Sign language interpreters translate the spoken word into manual form for people who are Deaf. Interpreters serve as communication links between Deaf and hearing people. Interpreters are highly trained professionals and are qualified to interpret effectively, accurately and impartially.

Knowledge of sign language, alone, is not sufficient to enable a person to interpret. Most interpreters complete a four-year degree in sign language interpreting and are required to take continuing professional development courses to maintain their credentials. Upon completion of their degree, interpreters are required to take two national exams to receive certification.

In addition to extensive study and experience, certified interpreters must adhere to the Code of Professional Conduct established by the National Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf. You can read the Code at www.rid.org/UserFiles/File/pdfs/codeofethics.pdf. Mill Neck Interpreter Service is the only Supersite location on Long Island and the only CMP Sponsor.

To start, ask the person who is Deaf what his/her needs are. The Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 requires public entities to give disabled people an opportunity to make a request for an interpreter. Always remember to ask the Deaf person what type of interpreting they need or prefer.

With over fifteen years of experience, Mill Neck Interpreter Service provides an experienced, caring staff of hearing and Deaf interpreters for any situation requiring communication between hearing and Deaf people. From the highly technical customer, to the person with minimal language skills who needs extra communication support, Mill Neck Interpreter Service can provide you with an interpreter to fit your needs.

Mill Neck Interpreter Service provides interpreting for a wide variety settings, including:

• Medical
• Mental health
• Legal
• Business
• Educational (colleges, high schools and elementary schools)
• Government
• Non-profit organizations
• Independent living centers
• Private
• Conference/workshop
• Worship
• Entertainment
  

Interpretation can be done with several different types of communication methods. Qualified sign language interpreters may use:

• American Sign Language (ASL)
• Signed English
• Tactile Interpreting for Deaf/Blind Individuals
• Oral Interpreting
• Transliteration
• Pidgin Signed English (PSE)
• Cued speech
  

For more information regarding teaming, please refer to: http://www.rid.org/UserFiles/File/pdfs/Standard_Practice_Papers/Drafts_June_2006/Team_Interpreting_SPP.pdf

Please click here for our online Sign Language Interpreter Request Form. Please note that your request for an interpreter is not confirmed until you receive an email reply stating we received your request.

You may also call us at 516-512-6222 to schedule an interpreter.

Interpreter services can be arranged throughout the Long Island-New York Metropolitan Region 24 hours a day, every day - although evenings, weekends and legal holidays are charged a different rate.

Due to the ever-increasing number of interpreter requests, it is important to schedule an interpreter as far in advance of the assignment as possible. Last minute calls are always accepted, and we will do our best to help you. However, we do charge an "emergency call fee" for requests made 24 hours or less prior to the assignment.

Please see our POLICY AND RATES for more information.

Interpreters and other auxiliary devices are to be provided free of charge to the person with the disability. Tax credits may be available to offset the cost of the accommodation.

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires that “places of public accommodation,” such as restaurants, hotels, theaters, doctors’ offices, pharmacies, retail stores, museums, libraries, parks, private schools and day care centers, must make available appropriate auxiliary aids and services, where necessary, to ensure effective communication – This includes providing a qualified sign language interpreter.

For more information, please see: www.adainfo.org/publications/quicktips/interpreters.pdf.

In an effort to provide outstanding services, Mill Neck Interpreter Service welcomes and appreciates your feedback. Please use the website and log-in information below to submit annoymous feedback pertaining to Interpreters, Clients, and Consumers.

https:///mninterpreters.millneckservices.org

Account Name: feedback

Password: feedback

Cancellation Policy

For a single day assignment:
In order for a job to be cancelled without charge, MNIS requires that we receive and acknowledge the cancellation with at least two (2) full business days (excluding weekends) prior to the date of the assignment/event. This includes but is not limited to cancellation due to illness or unavailability of any person involved in the assignment other than our Interpreter. When our offices’ are closed, assignments can be cancelled by calling our beeper service at 1-800-235-2594.

For a multiple day assignment (2-4 days):
In order for a job to be cancelled without charge, MNIS requires that we receive and acknowledge the cancellation with at least five (5) full business days (excluding weekends) notice prior to the date of the assignment/event. This includes but is not limited to cancellation due to illness or unavailability of any person involved in the assignment other than the Interpreter. Mill Neck shall assess a fee of 50% of the cost of the originally scheduled assignment. When our offices’ are closed, assignments can be cancelled by calling our beeper service at 1-800-235-2594.

For a multiple day assignment five (5) days or longer:
In order for a job to be cancelled without charge, MNIS needs to receive and acknowledge the cancellation with at least ten (10) full business days (excluding weekends) notice prior to the date of the assignment/event. This includes but is not limited to cancellation due to illness or unavailability of any person involved in the assignment other than our Interpreter. Mill Neck shall assess a fee of 50% of the cost of the originally scheduled assignment. When our offices’ are closed, assignments can be cancelled by calling our beeper service at 1-800-235-2594.

For educational assignments:
In the event that a K-12 school student no longer needs interpreter services during a school year, or a college/university student withdraws during a semester, payment for the cancelled assignment will be billable for two (2) full weeks of said scheduled classes.

Please click here for our online Sign Language Interpreter Request Form. Please note that your request for an interpreter is not confirmed until you receive an email reply stating we received your request.

Mill Neck Interpreter Service Procedural Agreement

Requirements for Mill Neck Interpreters

1. Annual Tuberculosis Check: Interpreters are responsible for keeping record of the expiration date. Results must be faxed to the office annually.
2. For Medical Settings: Interpreters must have a record on file of having an MMR (Measles, Mumps, Rubella) inoculation.
3. Criminal Background Check: Contact our Human Resources Director, Kathleen Lagalante, at 516-628-4224 or klagalante@millneck.org to schedule a background check.
4. RID Membership: Obtain current RID membership. Abide by the RID Code of Professional Conduct.
5. Dress Code: Professional Dress code is required at all times; no exceptions, unless notified by office for specific jobs. Professional Dress means no visible body piercing or tattoos or casual wear, such as flip flops, tank tops or shorts.
6. Kathleen Lagalante, Human Resources Director on the Mill Neck campus, issues ID cards. If you do not have one, please contact her at 516-628-4224 or klagalante@millneck.org as soon as possible. You must have an ID card.

Policies for Interpreting Assignments

1. Arrival time for all assignments is 15 minutes prior to the scheduled start time. Upon arrival, the interpreter must locate and introduce him/herself to the contact person. Confirm with the contact person the exact time the agency has scheduled.
2. If an assignment will run over the scheduled time, please have the contact person call the office for approval. The interpreter cannot stay over the scheduled time unless the office has been notified.
3. If the interpreter will arrive late to an assignment, the interpreter is responsible for calling the contact person 15 minutes prior to the start time. In addition, please notify the office.
4. Interpreters need to check the website at least once daily to check job assignments.
5. The interpreter must notify the office (via phone or email) of any additional information or changes to an assignment. (Examples: location changes, time changes, mode of communication, pertinent information related to a consumer, etc.)
6. If an assignment is canceled upon arrival or the consumer is a "no show," the interpreter must get approval from the contact person to leave. Upon leaving, the interpreter must call the office with the first, last name and phone number of the person who gave approval to leave. If the contact person wants the interpreter to wait the full scheduled time, the interpreter must comply.
7. Scheduled wait time for a two-hour assignment is no less than 30 minutes; for any assignment over two hours, there is a 45-minute wait time. Please note this excludes clients that are contracted, such as Nassau University Medical Center, VESID, Jamaica Hospital and other agencies. If there are any questions about the wait time, please contact the office.
8. The scheduled wait time for VESID, Jamaica Hospital and Nassau University Medical Center assignments is one hour.
9. For hospital assignments, the interpreter is not permitted to be alone with the patient unless otherwise advised. When a hospital employee enters the patient’s room, the interpreter should immediately follow the employee. Until needed, the interpreter should sit outside of the patient's room or at the nurse’s station. The interpreter is there as a facilitator of communication for both the hearing and the Deaf individuals. Should there be any resistance and/or problems, please call the office.
10. Interpreters working ongoing assignments should give the Deaf consumer Mill Neck’s email address: interpret@millneck.org on the first day of the ongoing assignment. Interpreters are not permitted to provide any personal contact information, such as pagers, emails, or phone numbers.
11. All interpreter interns must be approved by the office, consumer and client in order to attend an assignment.

College/University Assignments

1. All schedule changes must go through the school’s Department for Students with Disabilities and/or the VESID counselors. Any unscheduled events, i.e. meetings with teachers or advisors and final exams, etc., are not billable unless the interpreter receives the information from Mill Neck Interpreter Service. Changes must be transmitted from VESID and/or the Students with Disabilities Department to Mill Neck. No exceptions will be permitted.
2. Interpreters should give the Deaf student/teacher Mill Neck’s email address interpret@millneck.org on the first day of an ongoing assignment so clients may advise the office as needed. Interpreters are not permitted to provide any personal contact information, such as pagers, emails or phone numbers.
3. For any schedule change, a Deaf student must immediately contact Mill Neck Interpreter Service, via the email address listed above, and inform the office in order for the interpreter not to attend. If the office is not informed, the interpreter must attend the scheduled class and wait the appropriate wait time.

Billing and Timesheets

1. It is recommended that timesheets be submitted at the end of each day after the jobs for that day are completed. Timesheets must be submitted via the online interpreter database no later than 11:59 PM on the due date. Timesheets that are received after 11:59 PM on the due date (12:00 AM on the next day) will NOT be processed until the next pay period. Please email or call the office if you need assistance. All notification regarding when time sheets are due will be done via email.
2. Billing is done in ½ hour increments.
3. Double billing is no longer approved when only one interpreter appears at a teaming assignment. Please call the office immediately, and we will try to either get a team interpreter and/or negotiate a higher rate per hour. Clients are now refusing to pay double rate.
4. Please note there is a new procedure for the Signed VESID Forms, effective July 24, 2008. The "original" signed VESID forms must be in our office on the same date timesheets are due. They can be either hand delivered or mailed to our office. If you decide to mail the form, it must be received in our office by the scheduled timesheet due date.
   5 ** VESID forms faxed to our office can no longer be acceptable for payment. **
   6 Mill Neck Services cannot process payment if the "original" signed VESID form is not received in our office on the same date timesheets are due. If VESID assignment is scheduled on the same date timesheets are due: You can hand deliver to our office the following day by 12:00 PM, or Mail to our office and request payment during the following pay period. Please contact Kim Worko if you have any questions.
5. Night rate begins at 10:00 PM and ends at 8:00 AM; the hourly rate is increased by $10 during those hours.
6. Weekend rates will be negotiated on a case-by-case basis prior to the assignment.
   

Emergency Beeper (1-800-235-2594)

1. When an interpreter is ill and cannot make an assignment, he/she must call the emergency beeper as soon as possible. Calling the night before an assignment is ideal; please try not to wait until the morning.
2. For any last minute assignment changes during the hours of 5:00 PM to 8:00 AM, the interpreter must call the emergency beeper.
3. Last minute substitutes are permitted for emergency situations only. To request a substitute for any other reason, we respectfully ask for one week’s notice.
4. Coordinators for the Emergency Beeper service are Irene Hawxhurst, Mary Crowley and Loretta Murray. Please have their phone numbers available at all times.

Irene Hawxhurst: (516) 384-0920
Mary Crowley: (516) 322-4207
Loretta Murray: Deafesq1@att.blackberry.net

Mill Neck Interpreter Service Staff Contact Information

Office Hours: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM • Phone: 516-512-6222

Loretta Murray, Esq. - Director of Mill Neck Services
Deafesq@aol.com

Judith Rackovitch - Supervisor (In office Tues & Thurs to answer any questions/concerns)
judirocks10@aol.com • (Cell) 516-322-2325

Liz Kohn - Coordinator of Interpreting Services
interpret@millneck.org and lkohn@millneck.org, Press Option 1

Tracey Urzi - Coordinator of Interpreting Services
interpret@millneck.org and turzi@millneck.org, Press Option 1

Heather Rossi - Consultant
hrossi@millneck.org

Kim Worko - Timesheets and Collections
kworko@millneck.org, Press Option 2

Irene Hawxhurst - VESID and Billing
ihawxhurst@millneck.org, Press Option 2

Kathleen Lagalante - Human Resources Director
klagalante@millneck.org • 516-628-4224

Mill Neck Interpreter Service is RID Super Site # 199 for certification exams. To schedule an exam date, please contact either Liz or Tracey.

Click on the following link to enter the Mill Neck Interpreter Web Site.

https://mninterpreters.millneckservices.org

Interpreters Applying for Employment

Documentation Requirements:
Certified or qualified interpreters applying to work with Mill Neck Interpreter Service, should send the following documentation to:

Mill Neck Interpreter Service
501 South Broadway, Suite A
Hicksville, NY 11801
Attention: Judith Rackovitch

• Resume
• Mill Neck Family of Organizations Application for Employment
• W-4
• Signed copy of MNIS Policies & Procedures
• Direct deposit form

Required Copies:

1. Driver’s license
2. One of the following: Passport, NY State Voter’s Registration or Social Security Card
3. RID card

Clearance Information for Medical Interpreting:

1. TB results stating 0mm and/or negative chest x-ray results
2. OMRDD fingerprinting clearance (may not be applicable in all situations)

Clearance for K-12 Interpreting:

1. New York State OSPRA clearance if applying for a K-12 position
   

Continuing Education Credits (CEU)

The Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf (RID) requires that every certified Sign Language interpreter participate in the Certificate Maintenance Program (CMP).

8.0 CEUs (80 hours) are necessary for a cycle (see RID for more info about cycles).

Professional Studies
A minimum of 6.0 CEUs must be related to any one or all of the following:

• Linguistic and Cultural Studies, which includes the study of any language or linguistic system and the study of any specific culture.
• Theoretical and Experiential Studies, which includes the process of interpreting and transliterating theory and skill building activities.
• Specialization Studies, which includes specialized aspects of interpreting used in settings such as the legal, medical, mental health and substance abuse recovery fields.

General Studies
No more than 2.0 CEUs may be from the following content areas:

• Human Service and Leadership Studies, which include topics such as leadership skills, public relations, public speaking and community resources.
• General knowledge studies, which include areas less obviously related to the field of interpreting and transliteration, but are educationally beneficial to the participant.

How To Earn CEUs
Participants must work with an RID-approved sponsor to earn CEU credits. Mill Neck Interpreter Service (MNIS) is an approved RID Certification Maintenance Program (CMP) sponsor and is authorized to offer CEUs through workshops and independent studies.

Click here for Continuing Education Activity Plan - Instructor's Form. For other requirements, please go to RID.org.

Activities That Earn CEUs

• MNIS-initiated activities, such as workshops, short courses, conferences, silent weekends, CD ROM workshops, etc.
• Participant-initiated activities, such as in-service workshops, workshops or conferences of other organizations, etc.
• Independent study activities, such as home study with videos, research or literature reviews, study groups, acting as a mentor or being mentored, curriculum/workshop development, teaching a workshop for the first time, etc.
• Academic coursework.

How To Earn CEUs For Independent Study
A) MNIS is an approved sponsor for independent studies. Each Independent Study Plan is limited to 2.0 CEUs. You must establish the Independent Study plan before you begin the activity. The following steps detail the procedure for earning CEUs through the Independent Study process:

1. Decide on the activity for which you want to earn CEUs.
2. Contact Judi Rackovitch, the MNIS CMP Coordinator and discuss your ideas. Find out the documentation required and the number of CEUs that you can earn. You will be asked to respond, in writing, to the following questions:

1. What do I want to do? Briefly describe the activity you will complete for CEUs.
2. Why do I want to do it? Personal needs? Professional growth? Skill enhancement in a specific area? Increased general knowledge? Remain current in the field?
3. What are my specific goals? Keep your goals measurable, observable, and tangible!
4. How will I accomplish my goals? Briefly describe your action plan.
5. How will I show my sponsor what I learned? Describe your evaluation process.
6. How many CEUs will I earn?
   

• Judi will sign and approve the plan. You may now begin work on the activity (any work done before this point cannot earn CEUs). It is important to document your time and efforts while you work on your activity.
• At the completion of the activity, send Judi your report, documentation and other information outlined in the activity plan. She will review the documentation to ensure that it meets the standards and goals agreed upon in the activity plan.
• When the project has been completed satisfactorily, Mary will fill out the Independent Study Activity Report and send all required paperwork to the National Office to be added to your record.

B) Another avenue for earning CEUs is through Academic Coursework at an accredited college or university. The procedure is simple and requires MNIS filing the paperwork for the course. Once your academic transcript is finalized, you must submit a copy to Judi Rackovitch at MNIS in order to receive CEU credits. If the course is offered during a semester, the number of CEUs equals 1.5 per semester credit (i.e. a 3 credit course = 4.5 CEUs). If the course is offered during a quarter, the number of CEUs equals 1 per quarter credit (i.e. a 3 credit course = 3 CEUs.) You must earn a grade of C or better to receive CEUs. The course must be taken during the participant's current CMP cycle. Paperwork may be filed anytime during that current cycle.

Click here for instructions and the form for Academic Coursework.

C) Another alternative for earning CEUs is participating in an activity which is offered by an entity or organization which is not an RID-approved sponsor. To do so, you must contact a RID Approved Sponsor, or MNIS, to be eligible to earn CEUs. IMPORTANT NOTE: Documentation must be completed prior to the beginning of the activity (the paperwork is entitled Participant Initiated Non-RID Activity) and proof of attendance is required once the activity is completed. For this paperwork you need to contact Judi Rackovitch.

New Rates
MNIS must charge a fee for processing and granting CEUs under the RID Certification Maintenance Program. If you go to a workshop that does not already offer RID CEUs, do an independent study or take a college course in the near future, the fees are shown below:

College Courses, workshops: $15.00

• non-RID sponsored
• non-credit courses

Independent Study - Individual: $30.00

Independent Study - Group: $15.00/person

Please contact Judi Rackovitch if you have any questions.

Workshops
Mill Neck Interpreter Service offers workshops. For more information, please click here.