PARID General Membership Meeting

PARID General Membership Meeting

October 25, 2003

Lancaster, PA

The annual General Membership Meeting of the Pennsylvania Registry of the Interpreters for the Deaf was held October 25, 2003, at the Lancaster Host Resort in Lancaster, PA. President Marc Holmes called the meeting to order at 9:07am after determining that a quorum was present. The minutes of the previous meeting (October 19, 2002) were approved as read.

PARID Board Member Attendance:

President	Mark Holmes	Present	District 1	No representative
Vice-President	Cindi Brown	Present	District 2	Joan Stone	Present
Treasurer	Nicole Stone	Present	District 3	No representative
Recording Secretary	Brian Smith	Present	District 4	No representative
Corresponding Secretary	Beth Setley	Absent	District 5	Melissa Reihart	Present
PSAD Liaison	Lisa Purnell-Noll	Absent	District 6	Cindy Allen	Present
ODHH Representative	Denise Brown	Present	District 7	Carin Stevenson	Present
CMP Coordinator	Stephanie Ellison	Present	District 8	Rita Jo Scarcella	Absent

The eight district sub-chapters of PARID were represented by the following distribution:

Executive Officers’ Reports

President’s Report – Marc Holmes, CT

· Thank you to Rachel Coppelli for her involvement in the recruitment of current board members.

· Senate Bill 297

¾ Senate Bill 297 passed the Senate unanimously earlier this week and was sent to the House of Representatives for action. The bill is not yet on the House of Representatives schedule. Contact your State Representatives and urge them to act on this bill.

¾ Senate Bill 297 states that interpreters working for payment in Pennsylvania must be registered by July 1, 2004. There are exemptions to this requirement.

¾ Under the law, the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing will draft, promulgate, and enforce the regulations.

· The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is not accepting applications for interpreters to join the state vendor list at this time as Governor Rendell has put a freeze on all contracts. Interpreters who are not on the vendor list can still work for commonwealth agencies as long as they earn no more than $3,000 during the fiscal year (July1-June 30).

· Fran Whiteside resigned as the Certificate Maintenance Program Coordinator. Stephanie Ellison was appointed to be the current CMP Coordinator.

· The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, Inc. has posted a draft of the proposed Code of Ethics on its website. View this proposal and submit your feedback as individuals. The PARID Board feels that a preponderance of replies from individuals will be more effective than one response that represents all of the members.

· Cindy Allen will be resigning as the newsletter editor effective June 30, 2004. Applications for this position are being solicited.

Treasurer’s Report – Nicole Stone

District Reports

Districts 1, 3, and 4 – No Representation at this time

District 2 – Joan Stone, TC and CI

· GPRID Membership is at 110 and counting.

· A Legal workshop was planned, but did not happen.

· In November, GPRID will be offering a written test preparation workshop presented by Feed Your Head, Inc and a visual gestural workshop.

· The next business meeting is scheduled for November 13, 2004. It will be hosted by Goodwill Industries which has a new transition/education program for adults who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing.

District 5 – Missy Reihart, NAD IV

· The fall meeting of SCPARID was held on Thursday, September 23, 2003, at the United Way in Lancaster.

· Member input is actively being gathered to assess the need for various workshops. In the next few months, presenters will be brought in to meet the needs.

· The motion to increase the number of meetings to four quarterly meetings passed.

· The suggestion that an Outreach Committee be established to promote PARID and its local chapters was tabled until the winter meeting. The board is attempting to reach out to areas of the district that are not active.

· The next meeting will be held on January 20, 2004, at 6:30 pm in York.

District 6 – Cindy Allen, CI

· The NEPARID Quarterly meeting was held on Sept 9, 2003 with 9 of the 31 members in attendance.

· Marybeth Wurster has been appointed to the position of Recording Secretary, after the resignation of Sarah Schuman.

· NEPARID will host the 2004 PARID Conference.

· The Professional Development committee had to cancel the Juniper Sussman workshop on the topic of Mentoring due to time conflicts. The committee will continue to work on identifying and scheduling a mentoring workshop.

· The Outreach committee has completed work on NEPARID brochures and continues to look into outreach packets and grant funding for a mailbox and 800 phone number.

· The notepads are sold out and fundraising efforts are on hold for the time being.

· The next meeting is scheduled for December 2, 2003, at the Berwick hospital at 7pm.

District 7 – Carin Stevens

The Lehigh Valley Center for Independent Living is reviewing the possibility of establishing an interpreter referral agency.

District 8 – Rita Jo Scarcella

· There will be a general meeting on Saturday, November 15, 2003 at the Community College of Philadelphia from 9AM to 12 noon.

· At this meeting, it is hopeful that a slate of new officers will be brought forth. If not, then the function of GPRID will be re-evaluated, to see how to proceed for the future.

· GPRID has been invited to participate in a lecture series with the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf for 2004. Bob Shilling from the Center for Community and Professional Services has made this request.

· The Philadelphia area is fortunate to have a variety of individuals/companies providing trainings and workshops. Feed Your Head, Inc., Planned Parenthood and Ritchie Bryant have been hosting workshops. GPRID has been in touch with the above to ascertain how GPRID can work together for workshops/trainings. More information will become available on the progress of this in the next few weeks.

Liaison Reports

Office of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Report – Denise Brown, Eastern Representative

· The PA ODHH was established by Act 1986-184 in 1988 to coordinate and improve services in the Commonwealth to over one million deaf and hard of hearing people. The office is administered through the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation in the PA Department of Labor and Industry. At the present time there is a staff of four, three Regional Representatives and an Administrative Assistant. The ODHH is awaiting the Director’s position to be filled in the near future. The staff educates the public about hearing dogs, sign language, hearing aids, real time captioning(CART), interpreting, and assistive listening devices (ALDS), etc. Important to other state agencies, departments and community emergency centers, ODHH staff provides training for serving citizens whose primary language is American Sign Language (ASL) rather than English. Sensitivity training is also provided on adult hearing loss and individuals who identify themselves as Hard of Hearing.

· ODHH accomplishments over the years have demonstrated the wisdom of the State Legislators and Governors in establishing and continuing this vital office. The ODHH website has an updated list of interpreters that is accessible twenty four hours a day. The staff continuously provides information and referrals to citizens of the Commonwealth who are in need assistance. They give skilled responses to telephone, CapTel, VCO (Voice Carry Over) and TTY calls (telecommunication devices for the deaf or Text Telephone), emails, individual and group meetings, and do public presentations. The staff has been involved in training 911 centers to understand TTY emergency calls from deaf individuals whose native language is ASL and the issues related to English proficiency. Training at Career Links, Job Centers, Police, Courts, Hospitals, and Mental Health service providers continues to be given.

· ODHH organized and supports the Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, which have members from the Governor’s office, several state departments, and Deaf and Hard of Hearing consumers. The Council meets four times a year. It recommended and obtained recent Amendments to the ODHH law that now includes representation from the Department of Aging and use of the phrase deaf and hard of hearing people rather than the term hearing impaired. It has promoted legislation for the teaching of American Sign Language (ASL), Interpreter Licensure, and distribution of telecommunication devices to qualified low-income citizens.

· The Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing staff were/are involved in a Mental Health Task Force resulting in a MH Bulletin, an Interpreter Task Force resulting in a Governor’s Management Directive, Interpreter Licensure Legislation SB 297 (pending) , an Assistive Technology Advisory committee resulting in a lending library, a Public Utilities Commission Telecommunications Advisory Board resulting in the PA Relay Service and trial of the Captel telephone, a Municipal Police Officers Training Task Force resulting in a Municipal Police Officers Manual regarding how to interact with people with disabilities, and Early Infant Screening for Hearing Loss Task Force resulting in training and testing of hearing loss at birth.

· Newsletters, email lists, Assistive Listening Devices (ALDS) vendors list, web sites, brochures, and bookmarks have been distributed and contributed to the increase in public awareness of hearing loss and deafness. Libraries were educated to include materials related to deafness and hearing loss; books, videos, and CD ROMs, many for statewide use, are located at the Hiram G Andrews Center. The month of May was Statewide Hearing Loss Awareness campaign was done for three years which included publicity at the Capital which were recorded on television and in newspapers.

· The Pennsylvania Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing continues to carry out its mission to meet the Information & Referral, Service Coordination, Public Speaking and Advocacy needs of those in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania who call upon us for such assistance. Since November of 2002, the ODHH has continued to function while the three regional representatives rotate through the office as Acting Director.

· During the past 10 months ODHH has been monitoring the Sign Language Interpreter Licensure bills. They are Senate Bill 297 and House Bill 445. On October 21, 2003, SB 297 passed the Senate Committee on Appropriations by a vote of 48-0. This bill with the wording of “registration” will now go to the House of Representatives.

· Last May 2003, Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) and telecommunications Relay Service had the CapTel captioned telephone trial with 200 participants in Pennsylvania. CapTel captioned telephone is the closest available technology to functional equivalency of the traditional telephone. The CapTel works like any other telephone with one important addition; it displays every word the caller says throughout the conversation, so that CapTel users can listen to the caller and also read the written captions. More information on CapTel is available at: www.ultratec.com/info/CapTel.htm. CapTel got approved for payment of VCO. It still is on-going project until February, 2004 or later.

· With the new administration coming on board, there was a request to revise our budget slightly. This budget revision has not adversely affected the ODHH operations to date. However attending out of state national conferences has been been severely restricted and will be decided on a case-by-case basis.

· Each Regional Representative continues to work in their respective area on their respective projects that will benefit the deaf and hard of hearing in the Commonwealth. Ms. Teresa Nellans, Central Regional Representative, had been working on the diskette and PowerPoint presentation of the State Government structure and programs for people who have hearing loss. It will be available to you in the near future. If you want a copy of the diskette, please contact us.

· At the PA Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, Mr. Stephen Nastui, Executive Director of OVR, had announced that they will process the interview(s) for the new Director for the Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in the near future. The Council also requested that the steps for obtaining an interpreter and making an appeal when one is denied be placed on the ODHH web page. We would like PARID’s assistance in designing this.

Pennsylvania Society for the Advancement of the Deaf – No Representative

· The next conference will be held in Bethlehem, PA, during July 2004.

· The PSAD Website is phenomenal.

· Tom King, the Legislative Committee chair person has done a wonderful job of posting updates regarding current legislative issues for deaf and hard of hearing individuals and interpreters. The address is psadweb.org

Office of Vocational Rehabilitation – Sandy Duncan – There is no new information to report.

New Business

PSAD Conference Interpreting – Carin Stevenson has volunteered to Co-Coordinate the 2004 PSAD Conference Interpreting.

2004 PARID Conference – District 6 will be hosting the 2004 PARID Conference

2005 General Membership Meeting and Workshop – A site is needed for the 2005 General Membership Meeting and Workshop. Consider your chapter’s ability to host this event.

Region I Conference – President Holmes and Vice President Brown will be attending the Region I Presidents’ Retreat in Albany New York during November 2003. One topic of discussion will be a possible 2006 Region I Conference.

2009 National Conference – Region I will be responsible to host the 2009 National RID Conference. At this point, PARID is the strongest affiliate chapter in the region. Members expressed an interest in hosting this event at a location that has an airport and driving accessibility.

Motion # 2003 – 51. That the PARID annual General Membership Meetings/workshops and biennial conferences be held during the summer months beginning with the 2005 General Membership Meeting (S. Schaffer). Motion Carried.

Motion # 2003 – 52. That PARID propose to Affiliate Chapter Relations Committee that it establish guidelines to support affiliate chapters during leadership gaps and chapter inactivity, including but not limited to:

· Communication at state, regional, and national levels

· Chapter finances

· Prescribed protocols for “Inactive Chapter” status and/or requirements for return to active status (P. Whitney). Motion Carried.

Announcements

· Region I Representative Joanne Jackowski selected Rachel Coppelli as the recipient of the 2003 Region I Representative’s Choice Award and will be presenting her with a plaque.

· The PEPNet Conference will be held April 23-24, 2004 in Pittsburgh. Interpreters are being sought.

· Interpreters certified in the past year: Mary Hesser, Marge McHenry, Susan Gambari, Michelle Beilier, and Traci Cummins

· Interpreters who earned an additional certification during the past year: Linda Lee and Gail Carlson

President Holmes adjourned the meeting at 11:27am.

Respectfully Submitted

Brian Smith, Recording Secretary