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Professionalizing Interpreting
Since its inception, Interpreters United has sought to improve the quality of the interpreter services provided in Washington State. DSHS has been certifying and authorizing spoken language interpreters since 1993. However, this interpreter certifying body has no mandatory training or orientation as part of its accreditation process, no criminal background check and no continuing education to maintain the credential.
A 2012 study by the Institute for Justice informs that Washington State licenses 54 of the 102 low- to moderate-income occupations studied, and averages $152 in fees and 199 days in required training. Unlike DSHS interpreters, massage therapists must undergo 117 days of training and manicurists and skin care specialists must complete 140 days of training. Meanwhile, it takes 233 days of training to become a barber and 373 days to become a cosmetologist. Below please find a compairaison with other spoken language certifying bodies.
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Certifying Body
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Mandatory Training
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Continuing Education
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OR HCA
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60 hours
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30 hours every 3 years
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CCHI
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40 hours
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32 hours every 4 years
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NBCMI
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40 hours
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30 hours every 5 years
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WA AOC
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16 hours
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16 hours every 2 years
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OR HCA: Oregon State Health Care Interpreter Program, Health Care Authority
CCHI: Certification Commission for Healthcare Interpreters
NBCMI: National Board for the Certification of Medical Interpreters, a division of the International Medical Interpreters Association (IMIA)
WA AOC: Washington State Court Interpreter Program, Administrative Office of the Courts
Washington State interpreters are lucky to have many resources here in our state to increase our professional knowledge and skills. Below are a selection of resources available to you as a professional interpreter.
Washington State Certificate Programs:
Translation and Interpretation Certificate Program at Bellevue College
Language Interpreting Certificate Program at Pierce College
Healthcare Interpreter Certificate Program at Highline Community College
Spanish Medical Interpreter Certificate Program at Everett Community College
Spanish Medical Interpreter Certificate Program at Walla Walla Community College
Interpreter Trainings:
Medical Interpreter Training by Seattle-based Cross Cultural Health Care's Bridging the Gap Program
*****WFSE/AFSCME members receive a $100 discount for this program!*****
Puget Sound Skills Center Translation & Interpretation Program
Healthcare Interpreter Trainings by Connecting Cultures
The Community Interpreter http://www.thecommunityinterpreter.com/
Cross Cultural Communications http://www.cultureandlanguage.net/
University of Arizona, National Center for Interpretation, Agnese Haury Institute http://nci.arizona.edu
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Online Courses:
ATA Annual Conference http://atanet.org/conf/2014/
ATA Webinar Series http://atanet.org/webinars/
Connecting Cultures http://www.interpreterdevelopment.com/
De La Mora Interpreter Training http://interpreter-training.com
Coursera’s eCPD Webinars https://www.coursera.org/
Interpreter Education Online http://site.interpretereducationonline.com
Interpretrain Webinars http://www.interpretrain.com/workshops/workshops.html
iTunes U http://www.open.edu/itunes/
Massive Open Online Courses http://www.mooc-list.com/
ProZ http://www.proz.com/translator-training
Vocabulary Development:
Cross Cultural Health Care Program (CCHCP) offers many resources for interpreters, including medical glossaries in over 23 languages! Visit CCHCP's online store to learn more.
Interpreter and Translator Associations:
Many of our associations are also very active in putting on professional development programs Please check their websites for more current program offerings.
Language Access Organizations:
Some non-profit organizations, dedicated to assisting state and local agencies to understand and comply with their obligations under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, offer great training opportunities to interpreters.
Please contact [email protected] if you have an upcoming professional development / training opportunity in or near Washington State which you would like for us to consider listing on our events calendar.
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