Updated on July 16, 2021 On July 15, 2021, the Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Workers' Compensation Division (WC), published this notice: 07-15-21-IN-interpreters.pdf (oregon.gov) The text says: Oregon law uses a two-step process when determining if a person is entitled to workers’ compensation coverage. The first step is determining whether the person [...]
In the Oregon 2021 legislative session, the following bill was the only one regarding healthcare interpreters that passed. HB 2359 updates the requirements for healthcare interpreters. According to the Measure History, it passed the House on June 17 and the Senate on June 22 with bipartisan support, and the Governor signed it into law on [...]
Update on July 18, 2021: The Governor signed this bill on July 14, 2021. Please check the measure history on this page. Thank you for your support. Advocacy 101 for Interpreters and Translators Presentation written for NAJIT interpreters in preparation for advocacy at Capitol Hill in 2017 This presentation includes some guidelines on how to [...]
This is a guest post by my daughter, Cynthia Sleight. I had been thinking of the current protests, and the people my children were friends with as children. She emailed me this text, and I decided to post it. We care about the living. This is about my children's friends. I also have Black friends. [...]
I gave this presentation to the Hillsboro Chamber of Commerce on June 5, 2020, in the context of the civil rights protests. In that presentation, I put language access, which includes translation and interpreting, in the context of civil rights. See this blog post for a history of language access on the West Coast. This [...]
Interpreting is a professional field. What was once done by whoever was bilingual now has an established certification process. There are less and less reasons to work with unvetted providers. This timeline tells the story on the West Coast, where I live. I am from Oregon, where I am certified as a healthcare interpreter and [...]
I support this bill, since it improves the provision of language access for the Limited English Proficient population of the State of Oregon. A professional workforce is essential for providing quality services. Other medical services all require accreditation to perform their work. Nurses, doctors, psychologists are required to be licensed or accredited to perform their [...]
A new group in Oregon: Oregon Interpreters in Action (OIA) email : [email protected] In Oregon, medical interpreters have shown the Legislature that their working conditions necessitate having a way to discuss working conditions. Oregon Interpreters in Action the group of independent contractors who are medical interpreters have those discussions. Check their meeting schedule and get [...]
Conference season has started! I went to Chicago for the EFA2019 conference. I had been to the previous EFA conference in New York in 2016. What did I find at EFA2019? Discussions in the hallways Though a conference has sessions, the attendees are what makes a conference what it is. I love the personal discussions [...]
The https://www.lep.gov/ site is a go-to site for language access. The Federal Government has done an excellent job of providing very valuable resources here. Some of my favorite resources are on this page: Tip sheets for how to work with interpreters, translators and language companies. A resource page for interpreting and translation. However, when Milena Calderari-Waldron and I, Helen [...]
