Update: As of 4:00 pm on March 31, Article 18 has been withdrawn.  Article 19 is slated to be heard by the House Committee on Finance on Thursday, April 2 at the rise.  RIRID will send out information soon regarding sending emails of opposition to the House Finance Committee.

Hello RI RID members: 
In light of the Senate Finance Committee Hearing on March 31, we ask you support the community by doing the following steps:

1) Copy this list of finance committee members into an email's To section


 sen-daponte@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-dipalma@rilin.state.ri.us,  sen-doyle@rilin.state.ri.us,
  sen-felag@rilin.state.ri.us,   sen-goodwin@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-eoneill@rilin.state.ri.us,   sen-ottiano@rilin.state.ri.us,   sen-pearson@rilin.state.ri.us,  sen-pichardo@rilin.state.ri.us,
  sen-sosnowski@rilin.state.ri.us

2) Copy this into the subject line

Article 18, Opposition

3) Copy this into the body you your email and sign your name 

4) Send! 


Dear Senate Finance Committee, 

I am writing to you in opposition of House Bill 5900 Article 18.  As a Rhode Island Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf member, I work as American Sign Language Interpreter within Rhode Island.  

If the RI Commission on the Deaf and hard of Hearing (RICDHH) were to merge into a Division of Advocacy, RICDHH would lose its autonomy and ability to represent Deaf community independently, which is comprised of approximately 20% of Rhode Island's population.

The roles of the program manager and interpreter referral specialist are invaluable to the community because they allow for a one stop shop of specialized, in demand, state supported services.  Compromising these roles could be detrimental to the community, and the events they support.

Most importantly, RICDHH is managed by Deaf individuals who provide for the Deaf community. By taking away the power of the deaf leadership, the entire Deaf Community is without an inlet to state services. 

If you have any questions or concerns, please contact Rosa Norberg, RIRID President, RIRIDpresident@ririd.org.

Respectfully, 

---------------------------------------       
Hello RI RID members, 

In light of the Senate Finance Committee Hearing on March 31, we ask you support the community by doing the following steps:

1) Copy this list of finance committee members into an email's "To" section.

sen-daponte@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-dipalma@rilin.state.ri.us,  sen-doyle@rilin.state.ri.us,
  sen-felag@rilin.state.ri.us,   sen-goodwin@rilin.state.ri.us, sen-eoneill@rilin.state.ri.us,   sen-ottiano@rilin.state.ri.us,   sen-pearson@rilin.state.ri.us,  sen-pichardo@rilin.state.ri.us,
  sen-sosnowski@rilin.state.ri.us

2) "Subject" House Bill 5900, Article 19, Opposition

3) Copy and paste the text below into your email and sign your name

4) Send

Dear Senate Committee Members,

I am writing to you in opposition of House Bill 5900 Article 19.  In disbanding the Board of Examiners for Interpreters, and in turn choosing one individual to represent the pool of state licensed interpreters, would be a detriment to the Rhode Island Interpreting profession as well as an inaccurate representation of all steak holder of our profession.  It will also remove the chance for experts in our field, who voluntarily work on the Board of Examiners, to uphold the professional standards for the greater good of the communities we serve.

My concern also lies in the validity of the license I hold once the Board disbands.  Our profession is delicate in where we are not a prescribing profession however, we are depended on to facilitate communication that has a direct impact of the prescription that is written.  Inaccurate interpretations can harm patients and misinform prescribing practitioners. 

As a member of the Rhode Island Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, and a working licensed interpreter, I value the current autonomy of the RI Board of Licensure and their decision making abilities. If you have any questions or concerns please contact Rosa Norberg at RIRIDPresident@ririd.org.

Respectfully,

____________________________________________

The RIRID Board would like to update you on what is happening on a State level that will directly impact our profession and the community we serve. We were made aware of amendments proposed to laws in an effort to save money for the state. Two affect the field of interpreting. If you have not yet looked at these Articles, please familiarize yourself with them. The Board will be asking of your involvement with these items.

RI Law Chapter 5-23 Article 18 impacts RI CDHH. The Governor's proposal is to consolidate four agencies under one agency called the Division of Advocacy. There are no details from the Governor's office yet as to how this would work out. As it is written, there is not enough information and this proposed change does not seem to benefit the Deaf Community nor save the State money. Please follow the RICDHH's announcements, emails, website and blogs about this topic and see what you could do to be involved. The RI RID Board has decided to support whatever position the CDHH takes on this issue.

Now for Chapter 5-26 Article 19, this section speaks to the consolidation of 25 boards into the division, "health professions board review". One of those boards is the Board of Examiners for Interpreters. It will no longer exist. Again, there is not much information coming from the Governor's Office as to details of how this would work. It appears that the "division" will be responsible for approving licenses, and handling disciplinary matters for all 25 of these professional fields.

Section 39 amends the law 5-71 entitled "Interpreters for the Deaf". The proposed amendment to the law differs greatly than the version RI RID members and the CDHH worked on. RI RID Board is doing research and gathering information. As information becomes available, we will pass it on to you. Please check in with your website, www.ririd.org, regularly to see these posted updates.

Thank you,
Your RI RID Boards Members

Hello, I am Hayley Baccaire. I just went to a hearing on House bill 5696, which was heard by the Health, Education and Welfare committee (HEW). The proposed bill is for school districts and serves two purposes. The first is to identify how many students are classified as having a disability, such as deafness, autism or other disabilities. This census would be sent to the RI Department of Education and stored with statewide data on students with disabilities. The second purpose of the bill is to establish a contact person who coordinates 504 plans and IEPs. Pros and cons were discussed. The pros were that we would be able to know how many students are mainstreamed, which district they would be in, and have a sense of accommodations delivered. This could lead to focused staff trainings, and coordinated community services. In opposition, one con could be that if it is passed as a law instead of a RIDE policy, it could bring an opportunity for folks to sue the school districts for not complying. The bill was moved to further study to allow for amendments. We will see if the bill passes or not. Thank you!