12 Colo. Code Regs. § 2516-1-27.230
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 11, June 10, 2024
Section 12 CCR 2516-1-27.230 - QUALIFICATIONS OF AUXILIARY SERVICES PROVIDERSAuxiliary Services Providers must meet certain requirements to provide interpreting and CART services for LAS.
Providers must hold a Status I or II Court/Legal credential and pass initial and subsequent Judicial Department background checks to be eligible for Court/Legal assignments. Status IV providers are eligible for all community assignments.
LAS shall review each Auxiliary Services Provider's Status I, II, or IV designation annually based upon the rule requirements and keep an updated Referral Resource List. Please refer to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook for more information about LAS policies and procedures.
A. Qualified Interpreters No qualified interpreter shall be categorized as a Status I or II Court/Legal Interpreter or be placed on a Referral Resource List with the Commission without first making an application and receiving a determination from LAS that they are qualified under Statuses I, II, and/or IV below.
Interpreting services may be provided onsite or virtually. Every effort will be made to provide optimal communication access.
Status I interpreters are preferred providers for all legal and court assignments.
1. Status I: Court/Legal Interpretera. Certified Deaf Interpreters holding a current RID Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI), BEI Intermediary Levels IV or V, or successor certification and who have passed the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) written exam Holders of this certificate are recommended for a broad range of assignments where an interpreter who is deaf or hard of hearing would be beneficial. 1) Initial Status I designation: interpreters in this category are required to complete 65 hours of training specific to legal interpreting and a minimum of 50 hours of mentoring pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook, to attain a Status I designation. In addition, they are required to have passed the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) written exam. A. Compliance: current Status I Certified Deaf Interpreters must come into full compliance with the NCSC written exam requirement by June 30, 2025, in order to retain the Status I designation. Anyone who does not pass the NCSC exam by that date will be moved to Status II. Extensions may be granted on a case-by-case basis.B. Court/Legal Interpreters new to the Colorado State Court System who completed the required number of mentoring hours out-of-state must complete a Legal Auxiliary Services orientation and a minimum of ten hours of successful teaming with Colorado Status I or II Court/Legal Interpreters prior to being granted Status I, pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook. 2) Maintenance of Status I designation: interpreters in this category must maintain current certification and complete 2.0 (20 clock hours) Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in legal and/or court-related topics during their CEU cycle(s), pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook. The 2.0 of legal and/or court-related CEUs must be approved as such by the certification body. b. Certified Hearing Interpreters holding a current Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) Specialist Certificate: Legal (SC:L), Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI) Court Interpreter, or successor certification
1) Initial Status I designation: holders of a current RID Legal SC:L certification and/or BEI Court Interpreter certification are not required to complete the Legal Auxiliary Services legal training and mentorship program to attain a Status I designation. A. Court/Legal interpreters new to the Colorado State Court System must complete a Legal Auxiliary Services orientation and a minimum of ten hours of successful teaming with Colorado Status I or II Court/Legal Interpreters prior to being granted Status I, pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook.2) Maintenance of Status I designation: each SC:L or BEI Court Interpreter certification holder must maintain current certification. 2. Status II: Court/Legal Interpreter a. Certified Deaf Interpreters Holders of this certificate are recommended for a broad range of assignments where an interpreter who is deaf or hard of hearing would be beneficial. Interpreters holding a current RID Certified Deaf Interpreter (CDI), BEI Intermediary Levels IV OR V, or successor certification are eligible to attain a Status I or II designation if they comply with the following:
1) Initial Status II designation: A. Prerequisite: interpreters must complete the community interpreting experience requirement set forth in the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook before beginning legal interpreting training. i. Interpreters in this category are required to complete 65 hours of training specific to legal interpreting and a minimum of 50 hours of mentoring pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook to attain a Status II designation. a. Compliance: current Status II interpreters must come into full compliance with the RID or BEI certification requirement by June 30, 2025, to retain the Status II designation. Not doing so will result in loss of the Status II designation. Extensions may be granted on a case-by-case basis.ii. Interpreters from out-of-state who are experienced in court/legal settings but are new to the Colorado State Court System are eligible to attain a Status II designation by demonstrating that they have sufficient experience in court/legal settings, have completed a minimum of 65 hours of training specific to legal interpreting, and have completed a minimum of 50 hours of mentoring. They must complete a Legal Auxiliary Services orientation and a minimum of 20 hours of successful teaming with current Colorado Status I and II Court/Legal Interpreters prior to being granted Status II, pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.2) Maintenance of Status II designation: interpreters in this category must maintain current certification and complete 4.0 (40 clock hours) of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in legal and/or court-related topics during their CEU cycle(s), pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook. The 4.0 of legal and/or court-related CEUs must be approved as such by the certification body.3) Moving from Status II to Status I: interpreters holding a current Status II designation may apply for a Status I designation upon meeting the Status I written test requirements, pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook. b. Certified Hearing Interpreters with other certifications Interpreters holding a current Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID), Board for Evaluation of Interpreters (BEI) Advanced or Master, or successor certification are eligible to attain a Status II designation if they comply with the following:
1) Initial Status II designation: A. Prerequisite: interpreters must complete the community interpreting experience requirement set forth in the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook before beginning legal interpreting training. i. Interpreters in this category are required to complete 65 hours of training specific to legal interpreting and a minimum of 50 hours of mentoring pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook to attain a Status II designation. ii. Interpreters from out-of-state who are experienced in court/legal settings but are new to the Colorado State Court System are eligible to attain a Status II designation by demonstrating that they have sufficient experience in court/legal settings, have completed a minimum of 65 hours of training specific to legal interpreting, and have completed a minimum of 50 hours of mentoring. They must complete a Legal Auxiliary Services orientation and a minimum of 20 hours of successful teaming with current Colorado Status I and II Court/Legal Interpreters prior to being granted Status II, pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook. Exceptions may be made on a case-by-case basis.2) Maintenance of Status II designation: interpreters in this category must maintain current certification and complete 4.0 (40 clock hours) of Continuing Education Units (CEUs) in legal and/or court-related topics during their CEU cycle(s), pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook. The 4.0 of legal and/or court-related CEUs must be approved as such by the certification body.3) Moving from Status II to Status I: interpreters holding a current Status II designation may apply for a Status I designation upon meeting the Status I certification requirements, pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook. 3. Status III: Communication Assistants Communication Assistants may or may not have formal training or certification but have experience with the unique communication needs of a particular deaf, hard of hearing, or deafblind individual (for example, foreign sign languages, home sign, deafblind-specific communications, etc.). Communication Assistants may be assigned on a case-by-case basis and shall only work under the supervision of a Status I or Status II Court/Legal Interpreter. All on-the-record interpreting shall come from Status I or II Court/Legal Interpreters 4. Status IV: Community Interpreters Interpreters for court-ordered treatment or therapy must hold current (a) RID certification, (b) one of the following BEI certifications: Advanced, Master, Court Interpreter, Trilingual Advanced, Trilingual Master, Medical Interpreter, Level IV Intermediary, or Level V Intermediary, or (c) successor certification. 5. Non-resident court/legal interpreters: RID certified interpreters, BEI Advanced, Master, Intermediary certified interpreters, or successor certifications from out-of-state who are experienced in court/legal settings but do not hold a Colorado Status I or II Court/Legal Interpreter designation are eligible to interpret in the State Court System and other court/legal settings for up to 14 days per calendar year without a Status I or II designation. Exceptions to the 14-day period may be granted by LAS on a case-by-case basis. Non-resident court/legal interpreters shall work only under the supervision of a Status I or II Court/Legal Interpreter. Non-resident court/legal interpreters in this category must demonstrate that they have sufficient experience in court/legal settings and successfully complete pre-assignment orientation and preparation with the assigned interpreting team, pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook.
6. After-hours/weekend/holiday court and law enforcement requests: virtual interpreting services may be provided by a pre-approved agency to law enforcement and the Colorado State Court System in situations requiring immediate interpreting services, pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook. Interpreters must hold either: (1) a current RID SC:L, BEI Court Interpreter, or successor certification, or (2) a current RID certification or BEI Advanced, Master, or Intermediary certification, or successor certification and have completed a minimum of 20 hours of current legal interpreting training.B. CART Providers 1. A Communication Access Realtime Translation ("CART") provider is a trained professional who provides live, immediate captioning from speech to text for deaf, hard of hearing, and deafblind consumers to provide communication access. The text appears on a computer or other screen or display. The CART provider also provides environmental cues to the consumer, such as phones ringing, laughter, door slamming, etc. CART is also referred to as real-time captioning, and live captioning.2. Pursuant to the Legal Auxiliary Services Handbook, to attain an initial Status I or II Court/Legal credential, CART providers must: a. Hold a current Certified Realtime Captioner (CRC) designation, or meet each of the following criteria: 1) Have graduated from an accredited court reporting program.2) Have a minimum rate of 98% accuracy at 225 words per minute for captioning work.3) Have two years of general CART experience post-graduation and a minimum average of 20 hours of CART services per week for each of the most recent two years of CART work. Exceptions will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.b. Successfully complete a minimum of six hands-on assignments in the State Court System, as supervised by a current Status I or II CART Provider and approved by Legal Auxiliary Services (LAS).c. Complete an orientation provided by LAS.3. CART Providers will be designated as: a. Status I if they hold a current Certified Realtime Captioner (CRC) designation and meet the requirements listed in section 2. Status I providers will be eligible to cover all court/legal LAS assignments where the consumer is a party to the case.
b. Status II if they meet the requirements listed in section 2 but do not hold a current CRC designation. Status II providers will be eligible to cover all LAS assignments, except trials and hearings with testimony unless approved by LAS or the appointing authority.
c. Status IV if they meet the requirements listed in section 2(a)(1), (2), and (3). Status IV providers will not be eligible to cover court/legal assignments but may cover court-ordered treatment or therapy assignments.
4. To maintain a Status I or II Court/Legal credential: a. CART Providers must: 1) Maintain a current CRC designation for Status I.2) Complete a sufficient number of CART assignments, as determined by LAS, within the State Court System within the last year for Status II.b. Attend a refresher orientation program if requested by LAS.5. The purpose of CART services is to facilitate communication accessibility in a live format. CART providers do not provide a record of the proceedings and will not retain or distribute CART notes or print-outs. Court reporters are responsible for providing a verbatim record of the proceedings and persons wanting a transcript can order an official transcript through the courts.
6. CART services may be provided onsite or virtually. Every effort will be made to provide optimal communication access. Onsite cart services will be prioritized for trials, jury duty, and hearings with testimony.C. Cued Language Transliterators Colorado recognizes Cued Language Transliterators who hold a Transliteration Skills Certificate (TSC) pursuant to section 6-1-707(1)(e)(i)(a), C.R.S., and the rules in section 27.500 . Due to a lack of Cued Language Transliterator (CLT) providers with specific qualifications for court and legal settings, LAS will make CLT assignments on a case-by-case basis upon consultation with a provider that has expertise in CLT training and practice.42 CR 11, June 10, 2019, effective 6/30/201942 CR 13, July 10, 2019, effective 7/30/201943 CR 05, March 10, 2020, effective 2/7/202043 CR 03, February 10, 2020, effective 3/1/202043 CR 07, April 10, 2020, effective 4/30/202043 CR 23, December 10, 2020, effective 11/6/202044 CR 05, March 10, 2021, effective 2/5/202144 CR 03, February 10, 2021, effective 3/2/202144 CR 05, March 10, 2021, effective 4/1/202144 CR 07, April 10, 2021, effective 4/30/202144 CR 17, September 10, 2021, effective 9/30/202145 CR 09, May 10, 2022, effective 5/30/202245 CR 13, July 10, 2022, effective 7/31/202245 CR 15, August 10, 2022, effective 8/30/202246 CR 05, March 10, 2023, effective 2/3/202346 CR 09, May 10, 2023, effective 5/30/2023