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Media/News

All media and public relations inquires should be directed to:

Tina Schultz
Director of Communication
RID
333 Commerce Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
tschultz@rid.org
703-838-0030 ext 208
(703) 838-0459 TTY
(703) 838-0454 Fax
Office hours: 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. EST

About RID:

The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID, which is pronounced as three separate letters, R-I-D) is a national membership organization representing the professionals who provide sign language interpreting/transliterating services for the Deaf and hard of hearing in a vast array of community settings.

It is RID’s function to support our membership by providing the foundation needed to launch and sustain careers while ensuring quality service to the Deaf community. We do this through a four-pronged approach: Education, Standards, Relationships and Resources. RID strives to improve the quality, quantity and qualifications of sign language interpreters through its three main triad of services -- National Testing System, Certification Maintenance Program, and Ethical Practices System.

With membership topping 12,000, RID is governed by a ten member board of directors and supported by a national office. Additionally, the association has more than 50 state and local affiliate chapters.

Established in 1964 and incorporated in 1973, RID is a tax-exempt 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.

Following is the breakdown of RID membership numbers for 2006:

6,213 RID Certified members
4,139 Associate members (non-RID certified professional interpreters).
84 Certified/Inactive members
64 Certified/Retired members
940 Student members
302 Organization members
609 Supporting members

Americans With Disabilities Act (ADA)

For complete access to the ADA, go to the U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) website at http://www.usdoj.gov/crt/ada/adahom1.htm

Below is information relevant to the utilization of interpreters from the ADA. The source of this information is from http://www.ada.gov/taman3.html#III-4.3100

III-4.3200 Effective communication. In order to provide equal access, a public accommodation is required to make available appropriate auxiliary aids and services where necessary to ensure effective communication. The type of auxiliary aid or service necessary to ensure effective communication will vary in accordance with the length and complexity of the communication involved.

Who decides what type of auxiliary aid should be provided? Public accommodations should consult with individuals with disabilities wherever possible to determine what type of auxiliary aid is needed to ensure effective communication. In many cases, more than one type of auxiliary aid or service may make effective communication possible. While consultation is strongly encouraged, the ultimate decision as to what measures to take to ensure effective communication rests in the hands of the public accommodation, provided that the method chosen results in effective communication.

Who is a qualified interpreter? There are a number of sign language systems in use by persons who use sign language. (The most common systems of sign language are American Sign Language and signed English.) Individuals who use a particular system may not communicate effectively through an interpreter who uses another system. When an interpreter is required, the public accommodation should provide a qualified interpreter, that is, an interpreter who is able to sign to the individual who is deaf what is being said by the hearing person and who can voice to the hearing person what is being signed by the individual who is deaf. This communication must be conveyed effectively, accurately, and impartially, through the use of any necessary specialized vocabulary.

Can a public accommodation use a staff member who signs "pretty well" as an interpreter for meetings with individuals who use sign language to communicate? Signing and interpreting are not the same thing. Being able to sign does not mean that a person can process spoken communication into the proper signs, nor does it mean that he or she possesses the proper skills to observe someone signing and change their signed or fingerspelled communication into spoken words. The interpreter must be able to interpret both receptively and expressively.

If a sign language interpreter is required for effective communication, must only a certified interpreter be provided? No. The key question in determining whether effective communication will result is whether the interpreter is "qualified," not whether he or she has been actually certified by an official licensing body. A qualified interpreter is one "who is able to interpret effectively, accurately and impartially, both receptively and expressively, using any necessary specialized vocabulary." An individual does not have to be certified in order to meet this standard. A certified interpreter may not meet this standard in all situations, e.g., where the interpreter is not familiar with the specialized vocabulary involved in the communication at issue.

In the News

RID Announces Degree Requirement Extension for Hearing Candidates for Certification: Associate's Degree Requirement Deadline Postponed until June 30, 2009.

March 31, 2008 – Alexandria, VA – The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) announced today it will be extending the deadline requiring an associate’s degree for hearing candidates for certification from June 30, 2008 to June 30, 2009. The one year extension will enable the national office to ensure that the proper procedures are in place to handle and assess alternative pathway requests. (i.e., equivalent alternative criteria allowable in lieu of the educational requirements) Learn more>>

NAD Settles Complaint against Baltimore Washington Medical Center

SILVER SPRING, MD – An agreement to resolve a lawsuit between a local hospital and one of its patients regarding the hospital's provision of qualified interpreting services, including video interpreting, to deaf and hard of hearing patients was announced earlier today. Learn more>>

Closed Captioning: Sen. Harkin's Proposal Expands Careers

Sen. Tom Harkin (D-IA) introduced recently "The Training for Realtime Writers Act of 2007," (S. 675, February 2007), a bill to authorize $100 million in grants that would expand training and job placement for closed captioners and court reporters. The bill is intended to help lessen the shortage of people available to insert closed captioning in television and other video programming. Beginning in January 2006, the government has required 100% of all new television programming to have closed captioning and the demand for captioners is very high. The measure is a personal priority for the Senator whose brother was deaf. Learn more>>

Accessible Technology Standards under Review by Federal Committee

The Telecommunications and Electronic and Information Technology Advisory Committee (TEITAC) has now met three times in Washington, D.C. (September 06, November 06, February 07) and will meet again in May and July 07. The Committee is charged with providing recommendations to the U.S. Access Board for standards for electronic and information technology under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act and guidelines for telecommunications products under Section 255 of the Communications Act. Learn more>>