Illegal Interpreting

A woman interprets the worship music at a local church. She is an uncertified and unlicensed volunteer communicating the gospel in song. Just before she sits down, government agents from the state arrest her for “Interpreting Without a License.” In another church, a Deaf man stands to preach. He opens the Word of God and starts communicating the Scripture into ASL. Just as he finishes, government agents approach the platform and place him under arrest. The charge? “Interpreting Without a License.” Sounds extreme? If the interpreting laws in the state of Missouri are enforced as they are written, these scenarios might become headlines.

Additionally, law makers and law enforcement will need to examine if churches in Missouri are an unwitting accomplice to illegal interpreting? Many people, including interpreters for the deaf, do not realize the state has decreed, “Interpreting for the deaf is a regulated profession in Missouri.” So says Pamela Groose, Executive Director, State Committee of Interpreters, a state government agency employee responsible for overseeing the regulation and licensing of interpreters.

When Groose says regulated, she’s not kidding. Violating the state interpreting laws is a Class A misdemeanor, and the convicted offender faces up to one year in jail. Groose refers to the Missouri Code of State Regulations (http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/5csr/5c100-200.pdf) listing many specific events requiring a specific type of certification, and licensing, to interpret in the listed situations.

There are no exceptions or exclusions in the law for churches, church related volunteers or religious content. According to Jennifer J. Thompson, MICS Coordinator, Missouri Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, “The Skill Level Standards does not specify "church" as a setting.” The implication says churches are included in the regulation.

Thompson continues, “There are many different situations at church, and you would need to make sure you are not putting yourself in a situation that falls under another area in the Skill Level Standards that you may or may not competent to work in.” The Skill Level Standards are found in 5 CSR 100-200.170

Some of the events requiring a licensed and certified interpreter are: (my commentary in parenthesis)

8J1 Any program for the education or rehabilitation of inmates in a correctional system. (no exception for Bible training or religious services)

9D1 Any self-help program relating to health/well-being (no exception for volunteers at a Crisis Pregnancy Center)

10B5 Offices and clinics of counselors (no exception for pastoral counseling)

11A-C Any School program Preschool – Grade 12 (no exception at Christian Schools)

11G1-4 Any Professional Development Conference, Seminar, Workshop or Training (no exception for Bible training delivered by a church to deaf pastors)

11H1 Any program or activity offered by schools, colleges or universities in the community that promotes learning. (no exception for religious programs)

14C3 Public Meeting of Individuals meeting with a public official (no exception for a public official speaking / preaching at a church service)

15A-B Unrehearsed or Rehearsed performances including Theaters, Concerts, Comedy Shows, Magic Shows, “Any type of stage performance” (no exceptions for events as a part of a worship service)

15C1-11 Social Activities including: Festivals, Fairs, Sports Leagues, Recitals, Camps, “Any type of activity for entertainment purposes only” (no exceptions for evangelistic events)

It seems as if a church is offering the counseling, hosting a Bible conference, has a Christian music concert or “Any type of stage performance,” the interpreter must be appropriately licensed and certified. There is no expressed permission given to minister as an interpreter unless the person has current and valid licensing and certification.

Missouri Revised Statutes 209.285(15) defines "Interpreting", as, “the translating of English spoken or written concepts to any necessary specialized vocabulary used by a deaf person or the translating of a deaf person's specialized vocabulary to English spoken or written concepts; provided that a telecommunications operator providing deaf relay service or a person providing operator services for the deaf shall not be considered to be interpreting.”

If the state chooses to enforce the strictest interpretation of this law, a Deaf pastor could be violating the law when “translating” the written English of the Bible into American Sign Language. If a person knows sign language and reads a tract to a deaf person, it could be defined by the state as “interpreting.”

Another interesting twist to this law is found when the interpreting is done as a part of the relay service. According to this statute, a doctor is talking to his deaf patient over the relay service would not constitute interpreting, but “Bo-bo the Clown” would need a certified and licensed interpreter at a deaf party. This is utterly ridiculous!

In addition to those events listed, Groose explained: “If a setting is not described the MICS skill level settings (5 CSR 100-200.170), an interpreter must limit his or her practice to areas of demonstrated competence, as documented by relevant professional education, training, experience and certification. 209.321.3 RSMo.” Pay attention she said, “…as documented by professional education, training, experience AND certification” which requires ALL of the conditions to be met.

Notice, if a specific setting is not mentioned in 5 CSR 100-200.170, an interpreter “must limit their practice” to areas of demonstrated competence as documented by certification. There are no exclusions or exceptions for churches as Groose and Thompson seem to be saying.

Remember the Deaf pastor “interpreting” Bible verses from English into Sign Language? According to the explanation given by Groose and Thompson, the definition of interpreting could include the regulation of a preacher preaching in Sign Language. Under this understanding of the law, preachers preaching in Sign Language would have to be licensed and certified by the State of Missouri as an interpreter.

The views of Groose and Thompson seem to take a narrow interpretation of Title 20 of the Revised Statutes of Missouri, Division 2232, 3.010. Paragraph 4 does not consider a person to be interpreting if “in a casual setting” a person is acting as an interpreter “gratuitously,” or if the interpreting is “incidental to traveling.” Subparagraph A defines a casual setting as, “any event in which the sole purpose of communication is social or family intersection and at which no decision are made with long-term effects of a legal, financial, or medical nature.” (This information is found at: http://www.sos.mo.gov/adrules/csr/current/20csr/20c2232-3.pdf) In reality, spiritual decisions made at a church sponsored event have not just long-term effects, but eternal effects.

This section appears to exclude certain activities from being classified as interpreting, but the church, and religious content, are not specifically mentioned as exclusions. Is the sole purpose of communication in a church considered social? Is a church a “casual setting” where a volunteer is interpreting “gratuitously?” The pastor “interpreting” a passage from an English Bible is “paid” to deliver the sermon. Is this illegal interpreting?

In other states, extremely gifted and skilled, but uncertified and unlicensed interpreters are permitted to interpret. They know certification and licensing does not guarantee competency. There are deaf people in the state of Missouri claiming they have been serviced by certified, licensed and yet incompetent interpreters. Are the laws regulating the profession of interpreting robbing deaf people of greater access to information? Is the state of Missouri preventing deaf people from greater access to the gospel and to the Bible? How can the state regulate a church’s ministry of interpreting for the deaf?

According to Groose, the way to find out if someone is in violation of the state interpreting laws is to turn them in. Groose advises, “If someone believes that a violation of interpreter law is occurring or has occurred, they should file a complaint that and the Committee will investigate. After the facts are established by the investigation, the Committee will carefully consider all of the circumstances in determining how to proceed.” Is this how we determine the illegalities of an action?

According to information gathered from Gallaudet University, Missouri is currently (2008) home to approximately 13,438 deaf people or .23% of our total population. Most of these deaf people communicate with some form of Sign Language. That would make Sign Language the fourth most used foreign language in the state right behind Spanish (1.16%), German (.63%), and French (.39%). Of all the foreign languages in the state, Sign Language is the only one requiring licensing and certification.

If you live in Missouri, please write your state legislator and do what you can to change the interpreting laws and free the deaf population. Write letters and make your voice known or it won’t be long until it will be illegal to evangelize the deaf residents of Missouri with the gospel.

If you do not live in Missouri, check your state laws and examine how they are written. Are only “certified” interpreters available for deaf people, or are deaf people allowed the freedom to also choose qualified interpreters? Be aware of what is happening or the Deaf Christian may become an “endangered species.”

Disclaimer: I am not a lawyer nor am I attempting to act as a lawyer. This article does not attempt to interpret law. I am explaining the content of emails sent to me and I am asking questions about unclear information. Should you need any legal advice, or legal comment, please consult a lawyer. No legal decision should be based solely on the content of this article.

The above article was written as a collection of information available from the internet and personal emails between Angela Graves, Jennifer J. Thompson, Pamela Groose, and Gov. Matt Blunt’s office. I have the originals available. If you would like to see a copy of the original emails just send me a request through my email or by leaving a comment. I have had no further communication from anyone in government changing any of this information.

Twenty Answers About Deaf Culture

Well, I guess it is time to let you in on the answers. Since there are several answers you will not expect, I will also put some reference information to help show you that I’m not just making this stuff up. If you want to see the quiz without the answers, go here: http://theundershepherdsobservations.blogspot.com/2008/05/twenty-questions-about-deaf-culture.html


1) Current authors about Deaf culture say, the Bible teaches Deaf people can’t be saved because they can’t hear.

TRUE
Unsaved modern writers want to make Christians and the Bible look like a bunch of illogical, illiterate idiots. Such is the case of James Roots who in his book “The Politics of Visual Language: Deafness, Language Choice and Political Socialization” written in 2000 said, “The Bible declares repeatedly that a person must hear the word of the Lord, and that faith in Jesus will “open the ears of the deaf and the mouths of the dumb”. Saint Paul stated that “Faith comes through hearing the Word of God” (Romans 10), which Saint Augustine influentially interpreted literally to mean that “This impairment [i.e., deafness] prevents faith” (Contra Julianum Pleagianum, 3, 10).
Notice how, in this statement, he does not use God’s Word to define the error in what Saint Augustine said. He used Saint Augustine to redefine Scripture. In this one statement he does three things: He impugns the omniscience of God, he maligns the authority and accuracy of Scripture, and he implies Christians still think this way. If only he knew a few Deaf Christians he would know the “hearing” spoken about in this passage is the hearing of the heart and not the hearing of the ear.

2) Currently there are no books that teach Christians still believe all Deafness is the result of sin.

FALSE
Michael J. Hoggatt wrote “Moving to the Manger: A Journey from Exclusion to Inclusion” in 2008 and he said, “The idea that one’s disability is the result of sin has been proven time and time again to be a ridiculous notion; however, it seems that many in the church still cling to this belief despite the overwhelming evidence against it.” He then did go on to say a Godly person living with a disability could prove this to be ludicrous.
Thank you Mr. Hoggatt for perpetuating myths about people “in the church.” The true church is a gathering of saved believers living in the love and wisdom of Christ. Mr. Hoggatt makes no distinction between the unsaved thinking they are the church and the real church members.


3) Many years ago all school interpreters believed the Bible.

TRUE
Here is where you can get half credit for an unclear question. I should have qualified this statement by saying, “Many years ago all school interpreters in America believed the Bible.” How can I make this statement? Remember back when Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet returned to America from Paris to establish a school for the deaf in Hartford, CT? At that time there were no school interpreters for the deaf. It was the Reverend Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet interpreting for Laurent Clerc serving as the first school interpreter.
It is also not hard to imagine that every interpreter in the Hartford school believed the Bible. Why? Rev. Gallaudet established the school to be the “gate of heaven” for the deaf children. His goal was to instruct the deaf children about the, “the immortality of their souls, of their accountability to God, of their future state of being, of the destinies which await them, of the corruption of their own hearts, of the necessity of repentance toward God, and of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ”.


4) Two Christians brought an organized signed language to America for the purpose of evangelizing the Deaf community.

TRUE
Both Rev. Gallaudet and Laurent Clerc were very open about their faith in Jesus Christ and their desire to reach the deaf community in America with the gospel. One good source is Laurent Clerc’s journal he maintained about the voyage from France to America called “The Diary of Laurent Clerc's Voyage from France to America in 1816.” This can be viewed at: http://www.disabilitymuseum.org/lib/docs/687.htm


5) The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf prohibits Christian Interpreters from using the Biblical model of correction before using the RID Ethical Practices System.

FALSE
The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf encourages any person, “involved in a complaint situation to make every effort to resolve the conflict without implementing the EPS, when possible.” So even RID certified interpreters can feel free to engage the biblical model for correction taught by Jesus in Matthew 18:15-17.


6) There is a Christian Member Section in the RID.

FALSE(See comment on number 7)

7) There is a Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Intersexed, and Transgendered Member Section in the RID.

TRUE
As of this writing (February 24, 2009) the only member sections in the RID are: Deaf Caucus, Interpreters in Educational and Instructional Settings, Interpreters in Legal and Court Settings, Interpreters with Deaf Parents, Interpreters for the Deaf-Blind, Interpreter Service Managers, Interpreters and Transliterators of Color, Video Interpreter, and the Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay, Intersexed, Transgendered Interpreters/Transliterators. There are no Member sections to advance the cause of Christ in the RID. What does this say about Christian members of the RID?


8) Alexander Graham Bell would permit the use of the Rochester Method of sign language for people who were completely deaf.

TRUE
Alexander Graham Bell was a student of sign language for a while. He desired to make English the “native language” for the deaf community. You will find it interesting to read: “The Question of Sign-Language and the Utility of Signs;” 1898; by Alexander Graham Bell. Found here: http://memory.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?ammem/magbell:@field(DOCID+@lit(magbell37600801))


9) Alexander Graham Bell believed Darwinian Evolution and not the Bible.

TRUE
In a letter to his parents dated January 27, 1873 A.G. Bell said: “Geology has shown us that the scriptural account of the Creation cannot be taken in a literal sense. To me it is infinitely more reasonable to suppose that Man is lineally descended from a monkey, than that he was moulded out of a piece of dirt!”
Bell was an avid reader of Darwin and even advised others to consider Darwin’s writings.


10) Alexander Graham Bell encouraged deaf people to marry deaf people.

FALSE
Bell misunderstood genetics and followed the teaching and logic of Charles Darwin. This lead him to write "Upon the Formation of a Deaf Variety of the Human Race" in 1884. This fear also caused him to be opposed to residential deaf schools, deaf clubs and all deaf social events because it might lead to deaf people marrying deaf people. He applied the ideas of natural selection to the offspring of the deaf parents and thought it would cause a “deaf race” of people.


11) William (Bill) Stokoe is the “Father” of the Cultural View of Deafness.

TRUE
The cultural view of deafness is also called the anthropological view. Is there anyone familiar with Bill Stokoe who would doubt this? Of course not.


12) William (Bill) Stokoe believed the Bible and not Darwinian Evolution.

FALSE
Just like Bell, Stokoe believed in the Darwinian view of Evolution. In “The Study of Signed Languages: Essays in Honor of William C. Stokoe” Douglas C. Baynton said, “Darwin convincingly demonstrated that humans shared many expressions in common with animals, and that the origins of human expression were to be found in their animal ancestors. In short, facial expression was no longer distinctly human, but, like gesture, a mere vestige of our animal past.” Found at: http://books.google.com/books?id=Pc-Rcg2-L0UC&printsec=frontcover#PPA28,M1
Stokoe supported Darwin in his book, “Language in hand: why sign came before speech, By William C. Stokoe” found at http://books.google.com/books?id=ME_64lsKO3kC&printsec=frontcover#PPA22,M1;
Anyone reading the Bible would clearly understand that speech came before sign. Unless of course, you count God placing man in the Garden as “sign language.”


13) Deaf people should focus on evangelizing and teaching deaf people and hearing people should focus on evangelizing and teaching hearing people.

FALSE
Although we each have our areas of comfort and skill, every Christian is ordered to preach the gospel to EVERY creature across the whole earth. Deaf Christians are just as required to reach hearing people as are hearing Christians to reach deaf people.


14) Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet changed his mind and did not become a preacher so he could educate deaf children.

FALSE
It was the Rev. Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet that preached in America before going to learn Sign Language, preached on the ship going to England, preached in England and in France while learning Sign Language, preached on the ship coming home from France, preached while supervising the Hartford School, became a missionary to the west after the Hartford School, and became a Chaplain for longer than he served at the Hartford School.


15) Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet’s goal for his school was to lead deaf children to Christ.

TRUE
(See the note on number 3.)


16) After leaving his School for the Deaf in Hartford, Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet became the chaplain of an insane asylum.

TRUE

See the “Life of Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet: Founder of Deaf-mute Instruction in America” by Edward M. Gallaudet at: http://books.google.com/books?id=xCciAAAAMAAJ&printsec=toc#PPA189,M1 and “Tribute to Gallaudet: A Discourse in Commemoration of the Life, Character and Services of the Rev. Thomas H. Gallaudet, LL. D.” by Henry Barnard at: http://books.google.com/books?id=rxkFAAAAYAAJ&printsec=titlepage#PPA117,M1


17) There are two philosophies about deafness: Pathological and Cultural.

FALSE
Did you forget about the Biblical view of Deafness? Both the Pathological and the Cultural (Anthropological) view of deafness find their basis in Darwinian Evolution. Only the Biblical view is founded on the Creator’s wisdom.


18) Deaf people should learn to read, write and speak English.

TRUE
Of course they should. How else will they reach unsaved hearing people? Even Laurent Clerc learned to write proper English so he could be understood. In fact Christians should learn as many languages as possible to reach as many people as possible.


19) God will judge deaf people differently than hearing people.

FALSE
We will all stand before the judgment seat of Christ and answer for what we have done. The scriptures never give special permission to any group to sin. Holiness is required of everyone.


20) Non-Christian teachers teach lies to Christian Interpreters to use them for financial gain.

TRUE
2 Peter 2:2-3 says, “Even so, many will follow their immoral ways; and because of what they do, others will speak evil of the Way of truth. In their greed these false teachers will make a profit out of telling you made-up stories. For a long time now their Judge has been ready, and their Destroyer has been wide awake!”


Well, how did you do? Do you know deaf culture and deaf history as well as you thought you did? Here are the grades: 0-2 wrong = A; 3-4 wrong = B; 5-6 wrong = C; 7 or more wrong = You need to study your deaf culture!

I will be a guest speaker at the Missouri Baptist Conference of the Deaf on March 13-15, 2009; at the St. Louis Metro Baptist Association building; 3859 Fee Fee Road, Bridgeton, MO. I will be preaching the evening message on Friday, March 13 and Saturday, March 14. I will also be teaching a workshop during the day. Come and join us.

Registration costs $75 per person, $125 per family. (Family means with or without children. A couple will be $125.00) If you want to attend part-time the cost is $30 per session. No charge for Sunday activities and worship. $10 for youth to age 21. Be aware that $20.00 of the registration fee is non-refundable. You can make your check or money order payable to: MO Baptist Conference of the Deaf and send it to: Friendship Baptist Chapel of the Deaf, 9125 Manchester, St. Louis, MO 63144