March 19, 2010
Controlling Board OKs Supreme Court Interpreter Certification Fund
The Controlling Board approved a request last week by the Supreme Court of Ohio to create a fund to deposit fees from the new court interpreter certification program.
Effective Jan. 1, the Supreme Court adopted rules regarding the certification of foreign language and sign language interpreters used by Ohio courts.
Under the rules, applicants for certification will pay fees to the Interpreter Services Program when applying, training, and testing to be certified as court interpreters. The deposited fees will be used to sustain the program and the certification system. Specifically, the money will be used to provide training and written exams and to pay language experts to grade oral exams.
Those applying to be certified must submit a nonrefundable application fee along with their application. In addition, applicants must pay a fee to attend two orientation trainings given by the program. Ohio residents will pay a total of $175 (non-residents $225) for the application fee, written examination fee, and orientation training fee. Applicants who pass the written exam will pay a total of $300 (Ohio residents) or $350 (non-residents) to take the oral exam, which also covers additional training and grading.
The Court expects to collect about $39,000 per year in fees from applicants.
Bruno Romero, manager of the Interpreter Services Program said the certification will ensure that interpreters working in the courts meet the minimum standards of language fluency.
“State and federal law require complete and accurate interpretations in legal proceedings,” Romero said. “Certified interpreters will ensure that constitutional guarantees are afforded to all linguistic minorities, including deaf and hard of hearing populations.”
Contact: Chris Davey or Bret Crow at 614.387.9250.