WASHINGTON, DC – JULY 26: An American Sign Language interpreter is seen as Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) speaks at a reception to celebrate the 32nd anniversary of the passing of the Americans With Disabilities Act on July 26, 2022 in Washington, DC. Sen. Casey recently introduced Removing Access Barriers to Running for Elected Office for People with Disabilities Act would ensure people with disabilities do not lose their federal disability benefits when they campaign for elected office. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
A Greeley-based nonprofit has decided to end its American Sign Language interpreting services but will continue to advocate for high-quality communications for people who are deaf or hard of hearing.
Connections for Independent Living announced Tuesday the end of its ASL interpreting program, which had benefited people across the state, as well as southern Wyoming and beyond. The agency was continually operating at a loss in the department and eventually found the cost could not be sustained.
“As an agency that advocates for people with disabilities, we couldn’t give anything but the very best services,” CEO Rochelle Miller said. “We had this amazing, five-star service with an interpreting coordinator who had 30 years of experience and the highest levels of legal certification and medical certification you can have.”
Interpreting helps people with hearing impairment access health care, legal services, education and other essential services that require clear communication. Connections interpreters worked for major companies, large organizations, school districts, churches, courts and public entities. The nonprofit provided 320 hours of interpreting services in October, averaging about 300 to 400 hours each month.
“Communication is a human right,” said Trish Leakey, auxiliary services manager of the Colorado Commission for the Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind. “Deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind individuals in Colorado have a need for qualified communication access services every day throughout the state, including certified sign language interpreters. There are not enough certified sign language interpreters to fully meet the demand across the state, especially in rural areas of the state.”
Connections provided ASL interpreting for people who are hearing impaired, with the businesses utilizing the service paying the fees as an accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act. In addition to in-person interpreting in Colorado and Wyoming, Connections offered remote video interpreting anywhere in the U.S. with a professional remote video interpreting studio in Greeley.
Connections offered the service for more than 30 years, providing a level of service akin to a “cordon bleu trained, Michelin star chef,” Miller said. Businesses accommodating consumers, however, don’t have a vested interest in ensuring they secure the most premium services available, she continued, meaning the businesses selected services more akin to a “Taco Bell.”
“They want to cut corners where they possibly can,” Miller said. “They were choosing cheaper services or services that might not have been qualified.”
The Colorado Commission for the Deaf, Heard of Hearing and DeafBlind estimates 13% of the state’s population is deaf or hard of hearing.
Determining how many people use ASL without a census or research project, the commission noted, but the National Census of the Deaf Population in 1972 estimated 500,000 people signed at home. Extrapolating that data to today, an estimated 765,0000 people in the U.S. may sign as of 2022. But that doesn’t indicate fluent skills nor knowledge or use of ASL specifically.
Nationally certified interpreters are not required but preferred under current law, Miller said.
“There’s workarounds rather than taking the time and effort and finding all the resources — time, effort and money — to pay for qualified communication interpretation,” she said.
Without access to communication services, people are shut out of day-to-day life in their communities, Leakey said.
“Being able to communicate is fundamental to anyone being able to obtain, perform, and keep a job,” Leakey said. “They may miss out on job opportunities or be harmed by miscommunication regarding critical matters, such as health care, financial matters, or other situations.”
Despite efforts to return to solvency including hiring financial analysts and working with business-savvy board members and community members, Connections couldn’t afford to continue the interpreting program, which cost nearly $290,000 in the most recent tax year while raking in just over $211,000.
The difficulties of paying livable wages, especially with Colorado’s high cost of living, combined with travel costs drove up expenses for the program, Miller said.
“Most of the interpreters were either working 60-plus hour weeks or in order to make their full living wage, they had other supplemental income,” she said, adding Connections tried to max out what it could pass on to interpreters. “We were on the slimmest margin possible to just try to keep operations open, and we were just losing money rapidly.”
Miller and Connections staff remain concerned about effective and proper communications for people with disabilities, sharing tips for choosing an ASL interpreter and other resources about ASL interpreting on the Connections website, connectionscolorado.org. The tips include:
- Ensure interpreters are certified, which requires them to pass a written and performance exam while adhering to a code of professional conduct aligning with federal regulations;
- Know the ADA requires Title II entities, including state and local governments, as well as Title III entities, which include businesses and nonprofits that serve the public, communicate effectively with people who have communication disabilities. This includes providing a qualified sign language interpreter, oral interpreter, cued-speech interpreter, tactile interpreter or real-time captioning;
- Video remote interpreting is a great option but not always the best option. If the person who needs the interpreter has difficulty seeing the screen, whether due to vision loss or inability to get in a position to see the screen due to an injury or other condition, an on-site interpreter may be required. The ADA also requires video remote interpreting is not choppy, blurry or grainy and displayed on a screen large enough to see the interpreter’s whole upper body with clear, audible transmission of voices;
- Reputable agencies should follow all tenets of the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf’s standard practice papers for professional sign language interpreting agencies, including transparent billing, applying code of professional conduct standards when selecting interpreters and more. The Registry’s papers can be found at rid.org/about/resources/#spp;
- Small businesses may take advantage of tax credits to cover certain ADA-related expenditures, including the provision of sign language interpreters for customers or employers. Ask your tax professional for more information.
Connections also suggests a couple area ASL interpreting service providers: G2G Interpreting, LLC, which can be contacted at (678) 897-7086, and Deaf Intervention Services, at (805) 704-0721 or www.wydeafis.org.
People in areas across the state such as Aspen, Durango, Grand Junction and Summit County have a difficult time finding certified sign language interpreters in their areas, Leakey said. The commission’s list of certified interprets includes only 11 certified interpreters and one interpreter scheduling agency in rural areas. Others have told the commission most businesses and services in rural areas can’t afford or refuse to bring in interpreters from outside the area, Leakey added.
The commission provides information and expertise regarding the deaf, hard of hearing and deafblind communities, including a program to provide communication access services, certification training and outreach services to rural communities. The commission in 2019 began partnering with the University of Northern Colorado to provide two sign language interpreter training cohorts. The commission also maintains a list of recommended communication access services providers at bit.ly/COSignLanguageInterpreters23.
Miller said it was a difficult decision for Connections to end its program, as Connections has been tapped as a leader when it came to interpreting services. Connections has provided input for the state’s emergency management communications, helping during the Marshall fire, as well as being on the committee for the state’s digital equity plan, Miller said.
Karen McCullah, the interpreting coordinator, will still be available as a subject matter expert and will continue to be an independent interpreter.
“We’re really sad. This is really hard,” Miller said. “We were called to the table constantly for input on that, and I’m hoping we can still do that, but it’s a little bit harder when you’re not continually providing those services.”