Sign Language Interpreting & CART Services

​Business Summary

Keystone Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services is a non-profit agency first established in 1968 to provide services to the deaf and hard of hearing community in Berks County, PA. The KDHHS vision is to be the premier organization serving deaf and hard of hearing individuals in Berks, Lancaster and surrounding counties.

Expertise

Sign Language Interpreters are Nationally Certified through RID (Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf) and registered with the (ODHH) Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. Our interpreters attend extensive workshops to improve their skills, keep up to date with current policies, and obtain additional specialized certifications such as SC:L (Specialized Certificate: Legal), NIC (Nationally Certified Interpreter), Ed:K-12 (Educational Certified), and CDI (Certified Deaf Interpreter)

CART providers are local and across the country, certifications range from CBC (Certified Broadcast Captioner),CRR (Certified Real-time Reporter), CSR (Certified Shorthand Reporter) and RPR (Registered Professional Reporter). Languages include English and Spanish.

Capabilities

Sign Language Interpreters are Nationally Certified through Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID). Sign Language Interpreters make the communication connection between the deaf/hard of hearing and hearing world.

• Medical Settings
• Employment, interviews, meetings and trainings
• Social; personal and family events
• Government and State Agencies
• K-12 Education and Colleges/Universities

​Summary

Every business wants to improve their company image. Accessibility attracts people with disabilities, their friends and families. This is a potentially untapped resource of new customers, patients or employees.

Sign language interpreters provide the communication link between Deaf, Hard of Hearing and Hearing individuals. All KDHHS interpreters are of the highest quality and are RID certified. We employ over 50 interpreters with a variety of skills to meet every type of interpreting need.

Tax Credits & Deductions

To assist businesses with complying with the ADA, Section 44 of the IRS Code allows a tax credit for small businesses and Section 190 of the IRS Code allows a tax deduction for all businesses.

The tax credit is available to businesses that have total revenues of $1,000,000 or less in the previous tax year or 30 or fewer full-time employees. This credit can cover 50% of the eligible access expenditures in a year up to $10,250 (maximum credit of $5000). The tax credit can be used to offset the cost of undertaking barrier removal and alterations to improve accessibility; providing accessible formats such as Braille, large print and audio tape; making available a sign language interpreter or a reader for customers or employees, and for purchasing certain adaptive equipment.

The tax deduction is available to all businesses with a maximum deduction of $15,000 per year. The tax deduction can be claimed for expenses incurred in barrier removal and alterations. To learn more about the tax credit and tax deduction provisions, contact the DOJ ADA Information Line: 800-514-0301 (voice)

KDHHS offers workshops throughout the year for interpreters and interpreting students. Our workshops are approved for continuing education units (CEUs) through the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. We present a variety of topics and are always interested in suggestions for topics or presenters.

RID’s Member Spotlight aims to highlight the hard work and dedication of our members. Each month RID will spotlight a certified, associate and student member, as available, to showcase their positive energy and passion for interpreting.

Eligible members must have a current membership and be in good standing with RID.

If you have someone you would like to nominate for the RID Member Spotlight, go there now to fill out the nomination form online.

The Student & Novice Interpreter Network (SNIN) is an initiative of the Northeastern University Regional Interpreter Education Center (NURIEC) that seeks to identify and address areas of support that students and new professionals need during the early phase of their professional development, as they advance towards certification and assume leadership roles throughout the field of ASL/English interpreting.

Come engage in the greater dialogue of challenges, issues, and areas of support that students and novice interpreters grapple with during these foundational years of professional development! Don't forget to check out their annual SNIN conference and other events!

Visit the SNIN Facebook group, NURIEC's website, and please feel free to contact Erica Kramer, Project Coordinator, at e.kramer@ northeastern.edu for more information.

CART is an acronym that stands for Communication Access Real-time Translation. By looking at the meaning of each of these words, CART can be defined as “the ability to use information at the actual time it occurs as it’s converted to another form.”

CART can be performed in almost any setting such as classrooms, businesses meetings, churches, graduations, etc. In all of these settings the information is the spoken word and the conversion is into text. So, by placing these two terms into the definition, it changes to “the ability to see spoken words converted into text at the actual time they occur."

In most instances a captioner, who uses a stenograph machine, will listen to what is being said and, by using their machine, will translate the words into text. This text will then be displayed on a computer screen that the captioner is connected to. The hearing impaired individual can then view the screen and read what the people in the room are saying almost at the exact same time they are saying it. This allows the hearing impaired individual more freedom to interact with everyone in the room.

There are two types of CART captioning: Onsite CART and Remote CART.

Onsite CART uses the setup that is described in the previous paragraph where the captioner and the hard of hearing individual are in the same room.

Remote CART separates the two by having the captioner at a different location then the hard of hearing individual. Remote CART is performed by using internet technologies such as streaming text. The setup for this requires two things. The first would be getting the audio transmitted to the captioner wherever they may be. This can be accomplished by using normal telephone lines, or by transmitting the audio over the internet. The second would be getting the captioned text transmitted to the hearing impaired individual. This can also be accomplished by using the internet. Most CART captioning companies already have the capability to do this using simple desktop sharing or text streaming software.

Advantages of CART

• CART allows equal access to all spoken information and allows participants to not only fully understand, but also participate in proceedings and discussions.
• CART can be used by several people at the same time. This includes people who are hard of hearing or deaf, people with English as a second language, people with physical limitations, or people with processing or learning difficulties.
• A verbatim printout is available which eliminates the need to take notes.
• CART increases reading and comprehension skills​
• Participants are able to sit anywhere in the room.
• For more information contact Elizabeth at KDHHS

The business that contracts the services of KDHHS will be known as the Customer. The client is the user of the services that you have agreed to purchase.

CANCELLATION POLICY:

We have developed policies that protect our agency and the contracted interpreters in the event a cancellation takes place. Sign Language Interpreters work in scheduled segments of time. Once they are assigned to an appointed time and location, they become unavailable to be assigned anywhere else. If an appointment is cancelled with less than 48 hour notice, the company will be billed for the assignment.

It is the responsibility of the Customer to notify KDHHS if either you or your client cancels an appointment.

One day assignment – There is a minimum of two hours on all assignments. If KDHHS is not notified of cancellation within 48 hours, the customer will be billed for the full length of the assignment scheduled plus travel time and mileage. If the interpreter is cancelled within 48 hours of the assignment, allowing KDHHS time to cancel the interpreter, the customer will be billed for the length of the assignment minus the travel time and mileage.

Multi-day assignments - If KDHHS is not notified of cancellation within 72 hours, then the customer will be billed for the days of service.

BAD WEATHER CANCELLATION:

KDHHS will not be responsible to listen to news media cancellation reports. KDHHS must be notified of any cancellations or postponements by the customer.

NO SHOW POLICY:

For assignments lasting up to two hours, the interpreter(s) is required to wait a minimum of 20 minutes if your client is not present at the confirmed stated time of the assignment. The customer can discharge the interpreter immediately or request that the interpreter wait until the end of the assignment for the your client to arrive.

For assignments more than two hours, the interpreter will check with the customer to find out how long to wait. Customers who would like the interpreter(s) to work whether the client is present or not, should make this clear at the time the request for interpreting is made.

TEAM INTERPRETING:

Hearing/Hearing Team: It is KDHHS’s policy to assign two (2) interpreters to work as a team for the duration of complex assignments or those exceeding two hours.

Deaf/Hearing Team: KDHHS uses a Deaf/Hearing team, one Deaf interpreter and one Hearing interpreter, in all legal and most mental health assignments. These are major life altering and both are a critical situations that requires a Deaf/Hearing team. Our Deaf interpreters have excellent linguistic skill in ASL and the best cultural connection to your Deaf client. In addition, certain Deaf clients require a Deaf/Hearing team due to limited language skills even in regular assignments.

The need for a Hearing/Hearing team or a Deaf/Hearing team will be confirmed at the time a request is made.

Policy information courtesy of Deaf-Hearing Communication Centre, Inc.