Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
I.
Purpose and Jurisdiction
A.
Purpose. The practice of
interpreting affects the public health, safety, and welfare and civic,
economic, social, academic, and recreational aspects of life. Individuals who
are Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, or Oral Deaf, individuals with
disabilities who use special techniques in order to communicate, and
individuals whose primary language is sign language have a civil right to
effective communication. Further, individuals with hearing disabilities and
those with whom they communicate require and are entitled to competent reliable
interpreting services. Therefore, Arkansas finds the practice of interpreting
should be subject to licensure and regulation to protect the public's interest
by providing minimum qualifications for interpreters and to ensure that members
of the interpreting profession perform with a high degree of
competency.
B.
Jurisdiction.
These Rules regulate the licensing of interpreters for individuals who
are Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, or Oral Deaf and impose penalties for
persons or entities that violate these Rules.
C.
Limitations. These Rules do
not establish minimum qualifications for interpreters in the K-12 school
setting. Those qualifications have been established by the Arkansas Department
of Education. Please contact ADE for the most current guidelines.
II.
Definitions
(1)
"Cued speech" means the
system of handshapes that represent groups of consonant sounds and hand
placements that represent groups of vowel sounds that is used with natural
speech to represent a visual model of spoken language;
(2)
"Deaf interpreter" means a
Deaf individual who facilitates communication between another Deaf person and a
licensed qualified interpreter or between two (2) or more Deaf
persons;
(3)
"Deaf
individual" means an individual who has a documented hearing loss so
severe that the individual is unable to process speech and language through
hearing, with or without amplification;
(4)
"Deafblind individual" means
an individual who has a combined loss of vision and hearing that prevents the
individual's vision or hearing from being used as a primary source for
accessing information;
(5)
"Hard of Hearing individual" means an individual who has a hearing
loss, may primarily use visual communication, and may use assistive
devices;
(6)
"Interpret"
means to provide language equivalency between a hearing individual and
an individual who is Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, or Oral Deaf using
techniques that include without limitation:
A.
American Sign Language;
B.
English-based sign language;
C.
Cued speech; and
D. Oral
interpreting;
(7)
"Interpreting agency" means an entity that provides qualified
interpreter services for a fee;
(8)
"Hiring entity" means any entity that hires or employs qualified
interpreters;
(9)
"Oral Deaf
individual" means an individual whose sense of hearing is nonfunctional
for the purpose of communication and whose primary method of communication is
speech reading and spoken English;
(10)
"Oral interpreting" means
the use of oral transliteration with special techniques to make the English
language visible for persons who communicate as speech readers;
(11)
"Licensed Provisional Interpreter"
means an individual who is Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing or Oral Deaf
and is provisionally licensed under these Rules and subject to Ark. Code Ann.
§
20-14-801 et seq.; and
(12)
"Licensed Qualified Interpreter"
means an individual who is licensed under these Rules and subject to
Ark. Code Ann. §
20-14-801 et seq.
III.
Advisory
Board for Interpreters
A.
Pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. §
20-14-801 et seq. (Act 1314 of
2013), the Advisory Board for Interpreters between Hearing individuals and
Individuals who are Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, or Oral Deaf (hereinafter
referred to as the "Advisory Board for Interpreters") shall be created within
the Department of Health.
B.
Members. The Advisory Board of Interpreters shall consist of seven
(7) members appointed by the Director of the Department of Health (hereinafter
referred to as the "Director") as follows:
(1) Four (4) licensed qualified interpreters
appointed from a list of eight (8) submitted by the Arkansas Registry of
Interpreters for the Deaf in conjunction with the Arkansas Association of the
Deaf;
(2) Two (2) members appointed
from a list of four (4) submitted by the Arkansas Association of the Deaf in
conjunction with the Arkansas Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf who are
Deaf persons. Hard of Hearing persons, or Oral Deaf persons not licensed under
this subchapter; and
(3) One (1)
member appointed from a list of two (2) submitted by the Arkansas Association
of the Deaf in conjunction with the Arkansas Registry of Interpreters for the
Deaf who are neither individuals who are Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, or
Oral Deaf and who are not licensed under this subchapter.
C.
Terms. Each member shall
serve a term of three (3) years. A member shall not serve more than two (2)
consecutive terms.
D.
Quorum.
Four (4) members of the Advisory Board for Interpreters constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business.
E.
Vacancy. If a vacancy occurs
on the Advisory Board for Interpreters, the Director shall appoint to complete
the term vacated a person who possesses the same qualifications as those
required for the position to which he or she is appointed.
F.
Meetings. The Advisory Board
shall hold meetings at the offices of the Department of Health in Little Rock,
Arkansas or at other places as the Advisory Board for Interpreters may
determine. Meetings for review of documents and recommendations may be done via
technology, in lieu efface to face, provided those meetings comply with the
open meeting requirement of the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act.
The Department of Health shall provide meeting facilities and
staff for such meetings of the Advisory Board for Interpreters for the purpose
of keeping records.
IV.
Powers and Duties of
the Advisory Board for Interpreters
The Advisory Board for Interpreters shall:
A. Recommend rules for the operation of the
Advisory Board for Interpreters.
B.
Review and recommend to the Director:
1.
Acceptance or rejection of applications for licensure and renewal of licenses
for interpreters for the Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing and Oral
Deaf;
2. Criteria for issuance and
renewal of licenses for licensed qualified interpreters;
3. Criteria for issuance and continuance of
provisional licenses;
4. Fees for
licensure and licensure renewal;
5.
Suspension or revocation of licenses;
6. Procedures for receiving and investigating
complaints under the Arkansas Administrative Procedure Act;
7. Rules to ensure that an interpreting
agency provides only licensed qualified interpreters for services;
8. Ruies regarding conflicts of interest
regarding members of the Advisory Board for interpreters; and
9. A professional code of conduct.
V.
Conflicts of Interest Regarding Members of the Advisory Board
for Interpreters
A.
Membership on the Advisory Board for Interpreters is solely at the invitation
and discretion of the Director. In order to avoid any potential conflict of
interest with the responsibilities of the Advisory Board for Interpreters, the
following statement has been adopted to guide the Advisory Board for
Interpreters on issues of potential influences on judgment, disclosure and
recusal.
B.
Declaration.
Appointees to the Advisory Board of Interpreters must be free from
conflicts of interest and undue influence and sign a Conflict of Interest
Declaration (attached hereto as Appendix A). Said Declaration shall be signed
annually
C. Conflicts of interest
are identified as follows:
1. A sitting member
on a credentialing panel. This includes, but is not limited to, persons who
serve as raters when evaluating interpreters sitting for the QAST, RID
Certification, EIPA or BEI.
2. An
employer with the authority to hire or employ interpreters. This includes, but
is not limited to, persons who hire or fire interpreters for colleges or
universities, video relay service (VRS) call centers, human resource
departments for public school systems, or any individual working for an entity
with the authority to hire or employ interpreters.
3. An owner and/or individual who runs an
interpreter agency. This includes, but is not limited to persons who run an
interpreter agency in which interpreters are subcontracted to work for the
business.
D.
Disclosure: Members shall disclose in writing to the
Advisory Board for Interpreters any person to whom they are closely related or
organization with which they are affiliated which presently transacts business
with the Department of Health or might reasonably be expected to do so in the
future. Each disclosure shall be updated and resubmitted on an annual
basis.
E. An affiliation with an
organization will be considered to exist when a member or his or her immediate
family or close relative is an officer, director, trustee, partner, employee or
agent of the organization, or owns five percent of the voting stocl< or
controlling interest in the organization or has any other substantial interest
or dealings with an organization.
F.
Abstaining from Participation:
Any member shall abstain from voting and actively participating on any
matter in which said member may be considered to have a conflict of interest.
G.
Abstaining Declaration:
An abstaining declaration shall be made for the record at the beginning
of any such motion or discussion and shall be recorded in the official minutes
of the meeting.
H.
Other
Affiliations: A member shall not serve in a fund development or grants
management capacity for another non-profit or health care organization if such
service would represent a conflict of interest.
I. If, during their service on the Advisory
Board, a members' situation changes in such a manner as to create a conflict of
interest, the member shall immediately inform the Director.
VI.
Application
for Qualified Interpreter Licensure
A. Any individual desiring to practice
interpreting within the state of Arkansas may submit an application for
licensure (attached hereto as Appendix B).
B. The Advisory Board for Interpreters shall
recommend to the Director, after review of said application, issuance of a
license to an applicant who submits proof of the following:
1. A completed application with appropriate
required fees;
2. Documentation of
credential(s) held and sustained by continuing education units
(CEUs);
3. Documentation of CEUs if
credential(s) held does not have CEU requirements to maintain said
credential(s); and
4.
Acknowledgment of adherence to the professional ethical practices set forth in
these Rules.
C.
Expiration. A license issued under these Rules expires on December
31 of the calendar year on which it was issued.
D.
Renewal. A license issued
under these Rules is to be renewed upon expiration of the calendar
year.
E.
Late Renewal.
If for some reason a licensee fails to renew by January 31 of the
calendar year, the licensee shall submit the application with a statement
explaining the reason for late renewal and the renewal fee and late fee. There
is no guarantee that late application requests will be automatically approved.
Each request will be evaluated separately and independent from others. If a
request for a late renewal is denied, the licensee will be given notice and an
opportunity for a hearing.
Applications submitted after IVIarcli 1 of tlie calendar year
shall be treated as applications for initial licensure and subject to all
applicable fees.
VII.
Application for
Provisional Licensure
A.
Definition. An individual desiring to apply for a Provisional
Interpreter's License is any individual who is Deaf or Hard of Hearing that
practices in providing interpreting services, thus practicing as a "Deaf
interpreter." The Provisional Interpreter's License will only be available for
individuals who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing and who are not yet credentialed by
any of the credentialing entities listed in Section IX.
B.
Requirements. Any individual
who is Deaf, Deafblind or Hard of Hearing may apply for a provisional licensure
to practice as a "Deaf interpreter" and must submit the following:
1. A completed application with appropriate
required fees;
2. Documentation of
fifteen (15) hours of interpreter training;
3. Documentation of ten (10) hours of
supervised observation/interpreting with a seasoned, RID credentialed
interpreter; and
4. Two (2)
letters of recommendation from seasoned RID credentialed
interpreters.
C.
Expiration. A license issued under these Rules expires on December
31 of the calendar year on which it was issued.
D.
Renewal. A license issued
under these Rules is to be renewed upon expiration of the calendar
year.
E.
Late Renewal.
If for some reason a licensee fails to renew by January 31 of the
calendar year, the licensee shall submit the application with a statement
explaining the reason for late renewal and the renewal fee and late fee. There
is no guarantee that late application requests will be automatically approved.
Each request will be evaluated separately and independent from others. If a
request for a late renewal is denied, the licensee will be given notice and an
opportunity for a hearing.
Applications submitted after IVlarch 1 of the calendar year
shall be treated as applications for initial licensure and subject to all
applicable fees.
VIII.
Recognized
Credentials.
Credentials obtained by practicing interpreters currently
recognized by the Advisory Board for Interpreters include:
1. Arkansas Rehabilitation Services Quality
Assurance Screening Test (QAST);
2.
Educational Interpreter Performance Assessment;
3. National Association of the
Deaf;
4. National Cued Speech
Association;
5 Registry of
Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc.;
6.
Texas Board for Evaluation of Interpreters.
IX.
Continuing Education
Units
Licensed Qualified Interpreters must maintain Continuing
Education Units (CEUs) through the credentials held. Documentation of CEUs
obtained shall be submitted on an annual basis at renewal by providing
transcripts or tracking systems used by the credentialing bodies. If a Licensed
Qualified Interpreter does not have documentation to submit from a
credentialing body, then a total often (10) clock hours (10 clock hours = 1.0
CEU) of continuing education must be completed on an annual basis.
Documentation of the 10 clock hours shall be submitted at the time of
renewal.
X.
Code of Conduct
A. A Licensed Qualified Interpreter shall
make a true interpretation, in an understandable manner, to an individual who
is Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, or Oral Deaf for whom the Licensed
Qualified Interpreter is appointed. The Licensed Qualified Interpreter will
interpret accurately the statements of the individual who is Deaf or Hard of
Hearing who desires that his or her statements be made into spoken language, to
the best of the Licensed Qualified Interpreter's skill and judgment.
B. All information that a Licensed Qualified
Interpreter gathers, learns from, or relays to an individual who is Deaf,
Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, or Oral Deaf during an administrative, civil, or
criminal proceeding shall remain confidential and privileged unless the
individual who is Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, or Oral Deaf desires that
the information be communicated to other persons.
C. Interpreters shall accept, refuse or
withdraw from assignments based upon their experience, capabilities and
credentials (as determined by his or her level of proficiency). A summary of
the credentials held and what has been identified as appropriate assignments
for those credentials can be found in Section XI of these Rules.
D. Upon request of any consumer or hiring
entity, an interpreter shall show proof of his or her Arkansas license
indicating qualifications and credentials.
E. This Code of Conduct incorporates by
reference the NAD-RID Code of Professional Conduct of the Registry of
Interpreters for the Deaf, with no amendments or editions thereto.
XI.
Summary of
Credentials
Sign language interpreters' credentials are based on levels of
proficiency, and in order to protect the health, welfare and safety of the
consumers, interpreters shall only accept assignments appropriate for their
proficiency based upon accepted credentials for licensure
Upon request of any consumer or hiring entity, an interpreter
shall show proof of his or her Arkansas license that will indicate
qualifications. The following list of settings for qualifications is not
all-inclusive.
A.
QAST I;
BEII
Routine Eye Exam, Lab Work
Physical Therapy, Audiological (hearing exam). Dental
Care
Support Services -, Orientation, Tutoring, Life/Work
Skills
Basic Job Readiness Training (semi-skilled technical or
unskilled labor), Interview Application for Services
Social Services- Independent Living Basic Living Skills, Bus
Card
Civic Club Meetings, Recreation, Socialization
B.
QAST II; BEI II; BEI
Basic
Inquiries regarding eligibility for services
Support Services - Diagnostics, Evaluations, Academic
Counseling
Continuing Education Workshops
Group Meetings, On-the-job Training
Sheltered Workshop
Employment Related/Union Meetings
Routine Physical, Hospital Admissions
Child Birth Classes
All settings listed in Subsection XI(A)
C.
QAST III; BEI III; BEI
Advanced
Driver License Testing
Social Services-Food Stamps, Social Security,
Medicare/Medicaid, TEA/SNAP benefits
Employment Related Job Interview/Application
Civil Investigations
IVIeetings with Parole/Probation Officers
Campus Police or other law enforcement investigations
Civil Weddings performed in or out of a courtroom
Governmental Proceedings
Legislation
Tax Assessment/Appeal Proceedings
Medical - Emergency Room, General rounds and Surgery
Therapy- Physical, Chemotherapy, Chiropractic,
Ontological
Speaker or Lectures
Postsecondary Education
TV News
All settings listed in Subsections XI(A) & XI(B)
D.
QAST IV-V; BE IIV-V; BE
I Master
Social Services Disputes
Polygraph Testing
Post Bond
Discrimination Proceedings- Prior to court
Mental Health
Minor Civil matters outside of the Courts
Graduate and Post-Graduate Education
Restraining Order Application
Domestic/Family Violence Calls and Investigations
Abuse Calls and Investigations
All settings listed in Subsections XI(A), XI(B), &
XI(C)
F.
RID
Credentials
Legal Proceedings in/out of the courts
Pre-Trial Release
Peace Bonds/Restraining Orders, Copyrights/Patents
Child Custody or Child Welfare
Mental Health Therapy
Jury Duty
All settings listed in Subsections XI(A), XI(B), XI(C), XI(D),
& XI(E).
**AII in-court cases must adhere to Act 237: An
Act to Amend the Process for Appointment, Certification, and Regulation of
Court Interpreters; and for other purposes.
XII.
Fees
All fees are to be paid at the time of application or request
for services. Fees are nonrefundable and are not pro-rated. Annual fees follow
a calendar year. Additional fees will be assessed for insufficient funds if
such should happen. Current fee structures are:
|
Initial Application and Licensure Fee (includes
application and first year annual fee)
|
$125.00
|
|
Annual Fee
(Renewal on the calendar year)
|
$ 90.00
|
|
Upgrade Fee
(If an individual receives a higher credential prior to
the end of the year and wishes to reflect the higher credential on their
license)
|
$ 35.00
|
|
Annual Late Fee
(Dependent upon Advisory Board for Interpreters
review)
|
$ 25.00
|
|
Replacement Card Fee
|
$ 10.00
|
|
Insufficient Funds Fee
(NSF will require payment in the form of a Money Order
or Cashier's Check)
|
$ 35.00
|
XIII.
Complaint Process.
A. Complaints may be filed when an
individual, hiring agency, or interpreting agency:
1. violates the Professional Code of
Conduct;
2. knowingly hires an
interpreter who is not qualified; or
3. engages in the practice of interpreting
without a license.
B.
The following may file a complaint:
1. Any
Deaf or Hard of Hearing consumer of interpreting services;
2. Any hearing consumer of interpreting
services; or
3. Any person having
direct interest in the occurrence specified in the complaint.
C. The complaint must specify the
time, place, and person(s) involved, and must describe the actions which
constitute the alleged offense.
D.
All complaints are to be filed in writing with the Advisory Board for
Interpreters using the Complaint Form (attached hereto as Appendix C), and
should be filed within ninety (90) days of the alleged offense.
E. Any person filing a complaint regarding
ethical practices of a licensed qualified interpreter may also file a complaint
with the respective credentialing entity.
F. All complaints shall be reviewed and
investigated by a member of the Advisory Board.
G. If a complaint and investigation results
in penalties being assessed against an individual or entity, that individual or
entity shall be provided notice and the opportunity for a hearing before the
Advisory Board for Interpreters, whose decision can be appealed to the Arkansas
Board of Health by the individual.
The Advisory Board member who reviewed and investigated the
complaint shall recuse himself or herself from voting at the hearing of the
matter.
H. Publication of
final orders that result in sanctions shall be posted on the licensure website.
However, any confidential information contained in the complaint shall be
removed.
XIV.
Penalties
A.
Amount of Penalty. Any individual who is not licensed and who
admits to interpreting without a license or is found by the Advisory Board to
have held himself or herself out to the public as a licensed qualified
interpreter is guilty of a violation and shall be fined not less than one
hundred dollars ($100) and not more than five hundred dollars ($500).
B.
Suspension of Penalty. The
fine assessed may be suspended if the person found in violation complies with
the law within thirty (30) days of the finding.
C. An interpreting agency that admits to or
is found to be knowingly hiring or providing interpreting services for an
individual who is Deaf, Deafblind, Hard of Hearing, or Oral Deaf through an
individual not licensed under these Rules, is guilty of a violation and shall
be fined not less than five hundred dollars ($500) and not more than one
thousand dollars ($1,000).
