10th grade, said he has problems with interpreters who use American Sign Language without also mixing in some plain English.

"In math it's really hard for me to stay alert and watch the interpreter all the time," Smith said. "To interpret you must be able to make up a sign fast. You have to be able to interpret as fast as people talk."

Smith said he also has had difficulty finding interpreters for doctor's visits, after-school programs and potential employers.

The Clark County School District has 32 full-time interpreters, but runs into problems when it needs substitutes. Raymond, a special education administrator, said finding substitutes is virtually impossible during major conventions such as Comdex because many of the free-lance interpreters have been hired to work those events.

Top training

Top-notch interpreters are typically those with at least four years of intensive classroom training. They have a much greater sign-language vocabulary than students who study finger spelling for a few years. They also have thorough knowledge of deaf culture and of ethics, such as when to protect a client's confidentiality on topics ranging from medicine to finance.

Theo Byrns, interim vice president for academic affairs at the Community College of Southern Nevada, said students who graduate from the institution's two-year deaf-studies program know some sign language. But she said they do not know enough to qualify as top-level interpreters such as those used in courtrooms.

Having once overseen deaf studies as head of the International Language Program, Byrns said she would like to see interpreter training programs in Nevada. She's just not sure the community college is ready to participate beyond its deaf-studies program.

"We would have to do a needs assessment," Byrns said. "We would have to determine whether we would have the enrollment to support the program. It has got to be a program where, if a person graduates from it, they can get a job."

The lack of qualified interpreters is actually a national problem, said Catherine Black, coordinator of interpreting services for students at the community college. She blamed the shortage on the intensive training regimen as well as an irregular work schedule that either discourages people from taking up sign language or sticking with it as a career.

"It's not an easy skill to learn," Black said. "Interpreting is also feast or famine. It gets slow during the holidays."

Steve Kanigher

is a staff writer for the Sun. He can be reached at (702)-259-4075 or by e-mail at steve@lasvegassun.com.

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