Danielle Filip: Importance of PA's Act 57 Ensuring Interpreters

Welcome to Disability Matters with your host Joyce Bender. All comments, views, and opinions expressed on the show are solely those of the host, guest, and callers. Now the host of Disability Matters, here's Joyce Bender.

Hey everyone, welcome to the show. To all of my great friends right here in America, to all of my friends around the world, I am totally thrilled when I see a new country like Finland on board listening to the show, from China to Russia to Australia. It's so great to have listeners. Always remember, anyone you know that is English-speaking with a disability, tell them, tell them about this show. And especially Special shout out to Richard Roberts. Oh, I love Richard. He's with the U.S. State Department. He has been with me in South Korea, Okinawa, and soon in Brazil. He's like Mr. Disability Rights Leader in the State Department. He is just so awesome. And in addition, Gangyang Cho, in South Korea. South Korea, how about that? What a great friend you are. All, all everywhere I've been— Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Panama— everywhere I've been, everyone has been so gracious and wonderful to me on all of those visits. Hey, Yoshiko Dart! Special shout out. You know how I love you, Yoshiko. Lead on. And you know why I mention her on every show? Her late husband, the great Justin Dart Jr., was the general behind getting the Americans with Disabilities Act signed. He lived with polio. He was in a wheelchair. With Yoshiko, traveled, I don't know, 3 to 5 times around the United States meeting with disability groups to make sure he got people behind getting the ADA passed. I want you to remember him. Because people forget about our history, our disability rights history. You all know I live with epilepsy. I'm hard of hearing. Bender Consulting, my company— oh, wait till you hear this— next year is our 30th anniversary. Hard for me to believe, but I'm all about finding employment for people with disabilities in competitive areas, and I have great companies, one of which is my lead sponsor of this show, Highmark, one of the best companies I work with. And may I add, this show has been on 21 years on Voice America. And guess who the sponsor is? Highmark. Thank you, Highmark, for believing in me and everything you're doing to help me spread the word about quality of life for people living with disabilities. Now, I love our guest today, okay? I'm biased. I'll tell you up front, this is not like a guest that, oh, I just met you and heard about you, you're so awesome. This person I know well, and she is awesome, and so is her mother, but she is awesome. I mean, she, she really cares about people in the Deaf community. She really cares, as you will see today when you hear her talk. Uh, Danielle Philip, it is a pleasure to have you on the show today. You are just awesome, a successful entrepreneur, a disability rights advocate for the Deaf, but you are one of my treasured friends. So welcome to the show.

Thank you so much, Joyce. I'm so honored to be here. Thanks for having me back again.

Well, this show, as I just said, was— it has been on for 21 years. And here's a new thing that's been happening. People will say to me, oh, I love that show, or I love that guest. I wish I knew more about them. So what I have everyone do now at the beginning of the show is tell their story, like where did they grow up, a little bit about their family. Obviously, in your case, why did you go into a company that you own, Sign Language Interpreting Professionals, working with the deaf? So if you could go over that, It would be great.

Sure. Yeah. So, I was raised bilingually. My mom, Joanne, is a child of deaf adults. So that means that her parents are deaf, and so is her sister, my aunt. I vividly recall holidays. We would be at my great-grandparents' house, and my aunt, she would be home visiting. She lived in Maryland. And I was a young child. Maybe 10, 11 years old, and I remember my Aunt Barb signing to me, having a conversation with me. And I knew how to sign, but Aunt Barb wasn't around very often. She signed really fast, and I wouldn't understand her. I'd look to my mom for help, you know, what's Aunt Barb saying? And my aunt, she would scold my mom, "Don't you dare tell her what I'm saying!" And my aunt would make me understand. And I have to tell you, Joyce, it's that tough love that I attribute my linguistic fluency to. I wouldn't be the interpreter that I am today if my aunt hadn't really made me learn to communicate. But even with that, my mom founded Sign Language Interpreting Professionals, SLIP, back in 2003. She wanted me to be a sign language interpreter, but like every rebellious child at 18, I didn't want to do what mom said I should do. I wanted to be a consultant. I wanted to work with businesses to integrate the deaf community as their employees and their customers. I went on to Washington and Jefferson College to pursue a bachelor's degree in business administration. I studied entrepreneurial studies, and actually, as you probably remember, I interned with you there my senior year. I interned with Bender, and because I really wanted to be a consultant, I really wanted to see deaf people people more fully integrated into the community. I went on to Chatham University. I got my MBA with a concentration in leadership and organizational transformation. And then I had enough student loans, so I came back to mom and said, "Hey, Mom, Joanne, I'll be that interpreter now." I got nationally certified, and interpreting got me where I am today. I missed being out in the community interpreting, but here I am, 21 years later, as long as you've been on the radio here, I am now getting to do what I wanted to do back then. I'm advocating for and working with the community. I'm working with businesses to make sure that they are really, truly inclusive. My grandpa, he was deaf, as I told you, He passed away in 2019 from dementia, and his final words to me were, "Go to work." It's ironic because he always complained that he didn't see me enough because I worked too much. But here I am working every day to make the world a better place for people like him, for him and his friends. Thanks so much for having me and letting me share that, Joyce.

Oh, that is such a wonderful story. Yeah, I like that, and that really was no pity, no question about that, which is good. And Danielle, I told someone else this the other day who interned at Bender Consulting Services. I'm going to get you a shirt that says, I was an intern at Bender Consulting Services. Because wow, what a great success in you. Well, Danielle, I had you on the show today because remember when I said that Danielle is a disability rights advocate? You cannot imagine how passionate she is about trying to modernize the language in Act 57. And before I go any further, This is in the State Department legislation in Pennsylvania.

Federal—

not federal, state government. And so, I'm telling that so those of you around the world— oh, just Friday, oh my goodness, the State Department had NGOs from— let's see if I remember— Pakistan, Burma, Morocco, Finland, uh, Japan— what? No, no, Hong Kong, Hong Kong. And oh, I said Morocco. I don't have them. I, I'm sorry, I can't remember all of them because it was all so— oh, India, India. It was also Wonderful. And you know what? They said, "If only we lived in a country where we could get our government to do anything for people with disabilities." And I said, "It all starts with disability rights, the way it did right here in United States." So I'm saying that because Danielle, as an example, of what I'm talking about, someone that goes to the government. And I know from talking to you, this would not be easy, but you've got to have a start, even if it's, you know, marching around, protesting. And if not that, if you can't do that, having fairs. This is what I saw them do. I think it was in Panama. They had a fair outside, invited families. Of people with disabilities and people with disabilities with singing and food. And this was a way for them to get a start. Just being known. And by the way, they did have people from the deaf community as one of the performing acts. So here is Danielle doing what I talked to all of you about. And she is working with Eric Kratz, the Executive Director for the Senate's Labor and Industry Committee, who works with Chair Senator Devlin Robinson. And you know you're going to hear about it from me when I see you, Lieutenant Governor, because I was named to the Pennsylvania Procurement and Inclusion committee. So, including, of course, people with disabilities. So here's something going on that we can talk about. So Danielle, why— what are you working on? Like, what is this? What are you trying to do?

Sure, thank you, Joyce. So we'll start with what is Act 57. Act 57 of 2004 2004 is the Sign Language Interpreter and Transliterator State Registration Act. In short, what it is, is the law that allows sign language interpreters in Pennsylvania to work as professionals and earn a living in the state providing the service of sign language interpreting. But the problem is, it was written in 2004, and it hasn't been kept up with, right? The world is very different now than it was 20 years ago, as we all know. The world's very different now than it was 4 years ago at that. And so I've been really wanting to make change happen since the pandemic. When the pandemic hit, everybody went home. Interpreting became this remote service. Everybody worked to provide access from behind their screens, but that meant that quality went by the wayside in a way. Also, the National Certification Test got put on hold. So for an interpreter to work in the state of Pennsylvania, they couldn't get registered. They couldn't reach out to the state and let the state know that they wanted to provide their services, because they couldn't take the test. And so we had this bottleneck happen where there was a shortage. So I knocked on every door that I knew to knock on, and ultimately In October of this year, I had a meeting with the Secretary of Labor and Industry, Nancy Walker, who made it a point to say, "Have you talked to your legislators? Have you gone and knocked on their doors?" And I said, "Well, no, 'cause I don't know how to revamp the law." And she said, "Have a conversation with them." And it was her encouragement that allowed me to request a meeting with Representative Arvind Venkat here in my district, and then subsequently Representative Rob Mercuri. And I was elated to find out both were interested in assisting with modernizing Act 57's language to reduce the negative consequences that the current act is having on the community. Uh, one thing led to another, and as you said, Joyce Bender, I got in touch with Eric Kratz there, the Executive Director of the Senate's Labor and Industry Committee, who, working with Senator Devlin Robinson, is now proposing the amended language for us. So really, things over the last 5 months have been a whirlwind, and I'm learning a lot in the process, but I am so excited to know that It really does work. Our legislators care. I was able to meet with Representative Venkat, as I said, who is a physician, and he understood the need for quality communication access. With Rob Mercuri, who's a businessman, he understood the need to be able to hire people with disabilities and also to be able to communicate with customers when they came into his businesses. And then, of course, the senator, Senator Robinson, being right there with the chair of the Labor and Industry Committee, since Labor and Industry is who oversees Act 57, it was a perfect fit. Joyce Bender, the Act is a consumer protection act at its core. And the way it's written right now, it's negatively impacting the deaf and hard of hearing community. So getting this modernized is very, very crucial.

Well, I have a few more questions about that, but right now we're going to go to break. If you just joined us, we are talking to the awesome Danielle Philip, owner and chief executive officer of SLIP, headquartered right here In Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. We'll be right back. Don't go away.

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You're listening to Disability Matters. If you have a question or comment, call in toll-free at 1-866-472-5788. That's 1-866-472-5788. Now please welcome back the host of Disability Matters. Here's Joyce Bender.

Hey, welcome back everyone. We are talking today to Danielle Philip. Owner and Chief Executive Officer of SLIP, headquartered right here in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. When we went to break, Danielle, you were saying something to the effect of another reason you're working on this is you don't want it to hurt the deaf community or be harder for the deaf community. What did you mean by that?

Yeah, yeah, so there's not enough qualified sign language interpreters, and that isn't just in Pennsylvania alone. That is a concern nationwide. But at the present, Pennsylvania's Act 57 only identifies one way that an interpreter can be credentialed and then register with the state, and there are more ways than just that one way. And so the modernization of the Act will broaden the definition of what it means to be a qualified interpreter, so we can expand the pool of qualified interpreters. It's also going to— there's one part of the modernization that I'm a little worried about, I'm not gonna lie, and I need all the listeners' help here, is the Act has— a waiver form, or a request for use form, as it's called. And some of the people on the stakeholders wanted to remove that entirely. And what that does, Joyce, is let's say a qualified interpreter isn't available in St. Mary's, Pennsylvania, you know, north central PA, quite rural, and there's not a qualified interpreter. That request for use form lets a deaf— in that area say, "You know, I want Mary, my neighbor, to interpret for me. Mary's good enough for me for this appointment." And that deaf person and Mary sign a form, and then Mary can interpret. There were some stakeholders who, in this modernization, wanted to remove that. And that's really scary, because that could oppress communities of people where there aren't qualified interpreters available. So part of the modernization is that we're keeping that. We have a sunset provision on it that we're allowed to keep it for the next 5 years. It'll be my goal for the next 5 years to work with the Advisory Council for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. They report right to the governor. I'll be working with them. Hopefully, maybe I can even be appointed to that board. And I want to see what we can do to maintain this provision, to maintain the ability for a person with a disability, a deaf or hard of hearing person, to choose their best communication partner. So that's where I need the help of the listeners. You know, make sure you're reaching out to your legislators and letting them know that deaf people have a right to choose. Make sure you're asking them to support this modernization. Did you want me to get into any of the other points of the modernization, or Yeah, no, I do, I do.

I just wanted to say one thing. Imagine we don't even have to be in a rural area. Imagine you're in a situation, you have to get right now to urgent care center. You cut your hand, you may have a broken bone, whatever it is, you have to get there. Well, if you're deaf, the odds of you being able to get an interpreter are slim to none. If your aunt or uncle or cousin could go with you, then you're fine. It's great. And boy, when you go to urgent care anywhere, anywhere in healthcare, it's hard enough for me to understand, you know, the medical communication. But imagine if you're deaf and you're trying to understand it and they don't have an interpreter. You know, or say there's some big meeting at your company, or a small company, can't get an interpreter. Well, if you aren't allowed to do what Danielle talked about, you're either not gonna go or not understand a thing that's being said, or try to read lips, and it's so hard to do. You have all these people talking. So Danielle, I think that's really important. And maybe, you know, you could tell us at the end how our listeners could, you know, write in and do something about that. What I thought we would do is let's go through one of the points before our news break in 5 minutes. And that would be— let's talk about the expansion of classification for 3 to 5 years to align with the certification timeline. Is that what you're talking about right now?

Well, can I jump to video remote interpreting, if that's okay with you?

Yeah, yes.

And I'd like to do that only because of what you just brought up, Joyce Bender. You know, in those urgent care settings and what's happening in healthcare nowadays, right? You're right. Only 30% of spoken English is on the lips. So asking any person to lip read is asking them to guess what's being said. They're only getting maybe 30% of the message, and that's a statistic from the FBI on the most skilled lip readers, right? But Section 1557 of the Affordable Care Act actually has provisions in it that require those healthcare providers to provide communication access, interpreters at the urgent care. And they've shifted to providing it on an iPad or on a computer, video remote interpreting, which is why I wanted to bring that provision up here now. Because the Act, in its modernization, is now going to specifically state that any interpreter who is providing service through VRI, Video Remote Interpreting, must also be registered with the state's Office for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing. And this is so important to protect the rights of deaf people, to make sure that that person popping up on the screen at the urgent care is qualified. It also takes the stress away from the family. And you're right, Joyce Bender, having a deaf person be able to choose their best communication partner if they cut a finger or it's something not life-threatening, absolutely. But we've got to make sure that the folks who are obligated under the Americans with Disabilities Act aren't sneaking around their obligations with this. You know, it's a fine line. But the inclusion of VRI in the Act will help to make sure everybody is getting the most qualified interpreter.

Now, does that include, like, dentists? Does that include, uh, you know, going to get a test?

Like, any place that public accommodation Okay, well, there you go.

I hope you're all hearing this.

The way the ADA is written, it says that it's any place of public accommodation must provide the accommodation, in this case effective communication, to the deaf or hard of hearing person. And in this case, we're talking about sign language interpreters being that accommodation.

I'm sorry to say this, But you know that doesn't happen. I know because I know people that go to a doctor and tell them that, and their answer is, "Sorry, there wasn't anyone available." So this is now when they should bring up what you talked about, you know, using the smartphone or iPad or whatever it is. It would be good if you all knew that. If we could get that news out there through one of the deaf national organizations. I'm sure they have, but I'm sure a lot of people still don't know what I'm talking about. But that is said to my employees and friends all the time. Sorry, we could not get one. Or sorry, they were supposed to be here and didn't show up.

Yeah, we've been in business 21 years. My mom founded the company in 2003, and over the last 6 years we've had an average fill rate, so the ability to meet customer requests, upwards of 99% of the time. Okay, so I would push back a little if I were one of your employees or friends and say, who are you calling? Are you calling a reputable organization? Are you working with a language service provider, with an agency like SLIP, who cares about providing reliable, consistent, and professional interpreters. If they're not, chances are they really don't get it, and that's why I'm here, and as you said, that's why I love what I get to do every day, helping people to understand that it's not hard. We can do this. You just have to work with the right partners in the community.

Well, now listen, if you're listening right now and you're thinking, Oh, I wish this friend of mine was hearing this. You know they can, right? Just tomorrow, go to Spotify, voiceamerica.com, benderconsult.com, Apple, almost every social venue. Go and listen to this show. You can also share it with friends. So Um, don't worry, they can still hear it. And with that, it is on the half hour, and oh, I'm so happy our famous newscaster Perry Jude Roddysek is with us. Welcome back, Perry Jude, we missed you.

Joyce, I missed you and I missed your listeners as well, and I still listened to your show while I was healing. But, you know, it's, it's always great to be back.

Always. Yes, well, it's great to have you back. So what is in the news?

Oh, Joyce, this is so important. In fact, some of your listeners may have picked this up from other disability organizations or, or news sites. At the end of February, so not that long ago, but at the end of February, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a new proposed rule that would increase safe travel for passengers who use wheelchairs. I know we talk about airlines and wheelchairs a lot, but this administration is very proud of this proposed rule, and the rule would set new standards for airlines. Here's an example. The new rule would require stronger annual as well as practical training in handling wheelchairs or having to physically assist passengers with disabilities. So that's one thing the rule would do. The second thing the rule would do would increase accountability for damaging or delaying the return of the wheelchair. Now, this is really big. So the Department of Transportation is proposing that if an airline damages or delays the return of the wheelchair, it now becomes an automatic violation of the Air Carrier Access Act, and the airline will be subject to a fine. Hopefully, that would result in less damage and less delayed return. The proposal would also require airlines to allow a person with a disability to use their preferred vendor to fix the damaged wheelchair if the airline does indeed damage it. Joyce Bender, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there's an estimated 5.5 million Americans that use a wheelchair, and so many encounter barriers when it comes to air travel. In 2023, the Department of Transportation documented 11,527 wheelchairs and scooters that were mishandled by carriers.

Oh, now, advocacy—

that's so many. That's so many. And it's many of our friends too, right? We know our friends are having wheelchairs and scooters damaged by these air carriers. Advocacy matters.

We talked about— I just want to say one thing. Judy Heumann, who we lost last year, the great Judy Heumann, I brought her to Pittsburgh to speak. She called me when she got home, her wheelchair was broken. So my question is, if someone is in a wheelchair and they go to the airport, What is the first thing they should do?

If they go to the airport right now before this regulation goes in place, well, they're going to be required to let that wheelchair go and put it in the hands of the, the baggage handlers. And if their wheelchair is damaged, they need to contact the U.S. Department of Transportation or contact a protection and advocacy agency across the country like Disability Rights Pennsylvania so we can talk to them about about their rights.

Okay, so do you all get that? Perry's the CEO of Pennsylvania Disability Rights— Disability Rights— did I get that right? Well, it's Disability Rights of Pennsylvania, but you can find us— Disability Rights of PA— Disability Rights of Pennsylvania. You can go to the website, look them up, and if you had something happen Get in touch with Perry, or anyone that answers the phone will be able to help you. But Perry, this is so important. I mean, this is really important. So please go to the website. Go ahead, what were you going to say?

Go to the website.

The comment period ends May 13th, but don't wait until May. If you agree with these changes, say so. If you want to see additional improvements, you need to say so. Right now there's about 240 comments already posted. So if you want to see the comments, if you want to find the link to make the comment, if you want to read the proposed rule, as Joyce said, go to disabilityrightsPA.org, click on today's advocacy matter segment. It'll be down the middle of the page if you're scrolling down our page at disabilityrightsPA.org. You'll find all of this great information.

Make sure you go, make sure you tell everyone. I always say to people, don't sit back and complain if you're not taking action. Uh, Perry Jude, it's so great to hear that voice. I will look forward to hearing you next week.

Next week.

Thanks, Joyce Bender.

So what do you think about that, Danielle?

My wheels are turning, no pun intended here, about the wheelchairs being damaged. And I'm shocked to know that the airlines, they just don't care. But I don't know why it's shocking to me. People seem to just brush people aside all the time. And, oh, oh, but I'm glad to hear there's work being done to fix that.

I would say, yes, I would say people with disabilities seem to be at the bottom. So you guys, you've got to go make those comments. I mean, I can't begin to tell you the people I know who have been either injured when they tried to shove them into the seat and they had quadriplegia or paraplegia or, you know, some other type of disability, but specifically wheelchairs that have been broken. So please do something about this. Make it a point to do something about this. And with that, I'm going to go back to you, Danielle. You have several things you're working on. Why don't you go through another point?

Yeah, sure. Thanks so much, Joyce Bender. You know, the other points in the modernization of Act 57 that I touched upon earlier, just in general, were the broadening of the credentials that the state would allow a person to come to the Commonwealth with and say, you know, "I have this. Can I be a qualified interpreter in Pennsylvania?" And we are now, hopefully, with this modernization, going to accept the BEI Advanced and Master test exam for interpreters as a way for an interpreter to be credentialed in the state of Pennsylvania, and so that's one other that exists out there. The, the one that we currently honor is from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf, the CASLI, C-A-S-L-I exam, but now we'll have two other options. And then some people don't have a bachelor's degree, and the way our Act as written today, they have to have just graduated from an interpreting degree program to be able to enter the state as a provisional interpreter while they pursue that full certification, Joyce. And instead, we, the stakeholders, wrote into the Modernized Act the ability for interpreters to follow what the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf names their alternate alternative pathway, and this lets people show other types of credit. Maybe college and pursuing a degree wasn't what was best for them to be successful entering this field. Even I, back when I started interpreting, I couldn't have worked in Pennsylvania if I hadn't went and got certified right away, because I didn't graduate from an interpreter training program. So this alternative alternative pathway classification allows developing interpreters, people just starting in the field, to— if they've checked off all the boxes on the alternative pathway— allows them to get into the profession. We're also going ahead and making that provisional classification align with the national testing bodies. In Pennsylvania, if you don't get your national certification within 3 years of graduating from an interpreter training program, we, as the state of Pennsylvania, tell you, "Thanks, good luck," and we send you on your merry way. But the national organizations who provide the certification say that you have 5 years to do it. So, with the modernization to Act 57, interpreters are going to have 5 years. Just like we know it takes them, just like the National Certifying Bodies know. Pennsylvania is going to get up to time here, get up to speed, and recognize that as well. All of those, and I don't expect listeners to remember all of them, but they are all designed to broaden the pool of qualified interpreters and ensure that the deaf community's needs can be met by qualified interpreters.

Awesome. Oh, that is great. Boy, what a mistake it would have been to exclude you, Danielle. That would have been a terrible error. Um, okay, hey, I think it's time to review what's happening at Bender. Gerald, are you with us?

I'm here, Joyce. Thank you so much for letting me call in.

Hey, Gerald, what's going on at Bender?

Well, first of all, I have to say shout out to you, Danielle, the greatest interpreter in America and one of the greatest advocates for those who are deaf and hard of hearing as well.

So, and, uh, she is the greatest interpreter in America, and if you're looking for a firm, you call SLIP. Okay, go ahead, Gerald.

And it was great to hear Perry Jude Radesic giving the news update once again as well.

Yes.

And I just want to share with what's going on at Bender. Wow, we have so many great opportunities here for people with disabilities. We are just exploding with opportunity here at Bender this year. Now, if you go to benderconsult.com/jobs, you can see today all the exciting new roles that we have just posted in the past month or so across different industries across the United States in remote roles and jobs in the north, south, east, and west in IT, in federal contracting, in administration, in leading teams across organizations, in accessibility and technical writing and project management and administration and customer support and site reliability in so many different exciting fields. We just have There's so much opportunity going on here in Bend, Oregon, from healthcare to supporting the desk of an executive. So I, I just want to encourage you to look at the roles that we have today and to apply if you're looking to make a change and find a new exciting role. We have so many experienced jobs, or if you know a person with a disability that is trying to find a new role. I've heard time and time again in the industry today, the best way to find a job is to find people that have contacts inside the organizations today. And Bender, I always say we work old school connecting with hiring managers and building relationships to get your story told in the door. So apply today to the opportunities that Bender has and refer somebody with a disability so that we can help those organizations see the value you have as a candidate to find your next role.

Once again, absolutely, jobs, vendorconsult.com/jobs. Don't miss out. I'm not kidding, we have so many great opportunities right now. So many. Uh, Gerald, our manager of talent programs, Gerald Helmy, gbenderconsult.com. If you have a question, if applying for a job, remember benderconsult.com/jobs. Thank you, Gerald.

Thank you, Joyce, and thank you, Danielle.

Signing off. My pleasure. Great to hear you.

Okay, Danielle, is it that awesome that we have all these opportunities?

It sure is, and connections are huge. Do you know how many deaf people don't even ever get the interview because there's this misconception that, you know, deaf people can't even drive? I get asked that still in 2024.

Ugh. I know, that's a fact. So, Danielle, please spread the news. Please spread the news. Because many of our openings are still remote, which is making me so angry that companies are taking it all back in, because guess what? For the first time, people with quadriplegia who needed a personal attendant, or people in rural areas that don't have transportation, or people with epilepsy who cannot drive, So, you know, I, I am happy to say we do have openings with companies that are remote. Not all, but a great percentage. So make sure that you check that out. So Danielle, what other points would you like to review in reference to this Act 57?

Yeah, and Joyce, you know, to your point there about there being so many remote jobs, I think it's really important that I emphasize again that broadening the pool of interpreters, so expanding it with the provisions the way we have here in the new language, also including video remote interpreters in the Act, that's going to make sure that if you hire a deaf individual in a rural environment to fill one of these remote positions, that they too have access to a qualified interpreter. You know, if these don't pass, and I don't— maybe I'm just seeing the glass as half full. I tend to be a really positive person here, but I'm also a bit of a realist. You know, there are some people who want to make sure that things stay the same because they're comfortable. But I think that if these don't pass, the shortage of interpreters is going to continue. The deaf community is going to continue to suffer by not having access to communication. It's almost like a person goes to a public event and they're told, "Sorry, the elevator's not turned on right now," when they say, "We can't get an interpreter right now." That's hooey fooey if you ask me. There are interpreters available all over the U.S., and if somebody's providing video remote interpreting, they can find you somebody to provide that interpreter. Things need to be scheduled in advance, and if we expand the pool of qualified interpreters, there should not be a reason why deaf people can't have their needs met.

Oh, I agree with you. And I also agree with you. Let me tell you, it's like this right now. Across the United States, there is such a deficit and difficulty of getting sign language interpreters. I mean, I see that in the federal government. I see that everywhere. It's really hard. That's why we really need to do something, or that's gonna be like a crisis. Well, it already is in many places. But Danielle, I know right here in Pittsburgh, if we would not get in touch with you ahead of time, you probably would be booked. Am I right?

We do require advance notice, Joyce. That's right. And the key is effective, right? Just because an interpreter is available doesn't necessarily mean they're the right person for the job request that's coming in. And we really at SLIP strive to make sure that the most qualified interpreter is provided to the individual.

That is so, so important. Danielle, what else do you want to review about Act 57?

You know, Joyce, I think at this point I've hit on all of the points of the Act and the modernization. Uh, to just recap those, we're expanding the credentials, allowing additional certifications. We're allowing the alternative pathway in lieu of a degree so that people can enter the field. We are expanding the timeline for those who are classified as provisionally registered. The Request for Use form will have a 5-year sunset on it unless the Advisory Council does something to maintain that. So, if you are a person who has connections to the community and the Advisory Council, I'd encourage you to encourage them to maintain that Request for Use form. And then video remote interpreting, by making sure that the people who pop up on the screen are qualified. If we do all of these things, we're going to have a place here in Pennsylvania, we're gonna have places who value effective communication and allow deaf people to have their needs met with the most qualified interpreters possible.

Daniel, a couple questions, but I wanna skip ahead because this is so important that we talk about this. Would you share with our listeners the services you provide @SLIP, Sign Language Interpreting Professionals. What services do you provide?

Sure. So SLIP, as Joyce Bender said, is Sign Language Interpreting Professionals, and our website is slipasl.com, so www.slipasl.com, and we're a language service company, so we provide referral services to American Sign Language interpreters. We do focus our work in Western Pennsylvania, but we also service all of those companies who are headquartered here in Western Pennsylvania by providing remote services to them so that they can meet the needs of their customers and employees across the nation. And we focus here because there are accents and there are regional dialects in sign language. By focusing our efforts in Western Pennsylvania, we are able to make sure, again, that we can maintain high quality. Joyce, I also— well, as I said, I purchased the business from Joanne, my mom, back in January of this year. In 2009, I founded a captioning company that provides remote CART captioning services, and that company is CART Solutions. So CART Solutions and SLIP are sister companies, and together we provide a whole suite of communication access accommodations to provide effective communication to the deaf community.

Oh, Danielle, I just realized I may have a new customer for you. Glad you brought this up on the show. You know where to find me. I do know where to find you. And Danielle, am I right in saying that in this country nationally, do you also see this lack of sign language interpreters?

Yes, we do. And that comes from, I mean, gosh, the pipeline. Young children aren't exposed to the fact that interpreting is a viable career. I'm on the board of the Association of Language Companies, and we have a division called the ALC Bridge that goes out into the colleges to help to broaden the knowledge and awareness that the language service industry, interpreting and translating, are viable careers. But we need to do it earlier, and, you know, perhaps if there were more hours in a day, I would do it. But perhaps there's somebody listening who can help in the schools. Maybe a guidance counselor is listening, or a teacher in a foreign language department can remind their students that, yeah, I want everybody to be a sign language interpreter if they have the skill, but interpreting in general is a very, very good career that's rewarding, but also lucrative, right? People can make a great living.

That's a good thing to talk about. Yeah, we need to talk about that more. So Danielle, I want to ask you a question, and that is, who is your role model?

Oh dear. Or role models. Role models. Yeah, you know, so of course my mom. Mom never wanted to have a business. She just wanted to do right by her friends and family and make sure they had access to high-quality interpreters. And before she know it, she had SLIP. And I'm proud to be here sitting in this chair at this desk and looking forward to running it for the next 20 years and beyond. But, you know, Mary Brocker, our dear friend, may she rest in peace. Mary was awesome. Mary's energy, Mary's ability to connect and engage people, there's nothing she couldn't do. And sometimes when I I'm like, "Ugh, I'm so frustrated. This is hard." I think about Mary and just her persistence and her energy that would make it happen. And then I have to mention the people that I'm in the Association of Language Companies with. Karen Decker, our president, Kathleen Diamond, who got me involved with Susan Amorino, and Kristin Quinlan. These are friends and colleagues of mine. These women are powerhouses in the language services industry. And have been standing behind me and rooting me along right now while I work in this legislative space, which is new to me. And they've given me the energy that I need to make sure that I can see Act 57's modernization through to the end. And Joyce, you, thank you for having me here. Thank you for always being a supporter and just a text message away. I love you.

I love you too. Danielle. So one more time, this is Danielle Philip, F-I-L-I-P, owner and chief executive officer of Sign Language Interpreting Professionals, going by SLIP. And what is that website again?

www.slipasl.com.

You know, that is so good. I love that, the ASL part. That is so neat. See, you won't forget. Well, if you need Danielle, you know now how to reach her because you can reach out to me, but also voiceamerica.com, but more importantly, her website, directly to her website. Thank you all for listening to the show. This is Joyce Bender, America's Voice, where disability matters, at voiceamerica.com. Before we go, we end every show with a quote, and today it is, "The only thing deaf people cannot do is hear," said I. King Jordan. I will talk to you all next week, and in the words of Mary Brooker, remember, choose joy.

Voice America would like to thank you for tuning in. Please join us next Tuesday at 11 AM Pacific time and 2 PM Eastern time for another installment of Disability Matters right here on the Voice America Variety Channel. We are the leader in live Live Internet Talk Radio. VoiceAmerica.com.