History

For individuals who are Deaf, Hard of Hearing, or Deaf-Blind, access to vocational rehabilitation services, mental and physical health care, social services, education, telecommunications, the justice system, and civic life often depends upon the availability of qualified interpreters. The Department of Education Rehabilitation Services Administration (RSA) has supported interpreting education and professional development for more than two and a half decades through the Training of Interpreters for Individuals who are Deaf and Individuals who are Deaf-Blind Program, authorized under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended. In establishing five Regional Interpreter Education Centers and a coordinating National Interpreter Education Center in 2005, RSA sought to ensure consistent quality of interpreting education nationwide and to gain a measure of the program’s impact on interpreter development. RSA’s primary concern is to improve access to vocational rehabilitation (VR) and other services that lead to better employment outcomes. As such, National Consortium activities and resources emphasize training of interpreters to meet the diverse communication requirements of populations and settings identified by VR service providers.

The RSA-funded National and Regional Interpreter Education Centers established the National Consortium of Interpreter Education Centers in 2006 as a vehicle for sharing knowledge, expertise, leadership, and fiscal resources among the Centers and for establishing important partnerships with consumer, professional, and academic organizations and institutions. The involvement of consumers and vocational rehabilitation service providers in the development and implementation of all educational initiatives ensures that programming is grounded in the realities of everyday life.

Key contributions to the field during the 2005-2010 grant cycle were a series of needs assessments, training materials to educate deaf consumers in self-advocacy, a healthcare interpreting website, domains and competencies for video interpreting, Deaf Interpreter competencies, a mentoring resource site, best practices for legal interpreting, a snapshot of the field’s response to RID degree requirements, and curricular guidelines and resources on deaf-blind interpreting created through a collaboration called the National Task Force on Deaf-Blind Interpreting.

To find the many products of the 2005-2010 grant cycle, please visit the National Clearinghouse on Rehabilitation Training Materials.