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January 22, 2025
Lansing, Michigan - The Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (LARA) is proud to announce the launch of a statewide needs assessment on interpreting services, including sign language and protactile interpreting. This initiative is part of the Michigan Qualified Interpreter (QI) Program, which has certified interpreters and managed certification applications and renewals since 2019. The needs assessment seeks to better understand the current challenges and opportunities in signed and protactile interpreting services, incorporating input from Michigan’s Deaf, DeafBlind, and Hard of Hearing (D/DB/HH) communities, as well as interpreters, interpreting agencies, interpreter educators, and aspiring interpreters.
This needs assessment aims to strengthen connections between LARA and D/DB/HH community members, laying the foundation for long-term collaboration. It will provide LARA with the data needed to guide future decisions and explore strategies to support interpreters and those who use interpreting services.
To carry out this important work, LARA has partnered with Innivee Strategies, Inc., a Deaf-led leadership and organizational development company with expertise in community-based research and interpreting systems. The needs assessment will be conducted in three phases:
Phase One: Promoting the project and refining its design to ensure it effectively gathers meaningful input from the D/DB/HH community.
Phase Two: Collecting data through virtual focus groups and interviews and a statewide survey available in American Sign Language (ASL) and English.
Phase Three: Analyzing the data to develop a data report, which will include key findings and recommendations for the future of interpreting services in Michigan.
Community participation is essential to the success of this project. LARA encourages individuals, organizations, and institutions to connect with Innivee Strategies and share their perspectives.
Whether you are a Deaf, DeafBlind, or Hard of Hearing individual, an interpreter, or someone who works closely with interpreting services, your insights are valuable to this effort. You can email Innivee Strategies to express your interest and get involved; contact@innivee.com.
To stay informed about the progress of this project and learn how you can contribute, visit michigan.gov/lara/bureau-list/bchs/qualified-interpreter. To view the video announcement, click here.
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