The profession has changed remarkably since the disabilities act became law. Before, deaf people who needed an interpreter for a job interview or doctor's appointment would ask a relative or fellow churchgoer familiar with sign language. Or they relied on scribbled notes and lip-reading. Now, they are able to ask for interpreters, said Clara R. Smit, a lawyer in New Brunswick, N.J., who represents deaf clients. But too often, she said, the answer remains unsatisfactory.
Schools generally have few requirements for interpreters.
Since a move in the 1980s to put deaf children into conventional classrooms, school officials have become desperate for applicants, said Jay Scirrat of the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. As such, many are unwilling to set rules that might thin the prospects, and they worry that requiring certification would do that, he said. If you're going to require fully certified interpreters in hospitals and other entities, we are just not going to have the supply. That does not surprise referral services such as Elia's non-profit Deaf Hearing Communications Center in Delaware County. She has no trouble finding work for 100 or more interpreters and is always looking for new ones.