Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 3, March 1, 2024
(1) Individuals
enrolled in the Health Care Interpreter (HCI) central registry must:
(a) Be at least 18 years of age.
(b) Have at least a high school diploma from
an accredited school in the United States of America, or pass the General
Educational Development Test (GED), or have an equivalent education from
another country.
(A) Individuals from other
countries may apply to the Oregon Health Authority for an exception to this
requirement when documentation to prove education is not available.
(B) Exceptions are at the sole discretion of
the Oregon Health Authority.
(c) Not be on the Medicaid Exclusion
list.
(d) Abide by a nationally
recognized code of ethics and standards of practice such as the National Code
of Ethics for Interpreters in Health Care, the National Standards of Practice
for Interpreters in Health Care, and the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf
(RID) Code of Professional Conduct, as applicable.
(e) Submit the required forms and
documentation to become a certified or qualified health care interpreter as
defined by OAR 950, division 50.
(2) Applicants seeking to become a qualified
health care interpreter for a spoken language or languages and enrolled in the
central registry must:
(a) Comply with the
requirements set out in section (1) of this rule;
(b) Provide written verification of one of
the following:
(A) At least 60 hours of formal
training as defined in OAR 950-050-0060, with a certificate of completion dated
no more than one year prior to the date of the written application to the HCI
central registry; or
(B) At least
60 hours of formal training as defined in OAR 950-050-0060, with a certificate
of completion dated more than one year prior to the date of the written HCI
central registry application along with documentation that shows the applicant
has been performing HCI work since completing. Documentation shall include a
letter of proof, on letterhead from the supervisor or the client, if
applicable; or
(C) Educators and
trainers of health care interpreters or ASL interpreters who have worked in the
field for two consecutive years within the 4 years prior to the date of
application may receive credit for 40 hours of the 60 hour requirement by
providing valid documentation from an established registry or institution for
time spent training health care interpreters. The remaining 20 hours shall meet
Oregon Health Authority-approved requirements.
(c) Demonstrate health care interpreting
knowledge by passing a skill evaluation offered by an Oregon Health
Authority-approved language proficiency testing center provided for in OAR
950-050-0070, or meet equivalent language proficiency requirements set by the
Oregon Health Authority. Equivalent standards include having an organization or
community that represents limited English proficiency members provide language
proficiency testing for languages that do not have a test available.
(3) Applicants seeking to become a
qualified health care interpreter for American Sign Language and enrolled in
the central registry must:
(a) Comply with the
requirements set out in section (1) of this rule;
(b) Provide written verification of
certification in American Sign Language interpreting from the Registry of
Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) or other Oregon Health Authority-approved
signed language certification and testing bodies; and
(c) Provide verification of passing an
approved language proficiency exam, such as the American Sign Language
Proficiency Interview (ASLPI); or the Sign Language Proficiency Interview
(SLPI; ASL) with a minimum proficiency level of 4 or advanced.
(4) Applicants seeking to become a
certified health care interpreter in a spoken language or languages and
enrolled in the central registry must:
(a)
Comply with the requirements set out in section (1) and (2) of this rule;
and
(b) Pass an Oregon Health
Authority approved certification test at an interpreter certification testing
center on the list provided for in OAR 950-050-0070.
(5) Applicants seeking to become a certified
health care interpreter in American Sign Language and enrolled in the central
registry must comply with the requirements set out in section (1), (2)(b), and
(3) of this rule.
(6) Applicants
seeking to become Signed language interpreters and enrolled in the central
registry must:
(a) Have a Registry of
Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) certification; and
(b) Provide verification of passing an
approved language proficiency exam, such as the American Sign Language
Proficiency Interview (ASLPI); or the Sign Language Proficiency Interview
(SLPI; ASL) with a minimum proficiency level of 4 or advanced.
(7) The following qualified and
certified Signed Language health care interpreter application dates apply:
(a) All signed language health care
interpreter renewing applicants with expiration dates between August 1, 2023
through July 31, 2024, will have until July 31, 2024, to comply with OAR
chapter 950, division 50 upon renewal.
(b) All first-time signed language health
care interpreters applicants will have until July 31, 2024, to comply with OAR
chapter 950, division 50.
(c) All
first-time and renewing signed language applicants must comply with OAR chapter
950, division 50 at the time of application or renewal beginning August 1,
2024.
(8) The Oregon
Health Authority may accept formal training from entities outside of Oregon
that demonstrate their criteria are equal to or exceed Oregon's criteria as
established by these rules.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS 413.558
Statutes/Other Implemented: 413.558 & ORS
413.556
