Advocacy
We provide assistance and consultation to individuals regarding the needs and rights of Deaf and hard of hearing individuals, as defined in the Americans with Disabilities Act and various other laws.
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)
Indianapolis District Office
101 W. Ohio St., Suite 1900
Indianapolis, IN 46204-4203
Phone: 317-226-7212 or 317-226-5571 (Voice)
Toll Free: 1-800-669-4000 (Voice)
TTY: 317-226-5162
Toll Free TTY: 1-800-669-6820
FAX: 317-226-7953
E-mail: eeocindo@ibm.net
Website: http://www.eeoc.gov/
Investigates complaints of employment discrimination on the basis of age, disability, sex, race, religion, color, creed or national origin. Also handles equal pay cases. Stringent standards for accepting cases. Has the authority to enforce the ADA of 1990.
Indiana Civil Rights Commission
Government Center North, N103
100 N. Senate Ave.
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Phone: 317-232-2600 (Voice)
Toll Free: 1-800-628-2909
TTY User: Call Relay Indiana, 1-800-743-3333
E-mail: cjohnson@crc.state.in.us
Website: http://www.in.gov/icrc
Investigates allegations of discrimination in education, employment, credit, public accommodations and housing. Persons who believe they have been discriminated against based on race or color, sex, religion, national origin or ancestry, disability, or familial status (housing only) may file a complain within 180 days of the alleged act; 1 year allowed for housing complaints.
Indiana Protection and Advocacy (IPAS)
4701 N. Keystone Ave., Suite 222
Indianapolis, IN 46205
Phone: 317-722-5555 (Voice)
Toll Free: 1-800-633-4845 (Voice)
TTY: 317-722-5563
Toll Free TTY: 1-800-838-1131
FAX: 317-722-5564
Website: http://www.in.gov/ipas
Protects, promotes and expands the access to and exercise of human and civil rights of individuals with a disability through negotiation, litigation and other remedies.
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Ralph H. Metcalfe Federal Building
77 W. Jackson Blvd., Room 2110
Chicago, IL 60604-3507
Phone: 312-353-7776 (Voice)
Toll Free: 1-800-765-9372 (Voice);
TTY: 312-353-7143
Website: http://www.hud.gov/complaints/housediscrim.cfm
Federal law prohibits housing discrimination based on your race, color, national origin, religion, sex, family status, or disability. If you have been trying to buy or rent a home or apartment and you believe your rights have been violated, you can file a fair housing complaint.
U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ)
Disability Rights Section
P.O. Box 66738
Washington, D.C. 20035-6738
Phone: 202-307-0063 (Voice/TTY)
FAX: 202-307-1198
Website: http://www.usdoj.gov/
ICC CODE OF ETHICS
CONFIDENTIALITY
All information covered during an interpreting assignment is to be kept confidential. An interpreter shall maintain the confidentiality of all information covered during an interpreting assignment and all information about interpreting services being performed, including identity of those consumers present, regardless of perceived importance, except for the following:
An interpreter may reveal information to his or her employer, members of the employer's staff, or a professional team designated by the employer for purposes of record keeping, program management, or supervision.
An interpreter may share information with peer interpreters employed by the same employer, which is necessary to best serve consumers in an ongoing interpreting situation or assignment.
Unless the consumer otherwise directs, an interpreter may disclose factual information or professional assessment of the language and communication process regarding the current interpreting assignment to the payee of the interpreter or the payee's designee. Disclosure of further information requires consent of the consumer.
Information that is public or not otherwise confidential under this rule or any other rule or law may be disclosed.
RENDERING OF INTERPRETING SERVICES LANGUAGE USED
Interpreting services shall be rendered faithfully, always conveying the spirit and intent of the communicator, using the language or mode of communication most readily understood by all consumers involved.
Interpreting services shall be rendered faithfully, conveying all communication messages with the exact spirit, intent, and affect of the communicator.
An interpreter shall withdraw from an assignment if his or her personal feelings interfere with performing the duties in subsection (above).
IMPARTIALITY OF INTERPRETER
The message shall be transmitted impartially without the interjection of personal advice counsel or opinions.
The interpreted message shall be transmitted impartially without the interjection of personal advice, counsel, or opinions of the interpreter.
An interpreter shall not omit or add to anything that is signed or vocalized by a party, even when asked to do so by other parties involved.
An interpreter shall not attempt to take on any dual role but shall act only as interpreter to assist in communications between parties involved.
An interpreter may communicate directly with a party involved in order to clarify to that party the interpreter's role of facilitating communication.
An interpreter should refrain from providing interpreter services in situations where family members or close personal or professional relationships may affect impartiality. However, this is not to be construed as a ban on interpreting for family, friends, or close associates in emergency situations or where the interpreter is otherwise compelled to interpret for such people.
APPROPRIATENESS OF ASSIGNMENT FOR INTERPRETER
When accepting assignments, discretion must be used when considering one's skill, setting and consumers involved.
In determining whether to accept an interpreting assignment, an interpreter:
- must use discretion in considering:
- his or her skill level;
- the setting of the assignment;
- the expected content and subject matter of the assignment; and
- the consumers involved; and
- shall not accept an assignment when any of these factors make it inappropriate to do so in the best interests of the consumers involved.
COMPENSATION REQUESTS
Professional judgment and accepted business practices must be used when requesting compensation for services rendered.
An interpreter shall request compensation for services using accepted business practices and in a professional and judicious manner, taking into account usual fees commensurate with their:
- level of skill
- level of certification
- amount of experience
- nature of assignment
- geographic region.
Terms of compensation shall be arranged in advance of the interpreting assignment whenever possible.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
Advanced knowledge, increased competency and the maintenance of high professional standards must be pursued.
An interpreter, in order to maintain his or her certification, shall pursue advanced knowledge, increased skills competency, and the maintenance of high professional standards through active participation in workshops, professional meetings, interaction with professional colleagues, and reading literature in the field. As part of this, an interpreter shall obtain continuing education as required under the Certification Requirements.
INTERPRETER MANNER AND BEHAVIOR
Interpreting services shall be provided in a manner appropriate to the situation, completely, impartially and professionally.
Interpreting services shall be provided completely, impartially, and professionally in a manner appropriate to the situation, including behavior suitable to the particular circumstances of the interpreting assignment.
An interpreter shall attempt to become familiar with the anticipated discussion topic, type of activity, level of formality, expected behaviors, and any presentational materials prior to commencement of the interpreting assignment.
An interpreter shall dress in a manner that will be as unobtrusive to communication facilitation as possible and that will assure the best possible background for signing, including proper skin to clothing color contrasts and avoiding clothing patterns that may tire the eyes of deaf consumers.
An interpreter shall consider background, positioning, and lighting to assure all are adequately within comfortable, nondistracting range for all parties involved.
An interpreter shall assure that all consumers are duly advised that the interpreter assumes a position of neutrality in the relationship between all consumers, despite the fact that a given consumer may have hired the interpreter for the current or previous interpreting assignment, and consumers must be given the option of acceptance or rejection of the interpreter.
APPROPRIATE USE OF INTERPRETER
Information on the appropriate use of an interpreter will be provided if necessary.
In situations where the consumer of interpreting services is not familiar with the use of an interpreter, the interpreter should share information on the appropriate use of an interpreter to help make the interpreting process successful. This should be done prior to commencing the interpreting assignment.
CERTIFICATE PROFESSIONAL QUALIFICATIONS
The interpreter shall accurately represent professional qualifications and credentials.
After being certified by the state, an interpreter shall be issued a certificate signed by the DHHS Deputy Director and DDARS Director evidencing such certification. An interpreter shall also be issued an identification card signed by the DHHS Deputy Director and DDARS Director, which the interpreter shall carry with him or her during interpreting assignments as proof of certification.
An interpreter shall accurately present his or her Indiana identification card, certificate, professional qualifications, and/or credentials upon request.
QUALIFICATIONS
CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
The Board of Interpreter Standards has designated certification requirements for sign language interpreters who plan to receive the Indiana Interpreter Certificate (IIC) in the State of Indiana. Interpreters need to pass evaluation exams from either one of the leading organizations for sign language certification: the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) and the National Association of the Deaf (NAD). BIS and DHHS do not plan to develop evaluation exams for interpreters. The rules established by the BIS are as follows:
(a) In order to receive certification as an interpreter under this rule by the state, an individual must register with DHHS in the manner prescribed by DHHS and fulfill at least one of the following criteria:
(1) Pass the RID written generalist test, hold NAD Level III, and obtain two CEUs per year for up to five years.
(2) Pass the RID written generalist test, be a graduate of an accredited ITP, and obtain two CEUs per year for up to five years.
(3) Hold NAD Level IV or above.
(4) Hold RID certification.
(5) Hold RID oral certification for situations requiring an oral interpreter only.
(6) Hold certification from TECUnit and have passed the RID written generalist test for situations requiring a cued speech transliterator.
(b) Commencing July 1, 2007, in order to receive certification by the state, an individual must fulfill the requirements in subsection (a) and also hold a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. An interpreter, who has met the requirements of subsection (a) prior to July 1, 2007, shall be exempt from the additional requirement of this subsection.
(c) Interpreters holding NAD or RID certifications must maintain these certifications in good standing in order to maintain their certification by the state, including fulfilling the continuing education requirements of NAD or RID.
(d) Fulfillment of the requirements of subsection (a)(1) or (a)(2) shall allow an interpreter to be certified by the state for a maximum period of five years from the date originally certified. At or before the conclusion of this period, an interpreter must fulfill the requirements of at least one of subsections (a)(3) through (a)(6) to continue certification by the state.
(e) An interpreter certified by the state shall renew such certification at least every two years in the manner prescribed by DHHS.
REGISTRY OF INTERPRETERS FOR THE DEAF (RID)
Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf is a professional organization that certifies interpreters, provides information on interpreting to the general public, publishes a national directory of certified interpreters, and makes referrals to interpreters. An individual interested in obtaining RID certification is required to take and pass the Generalist Written Test first before taking the Performance Exam. Both the written and performance tests must be passed before receiving a certificate.RID has a list of about 20 different kind of interpreters and transliterators. Each has its own certificate recognition and different evaluation and performance test. These certifications are:
- CI - Certificate of Interpretation
For interpreters who have demonstrated the ability to interpret between American Sign Language (ASL) and spoken English in both sign-to-voice and voice-to-sign. - CT - Certificate of Transliteration
For interpreters who have demonstrated the ability to transliterate between English-based sign language and spoken English in both sign-to-voice and voice-to-sign. - OTC - Oral Transliteration Certification
For transliterators who transliterate a spoken message from a person who hears to a person who is deaf or hard-of-hearing and the ability to understand and repeat the message and intent of the speech and mouth movements of the person who is deaf or hard-of-hearing. - CSC - Comprehensive Skills Certificate
For interpreters who have demonstrated the ability to interpret between American Sign Language and spoken English and to transliterate between spoken English and a English-based sign language. It is no longer offered after 1987. - SC:L - Specialist Certificate: Legal
For interpreters that are already fully certified (CI and CT, or CSC) and work in a legal setting. - CDI - Certified Deaf Interpreter
For interpreters who are Deaf or hard-of-hearing and who may work in teams with hearing interpreters/transliterators or with other Deaf persons who may require the services of a Deaf interpreter.
For more information about application, test sites and dates, write: RID, 8630 Fenton St., Suite 324, Silver Springs, MD 20910, or call (301) 608-0050 V/TTY, or FAX (301) 608-0508, or website: http://www.rid.org/.
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF THE DEAF
The National Association of the Deaf is the oldest and largest organization representing people with disabilities in the United States. One of their various programs is the National Association of the Deaf (NAD) Interpreter Assessment and Certification Program (NIC), established in 1991. It is designed to evaluate and certify qualified candidates to serve as sign language interpreters. Candidates for NAD certification must take the NAD Assessment Test. The NAD evaluation contains several components which includes an interview conducted during the assessment. The assessment team asks candidates various questions on their knowledge of interpreting, interpreting situation, and interpreter ethics. The assessment team will then give the candidate a performance test. There is no written test.
There are three levels of certification:
- Level III (Generalist)
For interpreters who show above average voice-to-sign skills, and good sign-to-voice skills, and demonstrate the interpreting skill necessary for some situations. - Level IV (Advanced)
For interpreters who show excellent voice-to-sign skills and above average sign-to-voice skills, and demonstrate the interpreting skill necessary for most situations. - Level V (Master)
For interpreters who show superior voice-to-sign skills and excellent sign-to-voice skills, and demonstrates the interpreting skill necessary for just about all situations.
For more information about application, test sites and dates, write: NAD Interpreter Assessment and Certification Program, contact: Nancy B. Rarus, Associate Executive Director, Programs, 814 Thayer Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910- 4500; (301) 587-1789 TTY; (301) 587-1788 Voice; (301) 587-1791 FAX; email: NADInterp@nad.org; website: http://nad.policy.net/openhouse/.
