MARJORIE CLERE INTERPRETER REFERRAL SERVICE

Policies, fees and procedures      Back to Syracuse Catholic Deaf page   Other interpreter services

FACT SHEET

The Marjorie Clere Interpreter Referral Service of Aurora of Central New York, Inc. has been operational since 1979 under the direction of Angelo Coppola, CSC. We provide interpreting services for legal situations, medical emergencies, classroom interpreting for post-secondary Deaf students, job interviews, the arts (musicals, concerts, plays), political speeches, public forums, and any other venue which a Deaf person wishes to access.

SERVICE AREA

• Serving Central New York from Watertown and northern Jefferson County to Binghamton and the Southern Tier, from Geneva and the Finger Lakes area to Utica and the Adirondack foothills.

STAFFING

• We have a staff of 4 employees dedicated exclusively to the Interpreter Referral Service. The service is directed by a National RID certified (CSC) interpreter with more than 25 years of experience in the field of interpreting and more than 20 years experience as a coordinator of the referral service. The director personally evaluates all new interpreters to determine skill and language competency.

 
• We maintain a pool of approximately 50 interpreters in private practice who act as independent contractors and accept assignments through our agency. Of these, 20 interpreters are nationally certified.

AURORA of Central New York Inc. was created in 1991, when separate organizations assisting people who have visual or hearing impairments joined forces. This merger of The Lighthouse and the Central New York Association for the Hearing Impaired created more efficient and effective services for our community.

Today our professional staff at AURORA serves people of all ages in Onondaga, Oswego, Cayuga, and northern Cortland Counties. With the help and support of our members, AURORA offers an ever-expanding range of facilities and services to people in Central New York. Member of the United way of CNY, Greater Oswego and Cayuga Counties

INTERPRETER REFERRAL SER VICE

Under the direction of a certified interpreter, AURORA's Interpreter Referral Service coordinates the provision of sign language interpreters for a ten county area in CNY, Professional interpreters provide a range of skills including: ASL, Signed English, Oral and Tactile. Assignment sites include graduate level college courses, hospital emergency rooms, technical training semi seminars, artistic performances, courtrooms, doctors' offices and political forums. The Marjorie Clere Interpreter Referral Service acts as an advocate for the provision of services in accordance with ADA regulations.

SIGN LANGUAGE INSTRUCTION

AURORA provides eight week introductory sign language classes four times per year to members of the hearing community. AURORA's instructors are fluent or native users of American Sign Language who provide students with an understanding of Deaf culture.

DEAF SOCIAL SERVICES

Deaf social work provides services to individuals who are Deaf, hard of hearing, late-deafened and Deaf / blind. AURORA's professional staff is sensitive to cultural diversity and skilled in various modes of sign language and oral communication. Services include: one-on-one counseling, family support.

SOCIAL WORK BLIND SERVICES

Social work offers counseling to address psychological and emotional issues that often accompany vision loss. Common issues are: denial, anger, sadness or depression, and fear. Our professional staff works with individuals directly or provides referrals to the appropriate services for treatment. Social Workers assist individuals with accessing community resources such as financial benefits, housing, transportation, medical and mental health care. AURORA of CNY has support groups for persons with vision loss, family members and friends. The groups are educational and social. The volunteer program offers friendly visiting and reading and access to community resources.

REHABILITATION TEACHING

AURORA assists visually impaired/blind individuals by teaching them adapted skills of daily living, from cooking, cleaning, sewing and money management to clothes-matching and grocery lists. Group instruction is also offered.

ORIENTATION & MOBILITY

Individuals who are blind or visually impaired face a daily challenge maneuvering safely through their environment. When the individual faces changes - a new job, a new home or even a remodeled supermarket. AURORA's professional Orientation/Mobility Specialists provide instruction in order to meet life challenges.

MARJORIE CLERE INTERPRETER REFERRAL SERVICE

POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

TYPES OF INTERPRETING SITUATIONS

COMMUNITY - Requested at least 24 business hours in advance.

EMERGENCY - Requested less than 24 business hours in advance.

LEGAL - Court trials, hearings, depositions or any legal matter that becomes part of a legal record.

TEAM INTERPRETING - Any special situation that will require two or more interpreters. (i.e. those of an intense nature, or lengthy in duration, OR those situations requiring a certified (RSC) Deaf interpreter.)

COMPENSATION

Generally there is a two-hour minimum charge per assignment. Services provided after the first two hours be billed in half-hour increments. Travel time may be charged for certain locations.

Compensation rates vary according to the type of interpreting services requested. Please see rate schedule below.

Interpreting fees cannot be charged back to the Deaf consumer; either directly or indirectly.

FEE SCHEDULE

NOTE: Assignments require a two-hour minimum. Additional hours will be billed in half-hour increments.

There will be an additional charge of $2.00 per hour for all community interpreting services when provided as follows: Between 10:00 PM and 8:00 AM Monday through Thursday Between 10:00 PM Friday through 8:00 AM Monday.

Assignments on national holidays will be billed at emergency rates.

Qualified sign language interpreters can be obtained 24 hours a day, seven days a week by calling Aurora of CNY, Inc. 315/422-7263 (extension 800 after normal business hours).

TRAVEL POLICIES / FEES

Per Aurora's contractual agreement with the interpreters in private practice in the greater Central New York area, travel compensation is charged at the hourly interpreting rate for interpreters who must travel to the site of an assignment. In the event there is no qualified interpreter available to work in the immediate geographic area of the assignment, attempts will be made to fill the request with a qualified interpreter from outside your area.

All travel charges will be billed at the hourly rate of $ 40.00 for all assignments whether the request is routine, emergency or legal. Travel charges are based on estimated round trip travel time per the attached addendum.

INTERPRETER TRAVEL ALLOCATIONS

                    DESTINATION             TRAVEL TIME ALLOWANCE (ROUND TRIP)

CANCELLATION / NO SHOW POLICY

CANCELLATION - In the event the request for interpreting services is cancelled by the requesting organization or by the Deaf consumer with more than 24 business hours notice, there will be no charge to the requesting organization.

If the request for interpreting services is cancelled by the requesting organization with less than 24 business hours notice, there will be a charge for the time the interpreter was scheduled to work. If the assignment was scheduled for the two hour minimum, two hours will be charged. If the assignment was scheduled for eight hours, the full eight hours will be charged. If there was travel time involved and the interpreter actually traveled to the site of the assignment, those travel fees would also be charged. Fees charged will be in accordance with the established fee schedule.

DEAF CONSUMER NO SHOW - In the event the Deaf consumer does not appear as scheduled for a two-hour minimum assignment, the interpreter will wait 30 minutes before leaving the assignment location. For assignments longer than two hours in duration the interpreter will wait one hour before leaving the assignment location. The interpreter will remain on call for the duration of the scheduled assignment should the Deaf consumer appear after the wait time and before the scheduled end of the assignment. There will be a charge for the time the interpreter was scheduled to work; fees charged will be in accordance with the established fee schedule.

INTERPRETER -CANCELLATION / NO SHOW - In the event Aurora cancels an assigned interpreter with less than 24 business hours notice, there will be no charge to the requesting organization. In the event the interpreter does not appear for a scheduled assignment, there will be no charge to the requesting organization.

There is a pool of approximately 50 interpreters in private practice in the greater Central New York area who accept assignment through the Marjorie Clere Interpreter Referral Service. These interpreters are independent contractors who work as professional sign language interpreters. The above stated policies are in accordance with the contractual agreement Aurora has with these interpreters.