Terrell I. Murphy <\/p>\n
Commissioner <\/p>\n
DARS\/OFFICE FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING SERVICES ACTIVITIES PROVIDE
\nBENEFITS FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN AND COURT INTERPRETERS <\/p>\n
Not even Hurricane Eduardo could spoil the fun and learning
\nexperience for 110 children who are deaf or hard of hearing who were
\nenjoying Camp Sign, a week-long camping experience, August 3-9. This
\ncamp at Conroe is owned and operated by the San Jacinto Girl Scouts
\nCouncil. DARS\/Office for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services has
\nsponsored Camp Sign, which serves children ages 8 to 18, each year for
\nmore than 30 years. Conroe was in the path of the storm but was not
\nconsidered a high risk area, so all the children were kept in a highly
\nsecure building on the camp grounds for a day, busying themselves with
\ncamp activities while the storm passed. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe children were quite unaware of the storm\u2014just a rainy
\nday,\u201d said Ann Horn, DARS\/DHHS staff coordinator for Camp Sign,
\nwhich has a staff of 56, all fluent signers, in addition to 25 staff
\nemployed by the Council. <\/p>\n
Charlene \u201cSport\u201d Carl, a retired educator of the deaf, is the
\ncamp\u2019s activities director, a position she has held for 24 years as
\na volunteer. The camp is another DARS\/DHHS activity that is made
\npossible by partners who contribute in a variety of ways to make the
\ncamp possible for the children. Among partners, in addition to the San
\nJacinto Girl Scouts Council, are the Texas Education Agency, Be an
\nAngel Fund, and the Janus Corporation of Houston. <\/p>\n
Still another DARS\/DHHS activity, COURT INTERPRETER TRAINING, with 68
\nparticipants from Texas and 13 other states, got underway on August 11
\nat Austin Community College in Austin and will continue for five days
\nthrough August 15. The DARS\/DHHS\/BEI interpreter certification program
\ncertifies court interpreters who, in order to become court certified,
\nmust meet strict court interpreter training and mentoring requirements
\nin addition to the requirement of having advanced BEI or RID
\ncertifications. Texas law requires that courts must provide
\ninterpreters for deaf persons who need that service for effective
\ncommunication in the courts, and the court interpreters must be court
\ncertified. <\/p>\n
Randi Turner, DARS\/DHHS training coordinator, and Buddy Bauer, a
\ncertified court interpreter and community partner, put together a
\ntraining team. The team was led by Carla Mathers, a Texas native and
\nWashington, DC attorney who is a former interpreter and retains her
\ncertification. The team also includes Helen Cohen-Gilbert, a certified
\ncourt interpreter from McKinney, and Lucy Wood, an attorney with
\nAdvocacy, Inc. in Austin. In addition to attorneys and court
\ninterpreters, the training team includes a judge, a prosecutor, a
\nmedical examiner, and law enforcement officers representing Travis
\nCounty. <\/p>\n
The training targets two groups: interpreters who are court certified
\nand seeking to improve their skills and knowledge, and those
\ninterpreters who are not court certified but are preparing for that
\ncertification. Each group is provided with training topics that are
\ndesigned to meet their needs. A highlight of the training for the
\ngroup that is preparing for certification is a \u201chands on\u201d trip to
\nthe Travis County courthouse for sessions with a judge, police and
\nsheriff\u2019s investigators, a medical examiner, and a prosecutor. <\/p>\n
DARS\/DHHS appreciates the assistance provided by several partners,
\nincluding Austin Community College, Advocacy, Inc., Hands-On Video
\nRelay Services, Sorenson Communications, and Travis County government.<\/p>\n
Submitted by<\/p>\n
David Myers<\/p>\n
Email: David.Myers@dars.state.tx.us<\/p>\n
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Terrell I. Murphy Commissioner DARS\/OFFICE FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING SERVICES ACTIVITIES PROVIDE BENEFITS FOR DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING CHILDREN AND COURT INTERPRETERS Not even Hurricane Eduardo could spoil the fun and learning experience for 110 children who…<\/p>\n