If You're In Michigan (if You're Not Pray!)

[Catholicterp7]

Sorry this is really long but this is something deeply important to me and it could very negatively impact those I love and have been called to serve.
If you're in the state of Michigan I and all present and future interpreters as well as the Deaf community could use some help!
There are some new laws that have been proposed that really hurt not only the field of interpreting, and hence the Deaf and Hard of Hearing as well, but also the Interpreter Training Programs.
The link to the laws is https://mail-attachment.googleusercontent.com/attachment/u/0/?ui=2&ik=2f8d43f086&view=att&th=13d04634daed9e87&attid=0.1&disp=inline&realattid=f_hdhyd40n0&s afe=1&zw&saduie=AG9B_P_qCDkIdY5Pe9FTVPZDBjPF&sadet=1362459611560&sads=2dO-17axCz9ys-iTrW86N5fBvEc
Sorry that's really long! Yikes!!
Anyway there are two that really would not be beneficial. The first is under R 393.5054 Rule 54 (6) the qualified interpreters for students to learn from will be severely limited as they will only be able to observe those with a BEI II or higher. This will make practicum hours much more difficult to get. To put that into perspective it's kind of like saying a medical student can only have rotations with Doctors who have been working for more than ten years. There is so much to learn from ANY certified interpreter and there just aren't enough of us who are willing anyway. Also the reason this really gets me is that really the government shouldn't have anything to do with this. It should be solely up to the director of each individual interpreter training program who their students can observe.
The other section is R 393.5026 Rule 26 (1) (a) and (b) which requires an interpreter to have an Educational Interpreter Proficiency Assessment (EIPA) test score of 4.0 or higher. Right now the law says you need a 3.5 or higher. Understand, this test is graded on a 1.0 to 5.0 scale and typically recent graduates will start with the EIPA because they give a lot of feedback and, because it's so focused on one type of interpreting and is run in a different way, it's typically easier to get a 3.5 on the EIPA than pass the BEI. These new interpreters can than go work and gain experience unlike anything else. Really, like any other profession, you can learn a lot in the classroom but until you actually start doing it there are some things you can't learn.
So, here's where you come in if you're from MI. I would urge you to email both the director of the DODHH, Sheryl Emery Emerys2@michigan.gov, and Tom McMillin http://council.legislature.mi.gov/jcar.html who could really throw a wrench into things if enough people protest.
I'm not asking you to do this because it might mean I would make less money or anything like that. It really wouldn't change anything since I already am an interpreter. What it does change is the ease of access to communication that the Deaf and Hard of Hearing have in Michigan. In case you couldn't tell these are the people I care very much about and that God has called me to serve and it's hard for me to imagine the hardship the community would experience if these laws went through. Of course, if you aren't in Michigan than please at the very least pray! Pray for the interpreters, the program directors, the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, and the people making this choice.
Sorry for the insanely long epic rant. Thank you!
JMJ+ :heart: